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Does God love everyone or just Christians?

"God is love" (1 John 4:8b). The very essence of God's character includes love. This means that God cannot be unloving. God loves everyone. We also see explicit evidence of this in Scripture. Romans 5:8 tells us, "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." God's love was not given to us when we became Christians; He loved us as sinners. The very act of creation demonstrates God's love for humanity. He brought us into being that we would be in relationship with Him. So, yes, God does love everyone.

However, this love is balanced by God's justice. While God does love everyone, relationship with Him is restored only through the sacrifice of Jesus. God loves those who do not yet know Him, and He longs for them to turn to Him (2 Peter 3:9). He will woo them to Himself and give them opportunity to come to saving faith, but He will not deny His justice. So only those who have been saved by grace through faith will experience God's love for eternity.

So, yes, God does love everyone. But only those who follow God can enter into the fullness of His love for them.

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