“In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer[a] named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. 2 He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God. 3 One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. ‘Cornelius!’ the angel said.
4 Cornelius stared at him in terror. ‘What is it, sir?’ he asked the angel.
And the angel replied, ‘Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering! 5 Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter.’” v.1-5 (NLT)
From this passage we learn that Cornelius is a God fearing man who prays and gives to the poor. It would be easy to assume that he had a relationship with God. As we read further, we find out that he doesn’t and in response to the message of Christ, Cornelius and his family receive the Holy Spirit and are baptized to identify themselves with Christ. This is huge for the early church. Perhaps the greatest barrier to the spread of the Good News in the first century was the Jewish-Gentile conflict. Most of the early believers were Jewish, and they thought it scandalous to even think of associating with Gentiles. But God told Peter to take the Good News to a Roman, and Peter obeyed despite his background and personal feelings. God was making it clear that the Good News of Christ is for everyone! We should not allow any barrier – language, culture, race, geography, economic level, or educational level – keep us from telling others about Christ.
Cornelius was religious, devoted, generous, respected, and sincere. However, he was still spiritually separated from God. Because he needed to understand the Gospel, God sent Peter to present to him the truth about salvation. Be careful not to equate earnestness with righteousness before God. We are brought into right standing with God by faith in Christ alone. Have you trusted in Jesus? Are you sharing with others, even those who seem religious, the truth that Christ is the only way to God? – NLT Life Application Study Bible
Dan Gould 