Lesson 13
Must We Be Baptized To Be Saved?
The will of the Father also includes our
being baptized for the forgiveness of our sins, so that we can be saved
and go to heaven. In Mark 16:16 Jesus says, "He who
believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who
does not believe will be condemned." Who shall be
saved? "He who believes and is baptized." This is such a
simple command to obey in the way the Lord says to do it. Notice the
divine order: 1) Believe + 2) Baptism = 3) Saved. Jesus says
that both belief and baptism are required to be saved. But men, at the
prompting of Satan, are trying to tell us many other different things that
are contrary to what Jesus says. Men have taken what the Lord said, "He
who believes and is baptized will be saved," and have changed it in every
way possible to suit themselves. The following is what Jesus says
and also ways in which man has tried to change what the Lord has said.
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1) As we have just seen Jesus says in Mark 16:16, "He who believes and is baptized will be
saved."
2) There are those who in reality
say that, "He that does not believe and is not
baptized will be saved," because they say God is going to save
everyone. This is the Universalist
who says that everyone is going to be saved and no one is going to
be lost. This sounds good, but we know this is not true because of
what our Lord said in Matthew 7:13-14, that many are going to be
lost and only few are going to be saved.
3) Then there are others who essentially say
that, "He who believes and is baptized will not be saved."
They say that no one is going to be saved. This is the Atheist who says that there is not going
to be an eternity and that when you are dead, you are like the dog
Rover, you are dead all over. But again we know that this is false.
We have already seen that few will be saved, but the majority
will be lost.
4) Still others imply that, "He who does
not believe but is baptized will be saved." These are those
who practice infant
baptism, but an infant certainly cannot believe.
Of course an infant is not accountable but is innocent and is not
lost.
5) Then there are also those who essentially
say that, "He who believes and is not baptized will be
saved." They are trying to tell us that we are saved by faith only and that baptism is not
necessary to be saved, but all that you have to do is believe.
Again, like the other three, this is contrary to what the Lord has
said in Mark 16:16, "He who believes and is baptized shall be
saved." On the day of judgment we are only going to be judged by
what the Lord says and not by what we think or by what others
say. |
Who are you following? Are you following 1) Jesus, 2) the
Universalist, 3) the Atheist, 4) those promoting infant baptism, or 5)
those promoting faith only? We can go to heaven only by following
what Jesus says and not what man says. The following chart shows
what the Lord has said and also the many ways that men have tried to
change it. They have changed it every way possible to suit themselves.
1) Jesus in
Mark 16:16 says: Believe + Baptized = Saved
2) Universalist
says: Not Believe + Not Baptized = Saved
3) Atheist says:
Believe + Baptized = Not Saved
4) Infant Baptism
says: Not Believe + Baptized = Saved
5) Faith Only says:
Believe + Not Baptized = Saved
Our Lord said in Mark 16:16, "He who
believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will
be condemned." But there are those who want to ignore what
Jesus said in the first half of the verse and only look at the latter
half. They do this in an attempt to try to manufacture a loophole in
what the Lord has said. They are not willing to accept that Jesus
says we must believe and be baptized to be saved. After the Lord has
suffered and died for us they are still rejecting what the Lord has
commanded us to do. Jesus could not make it any clearer what one has
to do to be saved. In Mark 16:16 we only have two choices: either we
obey or we do not obey. When we refuse to obey the first part of
what Jesus says in Mark 16:16 then the second part of the verse applies to
us, "he who does not believe will be condemned."
In the later half of the verse Jesus says "but he who
does not believe will be condemned." But there are those who say
that Jesus did not say you would be condemned if you were not
baptized. People who say this are grasping at straws in trying to
avoid what the Lord who is our only Saviour requires. But people are
doing this to their own eternal destruction. A person who does not
believe Jesus will certainly not be baptized. One who does not
believe could go through the motions and get dunked under the water, but
he would not be scripturally baptized. He would only get wet.
Since one who does not believe could not be scripturally baptized, it
would have been useless for the Lord to have mentioned baptism in the
latter half of the verse. People may argue against the Lord's
requirement of being baptized in order to be saved, but they will not be
able to argue with the Lord when they stand before Him on the Day of
Judgment. It will be too late then.
The sad thing is that there are many people who try to
use "the thief on the cross" as their justification for not obeying the
clear and plain command of Jesus to be baptized. On the Day of
Judgment it will not be the case of "what about the thief on the
cross". The thief on the cross was before the death of Christ and
before the New Testament took effect. The Old Testament was still in
effect then. We are now under the New Testament. Anyone
refusing to obey Jesus on His terms has no legitimate claim on the
salvation Jesus offers. They will certainly be held accountable for
their disobedience by the eternal loss of their souls. Either we
obey what Jesus says or we will go to Hell. If we go to Hell, we
will only have ourselves to blame.
People need to stop spending their time in trying to
figure out a way to get around doing what the Lord said, but rather they
need be willing to submit to the final authority of our Lord. When
we stand before the Lord on the day of judgment to be judged by Him, there
are going to be many who have chosen not to do what the Lord has said.
Rather they have chosen to do what man has said to do. Romans 10:3 tells
us that people are "Seeking to establish their own
righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God."
The choice is ours. Either we have tried to establish our own
righteousness or we have submitted to the righteousness of God. Unless we
are forgiven the way that Jesus Christ has specified in the Bible then we
will die in our sins and be forever lost and forever separated from God in
eternal punishment. We make the decision; but we will reap the
eternal consequences. Are you ready for those consequences?
The Lord says in John 12:48, "The
word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day." We are not
going to be judged by what man says or by what we think, but by what our
Lord says. This is going to be the standard for our judgment.
For the majority of people, the judgment will be a
horrible day, and a day of many terrible surprises. Obedience to our Lord
will save any lost person, no matter how evil his past has been, but
obedience to a mere human doctrine will not save anyone, no matter how
good they have been. It will only cause them to be lost.
Speaking of Christ, Hebrews 5:9 says, "And having been
perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all them that
obey Him." Yes, we must obey our Lord, if we expect Him to save
us.
Baptism is not a work of merit that man does. We do
nothing for God when we are baptized, except obey Him; but God does
something for us. Baptism is God’s chosen way of imparting His
saving grace. Baptism is the submission to the command of God that saves.
As we read in Acts 10:48, "And He commanded them to
be baptized in the name of the Lord." God offers salvation to
all men, but He conditions that offer with obeying the requirements which
He has set out in His word. The Lord has commanded us to be baptized. The
Lord has no nonessential commands. In Hebrews 5:9 we saw that no man can
be saved by the grace of God without being obedient to the will of
God.
Believing and being baptized to be saved, as Mark 16:16
says, does not nullify the grace of God, but it activates it. The fact
that baptism is essential to our salvation in no way reflects upon the
wonderful grace offered to all; but rather it honors Christ who commanded
it. Baptism is a very serious matter. According to the Bible, baptism is
for the purpose of our salvation.
In the Garden of Eden, God told Adam and Eve not to eat
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God said in Genesis
2:17, "For in the day that you eat of it you shall
surely die." But later in Genesis 3:4
Satan told Eve, "You will not surely
die." Satan just added the one word "not" and
perverted what God had said. This is what men are doing today.
Jesus said in Mark 16:16, "He who believes and is
baptized will be saved." Men today erroneously teach "He that
believes and is not baptized shall be saved." By adding the word "not" men today are
perverting the word of God just as Satan did.
Satan does not want anyone to be baptized for the purpose
of being saved. Satan tells people that after you think you are saved and
your sins are forgiven then you can be baptized. But this is a lie
of Satan which will cause many people to be lost. But Jesus promised
salvation only to those who believe and are baptized. We cannot
afford to be wrong on this vital point. Our eternal destiny depends on our
being right with God.
Questions Lesson 13
Must We Be Baptized To Be Saved?
(click on the button of the answer of your choice)1) (Mark 16:16) According to the Bible what must we do
to be saved?
Believe only.
Believe and be baptized.
Not be baptized.
2)
He that believes and is not baptized shall be saved.
3) (Romans 10:3) Why do people not submit to the righteousness of
God?
They want to but they don't know how.
They want to be saved.
They seek to establish their own righteousness.
4)
Many people choose not to do what God says.
5) (John 12:48) What will judge us on Judgment Day?
What we believe.
What our preacher says.
The words of Christ.
6)
We are going to be judged according to what man says.
7) (Hebrews 5:9) Christ is the author of eternal salvation to
All who obey Him.
To everyone.
To no one.
8)
Good people who have not obeyed the Lord will still be saved.
9) (Acts 10:48) What were these people commanded to do?
Only believe.
Nothing.
Be baptized.
10)
Baptism is a command of God. | 
