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Peter was enabled through his experience to answer those who said that unless a man was circumcised he could not be saved. There is nothing like practical work for Christ to teach us Christ's truth. For the most part heretics are a set of theorisers. They do nothing, and then criticise those who are doing hard and successful service. Give a man practical work for Jesus and keep him at it, and he will, like Peter, learn as he goes on, and, like a river, filter as he flows. Peter could not continue to believe in restricting the gospel to the Jews after the conversion of Cornelius. His actual service refined his theory. If those who ruled botanical science never saw a flower, would you wonder if they ran into gross heterodoxies of belief? Let us consider the point upon which Peter's argument depends.

I. THE AGENT OF HEART PURIFICATION — faith. There was nothing but faith in the case of Cornelius, faith born of hearing, and resting alone on Jesus.

1. Faith purified directly, not by month after month of contemplation; for, to the astonishment of the circumcised believers, the Holy Ghost fell upon them there and then.

2. Water baptism did not aid therein. The Lord will not permit us to mix up even His own ordinances with the work of His Spirit in purifying the heart by faith alone, and God forbid we ever should fall into such an error.

3. Do not, then, be looking for pure hearts within yourselves before you come to Christ by faith. Do not look for the fruits before you have the roots, but look by faith to the great Purifier, however impure you feel your heart to be.

II. THE SECRET OF ITS POWER. Believing other things does not purify the soul; why does believing the gospel? I answer, because —

1. God works by it (ver. 8). You know the old story of the sword of Scanderbeg, with which he used to cleave men in twain from the crown of the head downwards. As one looked at it he declared that he saw nothing about it to make it so fatal a weapon; but the other replied, "You should have seen the arm which was wont to wield it." Now faith looked at of itself appears to be contemptible; but who shall resist the everlasting Arm that wields it? This greater than Hercules careth little for the weakness of the instrument; but, behold, He cleanseth the Augean stable of our nature with no other agency than childlike faith.

2. God is at work in the heart by His Holy Spirit. Now, the Holy Spirit comes as a heavenly fire to consume sin, as a flowing stream to cleanse away evil, and as a rushing mighty wind to chase away all that is foul and polluted in the stagnant air of the soul. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of holiness, and as He always dwells with faith, being its Author, its Strengthener and Guardian, where faith comes the heart will speedily be purified.

III. THE SEAT OF ITS ACTION — the heart. Faith changes the current of our love, and alters the motive which sways us: this is what is meant by purifying the heart. It makes us love that which is good and right, and moves us with motives free from self and sin: this is a great work indeed. Hence the change which faith produces is —

1. Radical and deep. It is a small matter to wash the outside of the cup and of the platter.

2. Thorough and complete. "Rend your hearts and not your garments." Faith lays the axe at the root, and heals the stream at the fountain head.

3. Operative throughout the whole life. A diseased heart means a sickly man all over. Neither can you have the heart right without its telling upon the entire nature.

4. Permanent. Restrain appetites which still remain, and the dog returns to his vomit; purify externals and leave the nature untouched, and the sow that was washed goes back to her wallowing in the mire.

5. Acceptable with God, who searcheth the heart. Man judgeth according to the outward appearance, but God looketh at the heart.

IV. THE MODE OF ITS OPERATION.

1. Faith believes in sin as sin, and sees the horror of it as an offence against a holy and gracious God.

2. Faith delights to set Christ before the heart and to make it gaze upon His side pierced by sin, and therefore hates the sin which slew its best Friend.

3. Faith delighteth much in the Person of Christ, and therefore she sets before the soul His incomparable loveliness, as the well-beloved of saints. Thus is enkindled a vehement flame of love to Him, and this becomes a powerful purifier, for you cannot love Christ and love sin.

4. Faith has a wonderful art of realising her gracious privileges. What manner of persons then ought you to be?

5. Faith has yet further a wondrous power of bringing near the things to come. What could more effectually purify the heart than the vision of heaven which faith presents to us?

6. Power is gained by faith through pleading the promises of God. "Sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace."

7. Faith daringly lays hold upon the power of God Himself. How she smites the Philistines then!

8. Faith brings us real power to conquer sin by applying the blood of Christ. The blood of Jesus is the life of faith and the death of sin. All the saints overcome through the blood of the Lamb.

9. Faith gives us power against sin by mixing herself with all gospel ordinances — with hearing, communions, prayer, Bible study. Faith will enable you to draw nourishment out of ordinances, and make you vigorous against sin. 10. Faith rouses the new man to intense resistance of sin.

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

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KJV: And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;

WEB: God, who knows the heart, testified about them, giving them the Holy Spirit, just like he did to us.