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 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: Believe + Baptism = Saved. Jesus placed both
belief and baptism before salvation. 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 the many 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." Jesus says that both
belief and baptism are required to 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 everyone is going to be saved and no one is going to
be lost. This may sound 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, "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 there is not going to be an eternity and 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 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 say, "He who believes and is not baptized
will be saved." They are trying to tell us we are saved by
faith only and that baptism is not necessary to be saved, but
all 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
Most of the denominational
world laughs at God's word when it says that baptism is for the remission
of one's sins so he can be saved and go to Heaven. They are
contradicting what the Lord says. Our Lord says 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 try
to justify their disobedience by ignoring 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.
The later half of the verse says, "but he who does not believe will
be condemned." They say in the second part Jesus does not say
people are condemned because they are not baptized, but only because they
didn't believe. People who say this are grasping at straws in trying
to avoid what the Lord requires for one to be saved. But why would
anyone who does not believe want to be baptized? They
wouldn't. It is impossible for any disbeliever to be scripturally
baptized for the remission of their sins (Acts 2:38) so they can be saved
(Mark 16:16). In Mark 16:16 we only have two choices: either we obey
it and be saved or we do not obey and be eternally lost.
When one refuses to believe and obey the first part of what Jesus says in Mark 16:16 then the second part
of the verse applies to him, "he who does not believe will be
condemned." When one does not obey the Lord's command to
be baptized in order to be saved, this shows he does not believe the
Lord. A lack of belief is enough to condemn a person and
damn his soul. A person who does not believe the Lord does not have to be
told he/she will be condemned without baptism because they are already
condemned because of a lack of faith in what the Lord says.
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 when they begin crying for just one drop of water to cool their
tongue (Luke 16:24).
The sad thing is there are
also 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 in order to be
saved. 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 read in Hebrews 9:16-17, "For
where there is a testament there must also of necessity be the death of
the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since
it has no power at all while the testator lives". The
New Testament took effect after the death of Christ. We are now under the New Testament.
Anyone refusing to obey Jesus on His terms in the New Testament has no legitimate claim on the
salvation Jesus offers. One will certainly be held accountable for
his disobedience by the eternal loss of his soul. Either we
obey what Jesus says or we will be cast into Hell. If we end up in 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 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. Notice the Lord clearly states that baptism precedes being saved, and all of
the theological quibbling in the world will not change that order.
Even Satan knows that God has
chosen to save people at the point of baptism, not before. Satan does not want anyone to be
baptized for the purpose of being saved. Satan tells people all you
need to do to be saved is to "accept Jesus as your personal
Saviour" and say "the sinner's prayer". This is
nowhere found in the Bible. The lie of Satan says baptism is not
necessary for the forgiveness of sins and to be saved. Satan then tells people
after you are saved and your sins are forgiven then you can be baptized
but not for the forgiveness of your sins and to be saved because you are
already saved and your sins are forgiven. This lie of Satan will cause many people to
be lost. But Jesus promised salvation only to those who believe and
are baptized (Mark 16:16). We cannot afford to be wrong on
this vital point. Our eternal destiny depends on our being right with God.
If you have not been baptized for the forgiveness of your sins so you can
be saved, there needs to be a deep concern and urgency about your
obedience.
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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