Commenting
on Cornelius, Acts 10:45-48, and the debate about the necessity of water
baptism, Catholic apologist Karlo Broussard wrote the following which is pretty
spot-on:
Reception of the Holy Spirit doesn’t always
indicate that salvation has been accomplished.
The challenge assumes that because Cornelius
and his companions received the Holy Spirit they were saved. But receiving an
outpouring of the Holy Spirit doesn’t necessarily mean someone is saved.
Consider, first of all, that the Spirit can
be given for other things beside salvation. One such thing is artistic skill.
For example, God fills Bezalel, son of Uri, with “the Spirit of God” (Exod.
31:3) “to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting
stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every craft” (vv. 4-5).
To others, God gave his Spirit to empower
them with special strength as exemplified in the life of Samson (Judg. 14:6,
19; 15:14) and to empower for leadership (see Num. 27:18; Deut. 34:9; Judg.
3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 1 Sam. 11:6-7; 16:13-14).
Just as in the Old Testament God gave his
Spirit for purposes beside salvation, it’s possible that in the New Testament
God gave his Spirit to Cornelius and his companions for some purpose besides
salvation.
The context of the passage seems to suggest
this. We’re told that when the Holy Spirit fell upon Cornelius and other
Gentiles present the “believers from among the circumcised who came with Peter
were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the
Gentiles” (v. 45). They knew this had happened because “they heard them speaking
in tongues and extolling God” (v. 46).
It seems that God gave his Spirit in order to
convince the circumcised what Peter had said at the outset of his speech in
verse 34 that “God shows no partiality” and that “in every nation anyone who
fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”
Matthew 7:22-23 provides another example of
how having the outpouring of the Spirit doesn’t guarantee that someone is saved.
On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord,
did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many
mighty works in your name?” And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you;
depart from me, you evildoers.”
To prophesy and cast out demons requires the
power of the Holy Spirit. Yet according to Jesus, having such power doesn’t
guarantee salvation.
Just because the power of the Holy Spirit
falls upon Cornelius and his Gentile companions prior to baptism and empowers
them to speak in tongues, it doesn’t follow that they were saved at that
moment. Therefore, this passage doesn’t prove that baptism is not necessary for
salvation. (Karlo Broussard, Meeting the
Protestant Challenge: How to Answer 50 Biblical Objections to Catholic Beliefs [El
Cajon, Calif.: Catholic Answers Press, 2019], 110-12)
For previous
blog posts addressing Cornelius and the salvific necessity of water baptism,
see: