What We Believe

The following are the core beliefs of Maplewood Baptist Church based on the foundational truths taught in the bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines. For more, see the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.

There is one eternally existing God who has three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He is the creator of all that exists, both visible and invisible, and is therefore worthy of all glory and praise.  God is perfect in love, power, holiness, goodness, knowledge, wisdom,  justice, and mercy. He is unchangeable and therefore is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

The Bible is God's infallible, inerrant, unchanging Word to humanity that reveals His beautiful plan of redemption for a lost world. The Bible is God's Word and as such is the divine objective truth from which all understanding must be centered on.

Humans, both male and female, were created in God's image for His glory. The first humans, Adam and Eve, were created without sin and appointed as caretakers of the rest of God's creations. Mankind, being created in God's image, means we can uniquely have a personal relationship with God. However, that relationship was broken in the Fall.

When Adam and Eve chose not to obey God, they ceased to be what they were made to be and became distorted images of God. This caused them to fall out of fellowship with God, and fractured all of creation ever since that time. Now, all humanity has inherited a sinful nature, meaning we are all disobedient and sinful before a perfect and holy God. We must be made clean and blameless of all sin in order for us to have a right relationship with God once again.

Jesus Christ came to reconcile us with God. This means He came to mend the relationship with God that has been broken by our sin. He lived a life without sin and willingly died on the cross to pay the penalty for our transgressions. His death on the cross allows fro all who believe in Him to be forgiven, made clean and blameless, of all sin before God. God raised him from the dead and now, by grace, offers as a free gift eternal life to all who follow Christ, by faith, as their Lord and Savior. That is why salvation can be found in Christ alone.

The Church is meant to be the visible body of Christ, sent into the world to glorify God and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. The church is not a building but a people. The people gather in a building each week to join together in fellowship, accountability, praise, study, and prayer. This prepares the body of Christ to be the hands and feet of Christ each week.

Jesus Christ is returning one day to judge both the living and the dead and to usher in the fullness of God's kingdom on earth. We will be united with Christ, fully reconciled to a sinless relationship with our Lord and creator for all eternity.

Baptism is an outward sign of an inward faith. Baptism is not the action that saves but is an action declaring to the world you are saved. It is a symbol of a heart that has gone from death in sin to life in Christ. The act of baptism is used to signify that you profess Christ as Lord of your life and that you will follow Him as a disciple forever.