Emphasis Preaching Journal

The primitive Christian church faced its first great crisis when it split into two divisions. One group, the Jerusalem church, believed that people had to become Jews first in order to become Christians. The second group, led by Paul, was a missionary church to the Gentiles. Though a Jew, Paul believed that faith in Jesus Christ was the only prerequisite for entry into the church. For a time, there was great tension between the two camps over the issue of justification by faith. The Jerusalem church was led by Jesus' closest friends, Peter, John, and James.