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Does Romans 5:18 Teach Universal Salvation?

At Romans 5:18 we read in the King James Version of the Bible that,
“Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all
men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one
the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.”

This verse like many others misapplied by adherents and teachers of


“universal reconciliation,” also known as “universal salvation,” is used
as a proof-text for this false teaching based on the last part of the
verse.

This verse is in no way teaching that all men are going to be saved, or
are now saved, for the Apostle Paul is merely stating that just as by
one man, sin came into the world, so too, by one man redemption and
eternal life were made available to all. Paul also makes it clear in his
other epistles, as does Jesus, that this free gift is conditioned upon
repentance of sin and trusting in Christ as one's Savior. This free gift,
therefore, is NOT automatically bestowed upon all mankind as the
universal reconciliation doctrine would have us believe, nor is it made
available after death to those who died in their sins (unsaved) as
Hebrews 9:27 so clearly points out. This free gift is bestowed only
upon all who have repented of their sins and put their trust in Jesus
Christ. The word “all” here is the Greek word “pas” and refers to “all
within a group,” and this group that “all” is refering to are those who
have met the conditions of receiving the free gift which are
repentance of sin, and placing one's trust in Jesus Christ this side of
eternity. A modern example of this usage of the word all in this
context would be, a person with a group at a table in a restaurant
invites all at the table to his home to watch a movie. “All” here would
not be referring to everyone in the restaurant, but to all within that
group. So too, the free gift of God is made available to all mankind as
a whole, but is given only to all within a group who repent of their sins
and place their trust in Jesus Christ this side of eternity.

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