Members of the Assemblies of God have a deep appreciation for the spiritual blessing promised sincere believers in the New Testament. Because they place a high value on salvation and the gifts of Heaven, they are also deeply committed to sharing their beliefs through evangelistic and mission efforts. Sadly, some of the beliefs of these earnest Christians are incorrectly based on tradition or a misunderstanding of Scripture.
Following are some of the beliefs held by the Assemblies of God which are inconsistent with Scripture:
- The very first doctrinal dispute faced by the early leaders of the Assemblies of God was the issue of a triune godhead. Ultimately, the church decided in favor of the traditional view of a three-in-one God. This is unfortunate, as the doctrine of a trinity is based on paganism, not Scripture which declares: "Hear O Israel: Yahuwah our Eloah is one!" (Deuteronomy 6:4) The Bible makes plain that Yahushua, while born of a virgin, is a human being - not a diety.
- Assemblies of God teach that before the Second Coming of Yahushua, the saints, both living and dead, will be caught up to Heaven in a rapture preceding the Biblically prophesied Great Tribulation, or Time of Trouble. Such a belief contradicts Scripture which clearly places the return of Yahushua to gather all His children after the Great Tribulation. From Noah and his family, to the three worthies, to the Saviour Himself, Yahuwah has always preserved His people through great trials, rather than removing them from the trials. Heaven's command to go out of Babylon is for the specific purpose of protecting Yah's people who are still in the earth from receiving the plagues. Yahushua Himself promised: "He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." (Matthew 24:13)
- Assemblies of God teach that all who reject salvation will suffer in conscious torment for all eternity. This contradicts Scripture which reveals that death, not eternal life in torment, is the punishment of the wicked: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of Eloah is eternal life through Yahushua the Annointed our Lord." (Romans 6:23)
- The ability to speak in a foreign tongue is one of the gifts of the Spirit listed in Scripture and there are documented modern occurrences where this has happened. The vast majority of modern glossalalia, however, is gibberish that no one can understand. The gift of tongues was given for the spreading of the gospel and, when genuinely from the Holy Spirit, is alwaysunderstood. Paul gently cautioned against gibberish with no meaning, explaining that such accomplished nothing but edification of self, which is inconsistent with the character of the meek and lowly One.
Yahuwah reads the heart and sees the love which the members of the Assemblies of God hold for Him. He longs to draw them into still closer intimacy and calls on all to step free of the errors entwined in this system of belief, to join Him in fullness of truth.
