You Don’t Have to Be Jewish to Be Part of God’s Family

This page is only a stub, but it was important to me to get something posted ASAP because I recently read something written by a Christian believer who claimed you have to be physically descended from Abraham in order to be one of God’s children. (He also apparently felt that because he was a born-again believer it proved that he actually WAS physically descended from Abraham.) 

Let’s see what the Bible says. 

John the Baptist said, “Don’t think to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.” Matthew 3:9 (WEB).

God can in fact do anything. A friend of my mother’s had a colorblind son who was healed of color blindness on the way home from a miracle service.  Color blindness is a genetic condition.  Did God heal that little boy’s DNA?  Or did He simply enable him to see colors despite his DNA?  I have no way of knowing. But I agree with John the Baptist:  God can in fact make Jews from stones.

So where does God get His children?

Before His Crucifixion, Jesus’ earthly ministry seems to have been focused almost entirely on His fellow Jews.  When He sent His apostles out, “Jesus sent these twelve out, and commanded them, saying, “Don’t go among the Gentiles, and don’t enter into any city of the Samaritans. Rather, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 10:5-6 WEB) And right before He proceeded to heal her daughter, Jesus told the Canaanite woman, “I wasn’t sent to anyone but the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Matthew 15:24 (WEB).  However, once He started talking about laying down His life so that He could take it up again, He told His disciples, “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd.” (John 10:16 WEB).  

After the Resurrection, things would change. After Jesus’ resurrection, He told His disciples, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 (WEB). In God’s family, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua.” (Galatians 3:28 WMB)

And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say: “Come!”
And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wants it take the water of life free of charge. (Rev. 22:17 NET)

(For more on becoming part of God’s family, see Messianic Milestones.)

Margot Armer