English 
Chinese 
Dutch 
Arabic 
Spanish 
Portuguese 
Russian 
French 
Italian 
German 
Japanese 
Continue reading with a subscription
Get unlimited access to all our premium content and exclusive features.
Enjoy unlimited access, cancel anytime.
Summary
- Baptists and Pentecostals both baptize believers by immersion and teach salvation by grace through faith in Christ.
- The Southern Baptist confession says the Spirit baptizes every believer into the body of Christ at the moment of new birth; the Assemblies of God teaches a baptism in the Spirit “distinct from and subsequent to” new birth.
- Most Pentecostal churches, including the Assemblies of God, the Church of God (Cleveland) and the United Pentecostal Church International, hold that speaking in tongues is the first sign of Spirit baptism.
- The Southern Baptist Convention teaches that true believers never fall away; the Assemblies of God and the Free Will Baptists teach that a believer can be lost by turning away from Christ.
- The United Pentecostal Church International, a Oneness Pentecostal body, teaches that “There is one God, who has revealed Himself as Father; through His Son, in redemption; and as the Holy Spirit, by emanation”; Baptists and most Pentecostal bodies confess the Trinity.
- Baptists date from about 1609 in Amsterdam; the Pentecostal movement began in Topeka in 1901 and spread from the Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles in 1906.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version (Acts 2:4; 8:14-17; John 10:28; 1 Corinthians 12:13, 30; Hebrews 6:4-6), BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%201%3A8%3BActs%202%3A4%3BActs%208%3A14-17%3B1%20Corinthians%2012%3A13%3B1%20Corinthians%2012%3A30%3BJohn%2010%3A28%3BHebrews%206%3A4-6&version=ESV
- Southern Baptist Convention. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000, articles II, V, VI and VII. https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/
- National Association of Free Will Baptists. A Treatise of the Faith and Practices of the Original Free Will Baptists, “Perseverance of the Saints.” https://nafwb.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/13Treatise.pdf
- The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689), chapter 1. https://www.the1689confession.com/1689/chapter-1
- International Mission Board. “What is IMB’s policy related to speaking in tongues and private prayer languages?” https://www.imb.org/faq/what-is-imbs-policy-related-to-speaking-in-tongues-and-private-prayer-languages/
- Alan Cross. “IMB Trustees Reverse Restrictive Private Prayer Language and Baptism Policies.” SBC Voices, 13 May 2015, quoting Baptist Press. https://sbcvoices.com/breaking-news-imb-trustees-reverse-restrictive-private-prayer-language-and-baptism-policies/
- “Heroes of the Faith: John Smyth.” The Alabama Baptist. https://thealabamabaptist.org/heroes-of-the-faith-john-smyth/
- Pew Research Center. “2023-24 Religious Landscape Study: Religious identity,” 26 February 2025. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/religious-landscape-study-religious-identity/
- Assemblies of God (USA). Statement of Fundamental Truths, articles 1, 2, 5-8 and 12. https://ag.org/-/media/AGORGV2/Beliefs/Fundamental-Truths/Statement-of-Fundamental-Truths.pdf
- Assemblies of God (USA). “Position Paper on Assurance of Salvation,” adopted by the General Presbytery, 5-7 August 2017. https://ag.org/Beliefs/Position-Papers/Assurance-Of-Salvation
- Assemblies of God (USA). “History.” https://ag.org/About/About-the-AG/History
- Church of God in Christ. “What We Believe” (Holy Ghost, sanctification, ordinances). https://www.cogic.org/about-us/what-we-believe/
- Church of God in Christ. “Our History.” https://www.cogic.org/about-us/our-history/
- Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee). “Declaration of Faith.” https://churchofgod.org/beliefs/declaration-of-faith/
- United Pentecostal Church International. “Our Beliefs.” https://upci.org/our-beliefs/
- Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church. “About Us.” https://pfwb.org/about/
Leave a Reply