SO...whom DOES God love?

Someone recently asked, Can God love someone who does good but does not worship Him?

The Scriptures of God offer a very clear "yes" answer to that question.

GOD LOVES ALL MEN AND EVERY MAN

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him (i.e., His Son).  John 3:16-17

But God demonstrates His own love for us in that even while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

But God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their tresspasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.  2 Corinthians 5:18-19.

Repeatedly, God's Word assures us that no matter the condition of a person's heart, whether he/she worships Him or not, God has loved and does love every person.

A SECOND QUESTION...

But there is a second question implied in the first one.  It might be stated something like this:  Will someone who does good things, but does not worship God, be spared from the wrath of God against his unforgiven sin?

Again the Bible is very clear about this.  Even someone who attempts to do good things in life still has a personal sin problem.  And that sin, when appraised by a thoroughly righteous and holy God, requires justice.  Romans 6:23 - "the wages of sin (or the penalty of sinning) is death...."  In God's system of justice, good works do not cancel out the death penalty of personal sin.  The penalty can indeed be canceled -- such is God's offered gift to everyone  -- but it must be cancelled through the substitutionary death of Christ, who paid for that sin, and whose sacrifice must be trusted in by the sinner, no matter how "good" that person has tried to be.

Paul said it to the jailmaster in Philippi, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31).  God loves us all, those who do good and those who do evil.  Christ died for all.  And all must trust, not in their own goodness, but in Christ's sacrifice, if they desire to enjoy the eternal benefits of God's grace and love.