Maple Drive Presbyterian is a Reformed church body. We hold to the the Westminster Standards (The Westminster Confession of Faith, The Larger Catechism and The Shorter Catechism) as our Confession of Faith. The following statements are a summary of what we believe.
We believe the Bible is the written Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error in the original manuscripts. The 66 books that make up the Old and New Testament are given by inspiration of God to be our only rule of faith and practice.
We believe in the Holy Trinity. There is one God, who exists eternally in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each member of the Trinity is the same in substance and co-equal in power and glory. God created all things out of nothing and continues to uphold all things by the word of his power. God alone is the fountain of all being, blessedness and goodness.
We believe that God created all things in the space of 6 days and all very good. But the first man he created, Adam, sinned against God, along with his wife Eve. Adam's choice allowed sin and death to enter the world, and because Adam was our first father and representative before God, therefore all mankind sinned in him and fell with him in his first sin. Mankind is now fallen, totally depraved by nature and unable to save himself from God’s wrath. All men are in need of salvation through the personal Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
We believe that man cannot save himself from his sins, nor do anything deserving of salvation, but can only receive salvation from God as a gift of sheer grace. God sovereignly chooses those He will save, by regenerating their hearts by the Holy Spirit, opening their eyes to see their sinfulness and need for a savior, renewing their wills and moving their hearts to see the beauty of Christ and embrace him as their Lord and Savior.
We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, and is fully divine. At the incarnation He was conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, born as a man, taking to himself a real human nature. Jesus is now eternally both fully God and fully man. Jesus in his human nature was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. He obeyed the Law of God perfectly, died as a substitute for the sins of His people, rose again bodily from the grave on the third day, and ascended into heaven.
We believe that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. We receive this salvation from God when he justifies us, or finds us not guilty in his judgment. Justification is an act of God's free grace, in which he pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.
We believe that God has promised to be a God to us and to our children after us. He has always related to his people not only as individuals, but according to families, and remembers his covenant promises.
We believe that the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, indwells God’s people at the moment of regeneration. The Spirit enables us to put our faith in Christ, to die more and more unto sin and live more and more unto righteousness. The Holy Spirit comforts, convicts, instructs and guides the believer in life.
We believe Jesus Christ is not only our Savior, but is also our Lord. The way we live matters to God, therefore we ought to do all we do to the glory of God and to bring honor to his name by living lives of humble obedience to his will and trust in his goodness.
We believe that one day Jesus Christ will return, bodily and visibly, to judge all mankind and to receive His people to Himself. All who have died will be raised up, some to everlasting life in heaven, and some to everlasting judgment in hell.
We believe that marriage is between one man and one woman.