Gentiles Too! | Acts 10

September 25, 2026
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What happens when God welcomes someone we would have kept at a distance?

In Gentiles Too, part of The Crossing’s Acts series, Adam Woods walks through Acts 10 and the life-changing meeting between Peter and Cornelius. Cornelius was a Roman centurion, a Gentile, and someone Peter likely would not have approached on his own. Yet God was working in both men at the same time. He prepared Cornelius to hear the good news about Jesus, and He prepared Peter to cross a boundary he had always been taught to respect.

This message speaks to anyone wondering whether God could really welcome them, forgive their past, or give them a place in His family. It also challenges Christians who are asking how to love people with different backgrounds, politics, reputations, or life stories. If you have ever felt like you do not belong, wondered whether your mistakes put you beyond grace, or struggled to welcome someone unlike you, Acts 10 gives a clear answer: the gospel is for everyone.

Peter declares, “Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:43, NIV). That promise includes people like Cornelius, people like Peter, and people like us. The Bible teaching on God’s grace is not that some people earn a place at the table while others are left outside. Jesus died and rose again so that every person can come to Him in faith.

God welcomes people through Jesus, not because they have a perfect past or have earned His approval. In Acts 10, Peter says, “Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:43, NIV). Adam Woods emphasizes that this invitation includes people with real failures, doubts, shame, and questions.

Yes. Acts 10 shows God actively working in the life of Cornelius before he fully understood the gospel. Cornelius prayed, gave generously, and respected God, but he still needed to hear about Jesus. The Crossing teaches that God is drawing people to Jesus and inviting the church to lovingly meet them where they are.

Acts 10 teaches that God does not show favoritism. Peter had to change the way he saw Gentiles, realizing that no person should be treated as beyond God’s grace. Adam Woods challenges believers to repent when background, politics, reputation, race, or past mistakes keep them from extending the welcome Jesus has given them.

In Acts 10, Cornelius and his household believed the message about Jesus, received the Holy Spirit, and were then baptized in the name of Jesus. Adam Woods connects this to Acts 2:38, where people are called to repent and be baptized into Christ. Baptism is a faithful response to Jesus, marking identification with Him and entry into His family.

Start by asking God to reveal the assumptions or fears that shape the way you see others. In Gentiles Too, Adam Woods encourages Christians to move from judgment to repentance, then take a practical step to reach out: have coffee, share a meal, listen to someone’s story, or accept an invitation you would usually avoid. Jesus welcomed us by grace, and His people are called to reflect that same welcome.