How is the Assembly of God church different from the Baptist church?

Answer

The way they believe it but there isn't much difference it's mostly what they do.

Differences in Doctrine:

First, anyone who responds to this question will have a bias. Typically, that includes those who primarily hold to either the Baptist or the Assembly of God doctrine, as well as those who want to harmoniously bridge all differences so that everyone gets along. Additionally, some will be emphatic that it is your own personal experience in the church that matters and not the trivialities of any particular doctrine.

The Assembly of God doctrine is commonly referred to as the "16 Fundamental Truths of the Assemblies of God". The points listed below are from a subset of this which they call their "four cardinal doctrines".

Even though I am a baptist in doctrine, I hold no ill intent for those of the Assembly of God persuasion. However, there are seriously disturbing deviations from the bible's teaching in the Assembly of God doctrine. These include:

1. You can lose your salvation - a person can "fall from grace". Have to maintain a certain level of spirituality to remain saved. It is in effect, a "works" salvation.

2. The unbiblical confusion of speaking in tongues - taught as a necessary result of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Those who defend this often change the subject and defend the practice of speaking on tongues. Not the issue here! The point is whether speaking in tongues is a necessary sign as to whether a person has received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

3. Hands-on faith-healing services. Though the Bible does teach us to pray for the sick, there is NO GUARANTEE that everyone will be healed. They teach that Jesus died on the cross to guarantee us physical healing. This practice includes "Slaying in the Spirit".

Answer

As an Assembly of God member who once attended a Baptist church, here's my take. Often the diverse nature of both denominations is not taken into account.

1. There often arises misunderstanding on the Assemblies of God position on this topic. Yes, we do believe in the possibility of salvation being lost. But no, we do not generally believe that one has to "maintain a certain level of spirituality to remain saved." We emphatically do not believe that we lose our salvation every time we sin - if so, none of us would make it. But we do believe that as salvation is through faith, we will lose our salvation if we renounce our faith. Individual sins will not forfeit salvation, but continuous sin can - and ultimately will, if not renounced - seriously undermine our faith. If our faith dies, so does our salvation. I should point out that there are Baptists who believe and teach this doctrine, too - David Pawson being a well-known example (he takes this teaching much, much further than the Assemblies of God do, by the way - see his book, "Once Saved, Always Saved?").

2. We do teach that speaking in tongues is the evidence of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. Some of us would state that less dogmatically than others, but it is our official doctrine. The simple fact is that the apostles asked for no other sign that a believer was baptized in the Holy Spirit. This teaching, of course, presupposes a distinction between being born again and being baptized in the Holy Spirit - a distinction that some Baptist churches deny. Once again, however, some Baptists believe in this distinction as fervently as Pentecostals do, and I have heard it preached from at least one Baptist pulpit.

3. The Assemblies of God do not "guarantee" healing to everyone. We do teach that healing is in the Atonement, and I make no apology for that. But we recognize that not everybody gets healed. Why not is a difficult question. My own answer is like sickness, death itself is also broken by the Atonement - but all of us are going to die of something sooner or later, unless Jesus comes back in the meantime. Does that mean that the Atonement is void? No, but we'll have to wait until the resurrection of the righteous before we can experienced the totality of its provisions. By the way, I have attended Baptist services in which I have seen the laying on of hands, slaying in the Spirit, etc., every bit as much as in the Assemblies of God. It is important not to omit the diversity of Baptist theology.

First answer by ID2181938713. Last edit by Davidcannon. Contributor trust: 42 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 16 [recommend question]