Beliefs

The truths we hold as essential for members and leadership at Emmaus Church.

Essentials for Membership

Scripture

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible, and God-breathed. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Matthew 5:18)

God

We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - co-eternal in being, co-eternal in nature, co-equal in power and glory, having the same attributes and perfections. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; Luke 1:30-35; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

Jesus

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in order that he might reveal God and redeem sinful mankind (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35). We believe that Jesus accomplished our redemption through death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by His literal and physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:24; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 3-5). We believe that Jesus ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry as our Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 9:24; Romans 8:24; 1 John 2:1-2). We believe that Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead (1 Peter 4:5; Romans 14:9; 2 Timothy 4:1).

The Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration and baptizes all believers into the body of Christ, the Church. (John 16:8-11; 2 Corinthians 12:12-13; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 5:18)

Humanity

We believe that mankind was created in the image and likeness of God (imago dei), but that through Adam's sin, the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Humanity is totally depraved and, of himself, is utterly and unable the remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23, 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12).

salvation

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to mankind by grace and received by personal faith in the Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins and for the doing of good works for His glory (Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12; Ephesians 1:71 Peter 1:18-19; Colossians 1:10).

the church

We believe that the church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons (Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:12). We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27, 18:22, 20:17; 1 Timothy 3:1-3; Titus 1:5-11).

Essentials for Leadership

The 1689 Confession (2nd LBC)

As a leadership community we believe it's important for us to be united around a more robust set of doctrines. We also think it's important for those doctrines to be transparent and available to our community, so that you know what your leaders believe and have a good resource to hold your leaders accountable to those beliefs.


As a church we value Word Centrality. This means that even our confession must submit itself to Scripture, but with a few minor exceptions, the leadership team believes the 1689 Confession is a great summary of our biblical faith and practice.