Before Jesus’ time, were the Gentiles able to be saved?

[bdavidc]

When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” ~ Acts 11:18

Before Jesus’ time, were the Gentiles able to be saved?

The truth is, however, that God offered salvation to Gentiles long before there were any descendants of Israel, and you may be surprised that a man named Abraham is a prime example of a Gentile who received God’s salvation. Abraham of course was not a Jew; neither was he a descendant of Israel. Rather he was Israel’s (Jacob’s) grandfather. Yet according to Genesis 15:16, God declared Abraham to be righteous because of his faith. Paul mentioned this fact about Abraham in his letters to the Romans and Galatians as he argued that salvation is offered now to both Jews and Gentiles by faith (see Rom. 4:3; Gal. 3:6). If Abraham—who appears early in Genesis and who lived hundreds of years before the giving of the Law of Moses—was declared righteous by God, this proves that Gentiles could be forgiven and declared righteous by God long before Jesus was born.

#biblestudy #dailybible

Know the Bible

 

[B-A-C]

Nineveh was a Gentile city.

 

[B-A-C]

Rahab wasn't Jew. Ruth wasn't a Jew. Technically Abraham wasn't a Jew.

 

[KingJ]

Abraham's bosom housed all repented sinners in the OT. We see this in the story of Lazarus and the rich man Luke 16:19-31.

God is impartial Acts 10:34, His will has always been simply for mankind to repent of their sins Luke 5:32, Psalm 51:17.

Many today think that our ability to believe the unseen is seen carries weight with God. It does not. We are made a Christian by the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, nobody can call Jesus Lord 1 Cor 12:3. God draws near to us, gives us saving faith when we repent of our sins James 4:8.

You mention 'Abraham's faith' carried weight with God. It is very important for Christians to explain exactly what faith Abraham had. Abraham did not merely believe in ''the unseen being seen''. He had faith in God being good. He knew that this good God had one hell of a good reason for asking him to sacrifice his son. He had perfect trust and faith in God being good. We see this in how he interrogated God on the destruction of Sodom in Gen 18.

Faith - Perhaps the most mistaught topic

 

[Bob Carabbio]

When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” ~ Acts 11:18

Before Jesus’ time, were the Gentiles able to be saved?

Before Jesus time, NOBODY was able to be saved in the New Testament sense of the term.

But people COULD have FAITH, and the Holy Spirit was completely capable of communicating with humans, and did so. Job wasn't a "Jew", and neither was Abram.

 

[Soyeong]

When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” ~ Acts 11:18

Before Jesus’ time, were the Gentiles able to be saved?

The truth is, however, that God offered salvation to Gentiles long before there were any descendants of Israel, and you may be surprised that a man named Abraham is a prime example of a Gentile who received God’s salvation. Abraham of course was not a Jew; neither was he a descendant of Israel. Rather he was Israel’s (Jacob’s) grandfather. Yet according to Genesis 15:16, God declared Abraham to be righteous because of his faith. Paul mentioned this fact about Abraham in his letters to the Romans and Galatians as he argued that salvation is offered now to both Jews and Gentiles by faith (see Rom. 4:3; Gal. 3:6). If Abraham—who appears early in Genesis and who lived hundreds of years before the giving of the Law of Moses—was declared righteous by God, this proves that Gentiles could be forgiven and declared righteous by God long before Jesus was born.

#biblestudy #dailybible

Know the Bible

People were saved through faith in the promise before the time of Jesus in the same way we are (Genesis 15:6). In Matthew 4:15-23, Jesus began his ministry with the Gospel message to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand, which was a light to the Gentiles, and the Mosaic Law was how his audience knew what sin is (Romans 3:20), so repenting from our disobedience to it is a central part of the Gospel message, which was in accordance with Jesus being sent as the fulfillment of the promise to bless us by turning us from our wickedness (Acts 3:25-26), which is the Gospel that was made known in advance to Abraham in accordance with the promise (Galatians 3:8), which he spread to Gentiles living in Haran in accordance with the promise (Genesis 12:1-5).

In Genesis 18:19, God knew Abraham that he would teach his children and those of his household to walk in God's way by doing righteousness and justice that the Lord may bring to him all that He has promised. In Genesis 26:4-5, God will multiply Abraham's children as the stars in the heaven, to his children he will give all of these lands, and through his children all of the nations of the earth will be blessed because Abraham heard God's voice and guarded His charge, His commandments, His statutes, and His laws. In Deuteronomy 30:16, if the children of Abraham love the Lord their God with all of their heart by guarding His statutes, commandments, and laws, then they will live and multiply and God will bless them in the land that they go to posses. So the promise was made to Abraham and brought about because he walked in God's way in obedience to His law, he taught His children and those of his household to do that, and because they did that.

In Psalms 119:1-3, the Mosaic Law is how the children of Abraham knew how to be blessed by walking in His way, and in John 8:39, Jesus said that if they were children of Abraham, then they would be doing the same works as him, so the way that the children of Abraham are multiplied are are a blessing to the nations in accordance to with inheriting the promise through faith is by turning the nations from their wickedness and teaching them to walk in God's way in obedience the Mosaic Law in accordance with spreading the Gospel. In Psalms 119:29-30, he wanted to put false ways far from him, for God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey the Mosaic Law, and he chose the way of faithfulness by the Mosaic Law being on his heart, so this has always been the one and only way of salvation by grace through faith.

 

[Jonathan_Gale]

Rahab wasn't Jew. Ruth wasn't a Jew. Technically Abraham wasn't a Jew.

Yes, in biblical definition, the term "Jew" is technically defined as people of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin in the southern kingdom of Judah, started from Rohoboam after Solomon, while Ephraim splitted and went pagan. Before that, nobody was a "Jew", all were Gentiles.

 

[paths that cross]

The book of Daniel tells of the resurrection of the dead as well as Isaiah.

Dan 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

Isa 26:19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.