Are Christians Protected by God?

The good news is that what Jesus offers is free. It is there for anyone who will "take up the cross and follow him". You do not have to earn God's Grace. It is simply given to all believers. Jesus has already paid the price for all of us on the cross. None of us is worthy of his grace, as we are all sinners, but it is there none the less.

Because there is profound evil in the world (contrary to what a lot of people today think), Christians are just as vulnerable,as non-believers,if not more so. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we are given the strength to overcome adversity that might otherwise destroy us. The difference between the deaths of the unbelievers in Nanking, for instance, and the Christian missionaries and believers, would have been that in their hour of unspeakable tragedy, the Christians knew that their God was present guiding them and leading them out of the darkness. They were not alone. I'd like to think that, at that moment, they were able to find the "peace that passeth all understanding".

So I guess that my statement that unbelievers are not under his protection was too simplistic at best. Christians have been persecuted throughout history for their beliefs, so to think that nothing bad ever happens to them because they are "protected" by God is certainly not the case. On the contrary. God does not promise that nothing bad will happen to us, just that he is always with us even "in the Valley of the Shadow of Death", offering comfort and the promise of eternal life.

None of us can say who will and will not be saved. I would like to believe that every person in the world who lives a good and honest life, helping his fellow man, and doing no harm, intentionally, to anyone, will be saved, whatever his or her "religion".

I don't believe God cares about the earthly "labels" that humans put on themselves. As a Christian however, I have certain beliefs and do not judge anyone else who believes differently. Fortunately, none of us has to decide one another's salvation. That is in the hands of the Almighty.