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NASB | Mark 16:16 "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 2015 |
Mark 16:16 "He who has believed [in Me] and has been baptized will be saved [from the penalty of God's wrath and judgment]; but he who has not believed will be condemned. |
Subject: Is baptism for salvation? (Mark 16:16) |
Bible Note: It is true. Look it up and you will find a long conversation, accusations, different opinions, and no agreement. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could come to a place like this and find an authoritative answer? Different verses seem to say different things. It would be nice if someone could give a comprehensive answer that takes all those verses into account, explaining them without explaining any of them away. But that means digging deep. And to dig deep means you have to leave family and denomination and even friends behind. Ask any miner. But that is hard to do, and it takes time. It’s taken me a long time to come to the conclusion that baptism should be embraced by anyone claiming faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. He wants to do it because his Lord did it. He wants to do it whether or not it is a part of the salvation plan. He figures (not to place a pun on the 1 Peter 3 passage) that it goes well with his profession of repentance. He has decided to give up his way for God's way. Now, if the Lord wants it, that is all that matters. Baptism is usually done when a person is newly saved. He realizes that there are so many things he does not understand. He is leading with his heart, if you will, not his head. He is trusting and not feeling; not intellectualizing either. If Jesus says do it, he’ll do it. If he refuses to do it, that is a bad sign. It does not bespeak a good conscience toward God. It is not something to debate about, he says, it something to be done, as soon as possible, because the Lord he loves desires it. There’s more to it, I’m sure, but it does take time to say it, and right now I do not have it because the next appointment calls. But if you need to be baptized, if you are saved, I trust you will have done it by the time that I get back. |