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.
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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.
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