Bible Study With Jairus - Acts 10

Be Ready to Discern God’s Plan
Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 10Show more

Are visions important?
In Acts 10, the Lord gave Peter a fascinating vision. God showed Peter all kinds of unclean animals and asked him to kill and eat them. He refused, saying that he had never eaten anything unclean. Nevertheless, God gave him permission to eat, saying he should not call anything unclean which God has made clean. God’s words were not merely referring to unclean animals; God was guiding Peter to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, whom the Jews deemed impure.
I was saved in a church that emphasizes the life and teachings of Christ much more than it emphasizes visions or similar topics. However, as the Lord has led me into learning more about the Charismatics, I have come to understand that Charismatics place great emphasis on visions.

How should we resolve this discrepancy?
There are dangers on both extremes of the spectrum. We should avoid being overly cautious with visions and emphasizing the Bible alone, and we should also avoid an over-acceptance of visions that dismisses and neglects the written word of God.
First of all, let’s look at Peter’s experience. We must acknowledge the fact that it was not easy for Peter to evangelize to the Gentiles. His mind was filled with preconceptions and prejudices. However, we must revisit this question: why didn’t God grant this vision to John, James, or others? We do not know the answer to this question, but we can speculate that Peter was probably more flexible. Compared to those who more strictly adhered to Jewish traditions (such as James), perhaps it would have been easier for Peter to make a concept shift.
We know that Peter had a high spiritual intellect. He understood and acknowledged Jesus as the Son of the living God. He also committed frequent mistakes, saying that God would not let the Lord be crucified. Peter was criticized by the Lord frequently, but he also rectified his wrongdoings. Possibly Peter’s personality was more receptive to changes and corrections.
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