Why Send for Peter?

According to the common understanding, good people go to heaven, only very bad people go to hell. According to the common understanding, a person who prays and worships often, and who gives to help the needy is certainly a saved person.

There is a biblical character who prayed and worshipped often. He gave to the needy. His name was Cornelius and his story is told in Acts chapter ten and eleven. He is called a “devout” man and is said to be one who gave to the poor and who worshipped and prayed continually (Acts 10:1-2). According to most people, he must have been a “saved” person. Most modern preachers would welcome him into their churches. But according to the Bible, Cornelius needed to send for Peter so that he could hear “a message by which you will be saved” (Acts 11:14).

So, evidently, being devout did not save him. Evidently, worshipping, praying, and giving alms did not save him. Evidently there was a message he needed to hear and respond to before he could become a saved person.

Do not blame me, I did not write the Bible. If you want to argue, you are arguing with God, not with me.

Unless the gospel message has been heard (Acts 11:14) and obeyed (1 Thess 1:8), even devout people are not saved. Cornelius needed to hear the message. So do we; so do our neighbors.