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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 | 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: My dear friend: There are some who have made diligent search of the word of God and have come to the conclusion that a person is saved the instant they put their faith in the Lord. Others believe a person is not saved until he dies and has kept the faith. Some believe that faith must be proved in an act of obedience such as baptism. What is interesting is the fact that all of these ideas seem to emanate from the Bible. Some people seem to have found them out themselves, while others are heavily influenced by the teachings of others. Nevertheless, there are those who hold their teachings very strongly and would seek to convince others of the correctness of their beliefs. This writer believes that these differences should alert us to the fact that each of us might be partly wrong. Likely, none of us is completely wrong, because we do have the word of God (Psalm 119:98) but we each have a part of the truth (John 17:17). Even this paragraph contains only a part of the truth, because there are other passages that shed light on each point. For lack of space and time they cannot all be referenced. And if they were, you’d find that there are differences among them. The differences, and the ones among us, should send us back to the Lord and to his word (Psalm 43:3), not back to our old opinions. The thoughts of the Lord are very deep (Psalm 92:5) and we might want to dig deeper for them (Job 28). That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out? (Ecclesiastes 7:24). The thoughts of the Lord are high as well (Isaiah 55:9), and we might want to reach for them (Deuteronomy 30:12). We might be discouraged with our limited understandings (Romans 11:34). But we should look up instead (as in Micah 4:2). The Lord will speak to his people, and he will bring peace to them (Psalm 85:8) and among them (Psalm 133). We ought to listen (James 1:19). I think we do wrong to take sides and to debate these things among ourselves, for God has called us to unity and to speaking the same things (1 Corinthians 1:10). We ought to be humble and to try to see what our brother sees in the passages he references. It is all the word of God and we should accept it all (Proverbs 30:5). Meanwhile, we should realize that the word of God is not an academic subject (1 Corinthians 8:1). It is to be obeyed (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Now, if we repent, because he demands it (Acts 17:30), if we believe, because he asks us to (John 6:40), and if we are baptized, because he requires it (Matthew 3:15), what cause do we have we to debate these things, or even to disagree? We should go on, I think, to provoke one another to love and to Good works. |