Last Updated on July 15, 2021
Differences between Methodist and Baptist – Methodist and Baptist are both denominations of the Christian religion. Both Baptist and Methodist churches practice baptism, confesses Jesus Christ as Savior, approves communion, in which the bread and wine symbolize the blood and body of Christ. Want to know about these great denominations? Read trough to learn more.
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Notable Differences Between Methodist and Baptist
The main difference between these two denominations is their take on baptism. For Methodist worshippers, baptism is a means of salvation and publicly declaring Christ and the process is done by sprinkling holy water. However, for Baptists, it occurs later in life with full immersion.
Methodist and Baptist
Both Methodist and Baptist are Christian faiths that trust in God, the Bible, and the works and instructions of Jesus who they acknowledge as Christ, the redeemer of humankind. They both believe in baptism and communion as fundamental sacraments but have different perspectives on baptism.
Methodists allow the baptism of infants, youth, and adults. They are not discriminating about individuals’ age and mental maturity.
They also allow different forms of baptism methods as they perform them with immersion, sprinkling, and pouring. For Methodists, communion is welcome to all.
Methodist
The history of the Methodist Church can be traced to the English preacher John Wesley who in the 1700’s taught the need for personal holiness and service to others. In large part, the Methodist tradition was born out of a desire for missional living.
This movement quickly spread from the United Kingdom to the United States and throughout the world through strong missionary work. Today, the Methodist church claims to have 80 million members worldwide. For Methodists, communion is welcome for all.
The Methodist Church also values acts of piety, including fasting, holy communion, and healthy living, to name but a few, emphasizing the importance of social holiness, missionary work, and service to the poor. Methodists participate in the creation of hospitals, schools, universities, orphanages, and popular kitchens.
Baptist
The beginnings of the Baptist Church date back to the early 17th century. Baptists only baptize to confess young people and adults. Infant baptism is not practiced because they believe that it should be administered only to people who can understand the true meaning of the rite.
They practice closed communion where the table is open only for baptized church members. A local Baptist church has an unrestricted hand to find and even ordain its own pastors, who are not appointed by the leaders of their church.
So, pastors can go from one church to another and can also be dismissed by the local church. Baptist women think that men are more apt to be pastors or elders.
10 Notable Distinctions Between Methodist and Baptist
1. Methodists practice infant baptism as well as adult baptism. Baptists practice only adult baptism.
2. Methodists perform baptism with immersion, sprinkling, and pouring while Baptists do their baptisms only with immersion.
3. The Methodist form of government is different from Baptist government. Bishops appoint pastors and they are appointed to a four-year term. The 4-year term can be extended by the bishop.
4. Historical Methodists believe in an experience called sanctification.
5. Methodists are generally less fundamental while Baptists are primarily fundamentalists.
6. The Methodist churches usually purge their membership rolls periodically of those that never show up. Baptist typically has twice as many members as attenders.
7. Methodists have a system of Episcopal Hierarchy of governance while Baptists have congregational independence.
8. Unlike the Methodist church, Baptists hold closed communions.
9. The Methodist Church believes that a person chooses to remain saved while Baptists maintain that once a person saved, the person is always saved and cannot fall from grace.
10. Methodists practice open communion in which the rite is open to all while Baptists carry out closed communions.
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