BELIEFS
THE GOSPEL
At the core of Christianity is a message referred to as “the gospel”. The gospel is the good news that though we as people are more wicked than we dare to imagine, we are more loved by God than we dare to dream.
At the core of the gospel message is the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Son of God who became a man so he could live and die to rescue all of humanity from sin and judgement. Who He is and what He has done is what makes the gospel such good news.
Jesus lived a perfect life and died a necessary death on the cross so that He might be the substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of the world. Having done this, He was raised from death to new life by God the Father. This leaves the world with no doubt that our penalty for sin has been paid and God is mending all that is broken in the world because of it.
The Bible says that everyone who repents of their sin and puts their trust in Jesus will be saved from judgement and be invited to share in his new life — a life reconciled to God and empowered by His Spirit to help renew the world.
Embassy Church is a family of people who have been made alive by the gospel message and who now live to advance it in the city of Bloomington, on the campus of IU, and to the ends of the earth.
SHARED BELIEFS
THE SCRIPTURES
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is God’s infallible, inerrant Word, and our supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. All Scripture is a testimony to Jesus Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
GOD (FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT)
We believe there is one and only one living and true God, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. This eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe in Jesus Christ. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles and teachings. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people and personal, visible return in glory to judge the earth. We believe in the Holy Spirit, coeternal with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit inspired the Scripture, convicts of sin, calls people to salvation, transforms us to holiness and gifts the Body of Christ for service.
SALVATION
We believe salvation is God’s deliverance of people from His wrath through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and God’s ultimate work through Christ to restore all things to perfection in the new heavens and new earth. All of mankind has rebelled against God and is condemned to eternal death. Jesus, God’s Son, died in the place of sinners. Jesus rose from the dead, conquering sin & death. Through faith in Jesus, people can experience God’s forgiveness and have hope of eternal life with Him. One day Jesus will return to make all things new and all who know Jesus will be raised to life.
THE CHURCH
We believe in the universal church as the Body of Christ, including believers from every tribe, tongue, people and nation. We believe in the local church, consisting of a local family of believers, associated by covenant in the faith, seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. The scriptural officers of a local church are elders and deacons. Each local church is called to faithfully proclaim the Gospel, administer the symbolic ordinances of believers baptism and communion, and call its members to holy living.
THE KINGDOM AND LAST THINGS
We believe in the Kingdom of God & His final reign over all things. At present, Christians live under God’s rule while we wait for the fullness of God’s Kingdom that will be expressed at the return of Jesus. When he returns, Jesus will judge all mankind in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous, in their resurrected and glorified bodies, will dwell forever with Christ in the new heavens and new earth.