Thank you for your comment. I did not take the scripture out of context. It is only through faith in Jesus and what he has done for us on the Cross that we can be saved. If, as it seems you are saying by your response and your "About me" page that His death saved EVERYONE in the world regardless of what they believe, then there would be no reason for you to even have replied because it wouldn't matter what I said. Nor would there have been any need for God to have written the Bible, or told His disciples to preach the Gospel. This idea is in conflict with what the Bible teaches. Just read the encounter of Jesus with Nicodemus in John 3 and you will see that it is not automatic salvation for all. In the scripture that follows, John the Baptist makes the point as well. These are just two small examples. The 3 references you stated, have been taken out of context. Romans 3:22, I'm not sure what version you are using, but every version I've looked at does not match what you have written. They all say something like "who believe" or "all who believed". Since you have "unto all" in brackets I suspect it means that you know it is not in the verse. You've misquoted the verse. Ephesians 2:8 states clearly that it is through faith (believing) in Christ is how we are saved. That faith comes from God, but it is still incombent on us to act on that faith. 2 Corinthians 5:19, when seen in context (5:12-20), is talking about people who are in Christ and therefore a new creation (verse 17) and verse 20 that we are ambasssdors for Christ, imploring the world to be reconiled. If it were an automatic salvation for the whole world, then there is no need for ambassadors.
Yes, we are saved by God's actions, not our own, but we do need to believe (trust completely in what God has done) to be saved.
About division, it is not always a bad thing. For example: Matthew 10:34-39 Jesus tells us that He came to bring division, even within our own family and that we need to be willing to give up our lives, not retain them, or we are not worth of Him. Jesus brings division because some will not believe and therefore will not receive eternal life (Revelation 21:8). Marlin | 
back to top
