And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends. (Acts 10:24)

The Soldier Evangelist

When the gospel of Christ was first preached in Jerusalem, three thousand Jews responded to God’s grace and washed away their sins in baptism. The church began with the Jews, as the apostles established it with the first converts from the nation of God’s people. God always planned to include the Gentiles in the church, but it had to come in its own time. Jesus told Peter he would be given the keys of the kingdom and through the preaching of Peter and the apostles, the door of salvation was opened for the Jews on the Day of Pentecost.

A few years after Pentecost, in the Father’s divine will, the Gentiles would also receive the message of the gospel, and it would come from the most unlikely source. There were many Gentiles who could have been the first recipients of the gospel, but God chose a man who represented the Roman Empire as a centurion of the Roman army. A centurion was a commander of a division in the Roman army consisting of one hundred men. Cornelius belonged to a division of the Roman army composed of the highly regarded soldiers from Italy.

What set Cornelius apart from his cohorts was his deep faith in the one true God. He was a devout man who feared the true and living God. His devotion to the Lord was seen in his benevolence and constant prayers. However, he was not a Christian and had no hope of eternal life. An angel came to Cornelius and instructed him to send for the apostle Peter in Joppa. The angel did not instruct the Roman commander what to do to be saved but told him to send for a man who would tell him words by which he and all his household could be saved. Cornelius sent for Peter and Peter came.

The meeting of Peter and Cornelius was remarkable. Cornelius was excited about Peter’s arrival. He had followed the angel’s instructions and eagerly anticipated the arrival of a man he had never met. His anticipation was so exciting that he called together his relatives and close friends. He wanted others to hear what Peter had to say. And then another remarkable thing happened. When a fisherman from Galilee came into the home of a Roman centurion, the centurion fell down at the feet of the fisherman and worshiped him. Peter forbade Cornelius because God had shown him that all men were equal and deserved the gospel of Christ.

Peter began to teach those assembled in Cornelius’s home the good news of Jesus Christ. He showed the Gentiles that Jesus died and rose from the dead, and many saw Jesus after His resurrection. Peter explained that salvation came to those who believed in him through the remission of sins. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit came upon all those who heard the word, to the amazement of the believers that the gift of the Holy Spirit came upon the Gentiles. Peter then exhorted those gathered in his home to be baptized into water in the name of the Lord.

The first Gentile convert was not Cornelius – it was himself along with his relatives and friends. A man from outside God’s nation set an example of evangelism for all to follow. Luke never gives the number of relatives and friends assembled in Cornelius’s home, but he describes how Cornelius invited them to listen to Peter’s words. They responded individually to the gospel of Christ because they were invited to Cornelius’s home. Through a simple invitation to hear the gospel, Cornelius’s relatives and friends joined him as children of God.

If a Roman soldier can set an example of evangelism, everyone would benefit from learning the joy of inviting others into their home to hear someone share the gospel of Christ. Cornelius did not teach his relatives and friends. Peter did. Because of Cornelius’s invitation, others became Christians. Cornelius was a Roman soldier doing the work of an evangelist. He unknowingly followed Philip’s words to Nathanael: “Come and see.” Put on the armor of Christ and invite people to your home.