Article
Methodist vs Baptist: What's the Difference?
United Methodist Articles and Confession beside the Baptist Faith and Message on baptism, the Supper, the church, salvation, and the General Rules on drink.
On This Page
Methodists and Baptists in these texts both confess the Trinity, and they do not describe baptism, the church, or perseverance the same way. The United Methodist Articles of Religion (1) retain the baptism of young children and call it a sign of the new birth. The Baptist Faith and Message (3) defines baptism as immersion of a believer and a symbol of that believer’s faith.
Key Points
- Methodist Article XVII (1) says baptism is a sign of regeneration or the new birth, and that the baptism of young children is to be retained. Confession VI (2) says children are acceptable subjects for Christian baptism and should later confirm it by profession of faith.
- Baptist Faith and Message VII (3) says Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer, an act of obedience and a symbol, and a prerequisite to membership and the Lord’s Supper. What Does the Bible Say About Infant Baptism? quotes both at more length.
- Methodist Article XVIII (1) says the bread and cup are a partaking of the body and blood of Christ, and that transubstantiation cannot be proved by Holy Writ. Baptist Faith and Message VII calls the Supper a symbolic act that memorializes the Redeemer’s death.
- Baptist Faith and Message VI (3) says a New Testament church is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, with two offices, pastor/elder/overseer and deacon. Methodist Confession V (2) says the church is one, holy, apostolic, and catholic.
- Baptist Faith and Message V (3) says all true believers endure to the end and will never fall away from the state of grace. Methodist Article XII (1) says a person may depart from grace given and, by the grace of God, rise again. Can you lose your salvation? quotes both and does not decide.
- The General Rules (4) list drunkenness, buying or selling spirituous liquors, or drinking them, unless in cases of extreme necessity. The Baptist Faith and Message has no sentence of that kind.
- Both documents confess one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Is the Holy Spirit God? quotes Methodist Article IV and Baptist Faith and Message II.C.
Baptism
Baptism is not only a sign of profession and mark of difference whereby Christians are distinguished from others that are not baptized; but it is also a sign of regeneration or the new birth. The Baptism of young children is to be retained in the Church.
Confession VI (2) says baptism signifies entrance into the household of faith, is a symbol of repentance and inner cleansing, a representation of the new birth, and a mark of discipleship. Children are under the atonement of Christ and as heirs of the kingdom are acceptable subjects. Through baptism they become the special responsibility of the Church, to be nurtured toward personal acceptance of Christ and to confirm their baptism by profession of faith.
Baptist Faith and Message VII (3) requires a believer, specifies immersion in the Triune name, and calls the act a symbol of faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour. It is prerequisite to church membership and to the Supper. The two sentences do not describe the same subjects or the same mode. Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation? is the further question of whether the water saves. Neither of these two articles uses the sentence “baptism is necessary for salvation.”
The Lord’s Supper
Methodist Article XVIII (1) says the Supper is not only a sign of the love Christians ought to have among themselves, but a sacrament of redemption by Christ’s death, so that those who rightly, worthily, and with faith receive it partake of the body and blood of Christ. It says transubstantiation, the change of the substance of bread and wine, cannot be proved by Holy Writ, is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthrows the nature of a sacrament, and has given occasion to many superstitions. The body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten only after a heavenly and spiritual manner. The mean is faith.
Confession VI (2) calls the Supper a representation of redemption, a memorial of the sufferings and death of Christ, and a token of love and union. Those who rightly, worthily, and in faith eat and drink partake of the body and blood of Christ in a spiritual manner.
Baptist Faith and Message VII (3) says the Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate his second coming. It does not call the Supper a partaking of the body and blood. Baptist vs Catholic is the Baptist sentence beside the Catechism. Catholic vs Protestant quotes the Catechism on transubstantiation beside several Protestant confessions.
The Church
Baptist Faith and Message VI (3) says a New Testament church is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant, observing the two ordinances, and operating under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. Its two scriptural offices are pastor/elder/overseer and deacon. The page notes that this article was amended on 14 June 2023. The text on the page says that while both men and women are gifted for service, the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture. The same article also speaks of the church as the body of Christ, including all the redeemed of all ages.
Methodist Article XIII (1) says the visible church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men in which the pure Word of God is preached and the sacraments are duly administered according to Christ’s ordinance. Confession V (2) says the church is one, holy, apostolic, and catholic, the redemptive fellowship in which the Word is preached by men divinely called and the sacraments are duly administered. The Articles and the Confession fetched here do not contain the Baptist sentence that limits the office of pastor to men, and they do not contain the sentence that each congregation is autonomous.
Salvation
Baptist Faith and Message V (3) says all true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by his Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, and yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. Article IV says there is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
Methodist Article XII (1) says not every sin after justification is the sin against the Holy Ghost. After receiving the Holy Ghost, “we may depart from grace given, and fall into sin, and, by the grace of God, rise again and amend our lives.” What Is Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit? quotes the first sentence of that article. Can you lose your salvation? sets Article XII beside Baptist Faith and Message V and the other churches. This page does not add a verdict.
Drink, and What the Baptist Faith and Message Says About Sexual Immorality
The General Rules (4) are not an Article of Religion. Among the harms they name is “Drunkenness: buying or selling spirituous liquors, or drinking them, unless in cases of extreme necessity.” The Baptist Faith and Message, on the page fetched here, has no article forbidding drink.
Baptist Faith and Message XV (3) says Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. Article XVIII says marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. The United Methodist Articles of Religion and Confession of Faith fetched for this page do not contain a sentence on homosexuality. A United Methodist page on that subject was not returned when this article was written, so this page does not supply one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Methodists and Baptists Worship the Same God?
Confession I (2) and Baptist Faith and Message II (3) both say one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Is the Holy Spirit God? quotes the Spirit articles. The differences on this page are baptism, the Supper, the church, perseverance, and the General Rules.
Do Baptists Baptize Infants?
Not in Baptist Faith and Message VII (3). Methodist Article XVII (1) retains the baptism of young children. The household texts and the other churches are on What Does the Bible Say About Infant Baptism?.
Are Methodists Protestant?
What Do Protestants Believe? maps Methodist and Baptist churches on the Protestant side of Catholic vs Protestant. This page is the difference between these two.
The Churches on This Site
References
- Articles of Religion, Article XVII, Of Baptism (The United Methodist Church. Articles XII, XIII, and XVIII are on this page.)
- Confession of Faith, Article VI, The Sacraments (Confession of Faith of the Evangelical United Brethren Church, as published by The United Methodist Church. Articles I and V are on this page.)
- Baptist Faith and Message, Article VII (Baptist Faith and Message, 2000, Southern Baptist Convention. Articles II, V, VI, and XV are on this page. The page notes that Article VI was amended on 14 June 2023.)
- The General Rules of the Methodist Church (The United Methodist Church. These are the General Rules, not an Article of Religion.)
See Also
- Baptist vs Catholic: What's the Difference? — The Baptist Faith and Message beside the Catechism of the Catholic Church on authority, baptism, justification, Mary and the saints, the pope, and the Lord’s Supper.
- What Do Churches Say About the Prosperity Gospel? — The Cape Town Commitment, the Assemblies of God, the Southern Baptist Convention, and a Jesuit journal each publish a judgment on prosperity teaching. Cape Town also affirms a biblical vision of human prospering. This page quotes them and does not decide.
- Catholic vs Protestant: What's the Difference? — Catholics are Christians. The difference is authority, justification, the sacraments, Mary and the saints, purgatory, and the pope, in each church’s own words.
- What Do Protestants Believe? — Protestant churches confess the Trinity and treat Scripture as the rule of faith. They are not one denomination, and they are not outside Christianity.
- Can You Lose Your Salvation? What Each Church Teaches About "Once Saved, Always Saved" — Can a Christian lose salvation? Official teaching from Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, and other churches, with the King James verses each side cites.