June 17

And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. ~ Acts 11:26

1 Kings 18:1-46
Acts 11:1-30
Psalm 135:1-21
Proverbs 17:12-13

New Testament: Acts 11:1-30

Summary: Peter Reports to the Church, The Church in Antioch

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.
~ From davidservant.com