Let us pray.
Gracious Lord, as we open Your Word this morning, open our hearts and minds that we may see Your truth more clearly, love You more dearly, and follow You more nearly, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Friends, our reading from Acts chapter 10 is one of the most remarkable turning points in the story of the early Church. It’s often remembered as the conversion of Cornelius, the Roman centurion. But I’d like us to notice today that it also tells us about another conversion — the second conversion of Peter.
Peter, of course, had already been converted once – truly and wonderfully. He had come to faith in Christ, left everything to follow Him, preached the gospel, and witnessed the risen Lord. But here in Acts 10, God brings Peter through a second conversion – not a conversion to faith, but a conversion of understanding, a change of heart and mind about the scope of God’s redeeming love.
For all his devotion to Jesus, Peter still carried a long-standing assumption: that salvation was primarily for the Jews, and that any Gentile who sought God’s blessing must first become a Jew. That belief had deep roots – in history, in culture, and in habit.
But while Peter was praying on the rooftop in Joppa, God intervened in a startling way. He gave him a vision – a sheet lowered from heaven, filled with all kinds of animals, both clean and unclean. And a voice said, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” Peter, shocked, protested: “Surely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
But the voice replied: “What God has made clean, you must not call common.” This happened three times – and just as Peter pondered the meaning, three men arrived, sent by Cornelius, a Gentile who feared God and prayed continually.
At that moment the Spirit whispered, “Go with them, for I have sent them.” Then Peter began to understand: the vision wasn’t about food – it was about people. It was about the gospel.
God was showing him that no one is beyond the reach of His grace, that in Christ the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile has been broken down, and that God shows no partiality – but welcomes all who fear Him.
Peter’s second conversion, then, was the conversion of his perspective – a radical widening of his heart to embrace the global, all-inclusive scope of God’s plan of salvation. The missionary heart of God was transforming the missionary heart of Peter.
And perhaps that is what we, too, need from time to time – a second conversion. Not to become Christians again, but to have our vision renewed, to have our prejudices challenged, to let the Spirit open our eyes to people we might not have seen as part of God’s plan. For God’s mercy still reaches further than our boundaries, and His love still welcomes those we might overlook.
So may we, like Peter, be willing to say, “Yes, Lord” – even when His call stretches us beyond what feels comfortable.
And may the Spirit of Christ so transform our hearts that through us, others – like Cornelius – may come to hear the good news and believe.
Let us pray.
Lord our God, You who break down walls and make all things new, convert our hearts afresh to Your ways of love. Give us Peter’s humility to listen, Cornelius’s readiness to obey, and Christ’s compassion for all people. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
This sermon was preached at the midweek service at St Christopher’s on 22 October 2025.
