in Him Whom He sent — this is what is required first of all for entering the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life.

Faith in Jesus as a Prerequisite for Entry into the Kingdom of Heaven

Yes, this is the first step on the path to salvation. Before the coming of Christ, the Jews, although they believed in God, often departed from Him and worshipped idols, and then, under the influence of their teachers, they forgot how to understand the Scriptures and came to a false idea of God and the purpose of man. People of other nations, although they were aware that there was a Supreme Being who ruled the world, that is, God, but their understanding of God did not extend beyond the limits that were expressed in the inscription over one of the altars in Athens:

To the Unknown God. Yes, before the coming of Christ, God was an Unknown God for people.

But in order to accept all this as an indisputable truth, in order to believe it, it is necessary to be convinced that Jesus Christ could not speak unrighteousness; but even such a conviction is not enough: it is necessary to be convinced that when He preached, He did not err, but knew for certain everything He spoke about, and since only God could know this, then we must believe in Him as in the incarnate God. Studying His life, teaching, and the miracles of His omnipotence, we must admit that He was not only a man, but also God, that is, the God-man; and His resurrection should finally strengthen this faith in us. Having reached such faith, and consequently to the knowledge of God's will, we can already consciously do God's works, that is, fulfill His will.

That is why Jesus says:

so that you can