The Early Church And Salvation Through Faith

By Scott Hayes


When it comes to belief in God, Jesus, a higher power, spiritual practice or no such belief, the United States constitution allows citizens the right to religious freedom. While this is the case, the predominant religion in the country is that of Christianity. In most cases, Christians believe in Salvation through Faith.

Largely based on the Bible books of Ephesians and Acts, most people believe that people are saved through faith alone. Whereas, there are a number of churches which require an individual to say a public prayer, followed by baptism before one can be truly saved. Whereas, there are others which believe all are the children of God and were saved when Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world.

Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox were the earliest forms of Christianity which were spread throughout Europe in the early days of the church. Later, the religion spread to the United States and beyond. Recent statistics now show that there are over two billion people whom now identify as Christians.

The earliest aspect of faith grew out of the Jewish population after Saul, a Jewish man later converted to Christianity and became a disciple of Christ known as Paul. After which, many Jews decided to follow in the footsteps of Paul and follow the teachings of Jesus, a mortal whom had been crucified and died for the sins of the world, then later rose again.

During the early days of the church, there was a split into the apostolic and post-apostolic branches of the religion. While the apostolic church was led by relatives of Christ whom were some of the earliest disciples, the post-apostolic churches are led by individuals whom have been taught the ways of the original leaders. In either case, the task is to spread the word of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior to the world.

In large part, Christianity is based solely on faith. For, there has never been anyone other than Paul whom has actually spoken with the risen Christ. While this is the case, there were many in that day whom believed that Paul's sighting and conversation was nothing more than a dream. As such, Christianity is a religion based solely on things unseen.

For, it is the book of Acts that provides a history of the Church and the command to spread the gospel and the message of salvation among the Gentiles and the Eastern Mediterranean by the apostle Paul and others. As a result, the book is often considered to hold the truth as to the original message of salvation by a number of churches. In fact, many Baptist church congregations use the gospel of Acts as a guide for salvation as well as day to day living.

The earliest Christians were generally of Jewish Heritage, many being relatives of Jesus, Jewish Mystics and proselytes. For, the first area in which Jesus preached was to the people of Palestine. In fact, many of the first disciples were also of Jewish heritage and traditions. As such, there are now a number of Christian churches which combine Christian and Jewish elements as part of regular worship services.




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