Yes, God does love gentiles, and He offers salvation to all nations (Galatians 3:8; 1 Timothy 2:4).
Yes, God does love gentiles, and He offers salvation to all nations (Galatians 3:8; 1 Timothy 2:4). The United Church of God takes the commission to preach to all nations seriously (Matthew 28:19), for example sending Good News magazines into 178 countries and territories and establishing congregations in 46 countries where God has called people to us.
Interestingly, the Bible talks a lot about both the promise of grace and about promises of national greatness that were to come through God's servant Abraham. We believe God fulfills all of His promises, and we try to take seriously all of His warnings.
The physical promises to Abraham involved physical greatness for his descendants: "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great" (Genesis 12:1-2). These physical promises were eventually passed on to Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, as birthright tribes of the nation of Israel (Genesis 48:15-19).
But because of Israel's sins, the blessings were withheld. There were only brief periods of greatness under a few righteous kings. But because of God's faithfulness, He eventually would bless Abraham's descendants with greatness. The descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh (who can be traced to Britain and the United States) have received the blessing of ascendance to national greatness. Ephraim has become a company of nations, and Manasseh has become a great nation. It is through these two that the prophecies of the Bible concerning Israel are being fulfilled (Genesis 48:16; 49:22-26). These prophecies include warnings to these nations.
Contained in the promises to Abraham was the promise of salvation to all men who would become Abraham's seed (his descendants). Paul understood that salvation was not just for Jews or Israelites, but for all humanity. He was shown that the "Seed" being referred to was Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:8, 14-16).
Paul also records that Jesus Christ came to confirm the promises made to the fathers and to cause the gentiles to glorify God (Romans 15:8-12).
The promise of salvation is not based on race, but on God's calling and individual repentance, regardless of race or national origin (Galatians 3:28).
For More Information, read or request our free booklets Fundamental Beliefs (chapter on "Promises to Abraham") and The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy (www.ucg.org/booklets ).
