How Do I Know if I've Been Good Enough to Get Into Heaven?
A major argument was brewing in the early church and the key leaders knew it needed to be nipped in the bud. It is not overly dramatic to say the future of the Church depended on navigating this critical moment. At issue was the Gospel of Grace vs. following the Law of Moses.
This was – and is – the crucial spiritual question. It is what defines biblical Christianity and sets it apart from every other religion. It speaks directly to the title of this article: how do I know if I’ve been good enough to get into heaven?
We’ll get back to the answer, but let’s first set it up with this major Christian family fight from the first century.
The Christian Church emerged first as a sect of Judaism in Jerusalem. It soon branched out to include the Gentiles as well. This is where things started to get complicated. While many of the Jewish believers continued to follow the Law of Moses, even though they believed they were saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Gentiles, on the other hand, had never followed the Law of Moses. The Apostle Paul was teaching that they were saved by grace through faith and were not required to follow the law.
This did not sit well with a group of early Jewish believers who became known as “the Judaizers.” This segment of the early church believed that every Christian needed to follow the Jewish Law. The clash between the Judaizers and those on the side of salvation by grace alone – including the Apostles Peter and Paul – was inevitable.
Read the full article on Inspiration.org
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