The heretical idea of “pre-believing regeneration” wants to take away your attention from the beauty and wisdom that the Lord intended us to have from Him from the Cornelius account.
Because the Lord’s beauty and wisdom in that chapter, is how Cornelius needed to hear that Jesus is God and Christ, who died for our sins and rose again, in order to be justified (saved). Cornelius was a “good person”, but unsaved until he believed in Jesus Christ as Savior. That was the whole purpose of setting up the meeting with Peter, and it drives home the point that we are all unsaved until we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. Even the supposed “good person” will be eternally tormented in the lake of fire unless they believe in Jesus to escape it, since Jesus alone paid (past tense) for our sins, and nothing else pays for our sins.
But the heretical calvinistic view violates these truths with the “pre-believing regeneration” garbage.
What I also take away from the Cornelius account is the fact that Salvation doesn’t happen until the word is preached. As Abe said, even though Cornelius was a “good” man, God told him that he needed to hear the word preached by Peter. And look at what happened: “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which HEARD the word!” Meaning, they heard and believed!.
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?…So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” ~ Romans 10:14-15, 17
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
The heretical idea of “pre-believing regeneration” wants to take away your attention from the beauty and wisdom that the Lord intended us to have from Him from the Cornelius account.
Because the Lord’s beauty and wisdom in that chapter, is how Cornelius needed to hear that Jesus is God and Christ, who died for our sins and rose again, in order to be justified (saved). Cornelius was a “good person”, but unsaved until he believed in Jesus Christ as Savior. That was the whole purpose of setting up the meeting with Peter, and it drives home the point that we are all unsaved until we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. Even the supposed “good person” will be eternally tormented in the lake of fire unless they believe in Jesus to escape it, since Jesus alone paid (past tense) for our sins, and nothing else pays for our sins.
But the heretical calvinistic view violates these truths with the “pre-believing regeneration” garbage.
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What I also take away from the Cornelius account is the fact that Salvation doesn’t happen until the word is preached. As Abe said, even though Cornelius was a “good” man, God told him that he needed to hear the word preached by Peter. And look at what happened: “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which HEARD the word!” Meaning, they heard and believed!.
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?…So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” ~ Romans 10:14-15, 17
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