Acts 10 is a decisive turning point in the history of salvation. The church would be a universal church filled with all kinds of people. This is not a forgone conclusion.  

The mainly Jewish church needed a monumental change in the way they thought about salvation and the way they thought about gentiles. This change would not happen easily. Peter saw a vision of a sheet coming out of heaven which contained all kinds of animals, including unclean animals. Peter was told to kill and eat. But Peter said, No Lord. I have never eaten an unclean animal. What God was doing was using the food laws they knew and understood and lived by to make a deeper point about the divine acceptability of all people. 

This morning we will see that followers of Jesus cannot look at anyone as inherently unacceptable to God. The Jews looked at the world through the lens of the division of Jew and gentile. That God neither loved, chose, nor saved gentiles as gentiles. Jews were the chosen people as they understood it, and beloved by God. 

This gospel vision is a callosal shift in their worldview. We may not need a callosal shift in our worldview to understand that salvation is open to all kinds of people who are acceptable to God. 

We can be challenged and encouraged to live out the gospel mission which is a mission to all kinds of people. 

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