Book of Acts - Sunday Morning Class
Teachers
Lesson Summary
The class opened with a brief review of Acts 11:1‑18, recalling that the previous week’s study of Acts 10 had already covered Peter’s vision and his baptism of the Gentiles at Cornelius’ house. Dave Rich explained that when Peter returned to Jerusalem, the Jewish believers immediately challenged him, insisting that only circumcised Jews could be saved. Peter’s defense centered on the divine revelation he received in Joppa, where a heavenly voice declared that what God made clean should not be called common, and on the testimony of six Jewish witnesses who had accompanied him from Caesarea. The instructor highlighted that the angel’s message to Cornelius was not sufficient for salvation; it was Peter’s proclamation of Christ that brought true redemption. Throughout the session, Dave emphasized the broader theological implication that the gospel breaks down ethnic and cultural barriers. By presenting the facts of the narrative, the class saw how the early church wrestled with tradition versus the new covenant reality. The central message was that God’s grace is extended to all people, and believers are called to defend this truth with humility and reliance on the Holy Spirit, just as Peter did.
Key Scriptures
As I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air, and I heard a voice saying to me, Rise, Peter, kill and eat. But I said, By no means, Lord, for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth. But the voice answered a second time from heaven, Wait, or what God has made clean do not call common.