The Full Gospel

What is the Gospel?

The Gospel is the most important teaching of the Christian Church. The word Gospel means 'good news'. So, the Gospel is the good news that God loves us. We have rejected God; nobody keeps all of God's laws. We live our own lives and do the things that please us. We deserve God's punishment. But God still cares about us.

This is why God sent his son, Jesus, to die for us. In ancient times, people used to kill animals as a sacrifice, and give those animals to God. The animals died, so that the people could pray to God (Hebrews 9:18-22). But the sacrifice of an animal is not enough to take away our sins (Hebrews 10:4). God told the people to sacrifice animals because he wanted to show them that their sins were serious - so serious that somebody would have to die to pay the price for their forgiveness.

Jesus, God's son, is our sacrifice for sin. In fact, he is the only sacrifice for sin - no other sacrifice is needed; and no other sacrifice is acceptable to God (Hebrews 10:11-18). Because he died, we can be forgiven by God. We should turn from our evil behaviour and trust in God.

What is the full Gospel?

Some churches believe that forgiveness of sins is the only thing that we receive from God when we become Christians. They think that this is the only thing that Jesus achieved for us. We are glad that they believe this, because this is the most important thing for them to believe. Everybody who confesses their sins to God and trusts in God has become a true Christian. They become members of the family of God and so are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

But the Bible teaches that God wants to do other things for us too. The Christian faith begins with salvation - but it does not end there. There are always new challenges to face; and new blessings to receive. God wants us to live by his his Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:25).

When the Pentecostal churches were first formed at the beginning of the last century, somebody thought of the term "the Foursquare Gospel" to summarise four key points that the Bible teaches about Jesus. (The word 'foursquare' came from Revelation 21:16 KJV, where it describes the new Jerusalem - the heavenly city that God is preparing for us.) We do not often use the term "Foursquare Gospel" today; but we do use the term "Full Gospel". This reminds us that Jesus, as well as being our saviour, is important to us for other reasons too.

We are a mainstream Christian church that believes the whole Bible. As Pentecostals, we teach these four principles about Jesus. Jesus is:-

• Our saviour. He died to suffer the punishment for our sins, that is, for the wrong things that we all have done against God. The Bible says, 'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.' (John 3:16 NIV).
• Our healer. Just as Jesus worked many miracles of healing during his ministry on earth, he still heals people today. We are pleased to pray with or for anyone who needs God's help or healing. The Bible says, 'But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.' (Isaiah 53:5 NIV).
• Our Baptiser in the Holy Spirit. God gives to us his Holy Spirit to help us to live our lives as Christians. The Bible says, 'Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.' (Acts 2:38 NIV).
• Our coming King. The Bible teaches that Jesus will return to this earth; that he will judge everyone; and that he will be King forever. The Bible says, '...The dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.' (Revelation 21:3-4 NIV).

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