October 31, 2017 was the 500th anniversary of one of the most momentous events in Church history, the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The reformers wrote quite clearly that they did not set out to divide the Church, but to reform and restore the Church to its biblical mission of preaching the pure Gospel. Yet their message of sola fide, sola gratia, sola scriptura, and direct access to God was not well-received by the vested powers that be and so they were maligned, persecuted, excommunicated, and even martyred. While division was not desired, truth necessarily divides. That's just the way it is in a fallen world.
Whereas Christians can disagree on a hundred different things and fine points of doctrine, they must never disagree in regards to the Gospel for it is the very message of salvation. Christ died for us while we were yet sinners. His blood covers our sins entirely. The work and the glory are God's alone and as the history of mankind has clearly shown, there is simply no standard that people can keep, thus salvation is appropriated as an irrevocable gift of love only on the basis of faith. Just as one solitary act brought death to all mankind--Adam eating the forbidden fruit--so one single death, the death of Christ, in conjunction with His subsequent resurrection, brings atonement, salvation, and life to all who believe.