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Come And See |
SAVED BY JESUS Every honest person who reads the inspired words of God recorded in the Bible should conclude that the only way to be saved is by the Lord, on His terms. It is amazing how unified the religious world is on this fact, yet when they read our Lord’s words they will not heed His simple instructions. Jesus taught, “He that believes and is baptized will be saved and he that believes not will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Is that hard to understand? Let me ask it this way. If I told you that if you buy a bus ticket to Cleveland and boarded the bus you will go to Cleveland…would you expect to get to Cleveland if you bought the ticket and never boarded the bus? No! If 2 + 2 = 4 and I leave a 2 out, will I still end up with 4? No! What if someone tampers with the Lord’s words and never acts on a part of this plan for salvation? In this article we want to examine the scriptures and some of the ways that man has misunderstood this basic teaching on salvation. We also want to talk about what the rest of the Bible has to say about salvation and the individuals responsibility in obedience to God.WHAT MAN SAYS ABOUT MARK 16:16: He Who Believes And Is Baptized Will “NOT” Be Saved The first problem with this view of Mark 16:16 is that it tells us the exact opposite of what our Lord said in the Bible. It should not surprise you then to learn that those who hold this view are atheists, muslims, hindus, and jews. These are they which fail to believe that Jesus is Lord or that God exists. It is no wonder that they would refuse to heed this teaching in the inspired word of God. We must accept that there is one true God that wants all people to be saved from sin through His Son (I Tim. 2:3-6). Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man comes to the Father but by Me” (John 14:6) If Jesus said, “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved”, then I believe it…and so should you. He Who “DOES NOT BELIEVE” And Is “NOT BAPTIZED” Will Be Saved Not only does this view tell us not to be baptized but also not to believe. Those who teach this view are called Universalists and believe that eventually God is going to save everybody no matter what they do or don’t do. While God indeed wants all people to be saved, they must come to Him through Jesus. Jesus, as well as the apostles taught that belief and baptism were necessary for salvation (Acts 8:36-39; Gal. 3:26-27; Mark 16:16). If all are going to be saved then we can understand why someone would want to hold such a false view of this passage. Jesus taught that few would find the way to life (Matt. 7:13-14). Anyone who rejects the instruction of God will not be among the faithful “few” but will rather be facing the wrath of God (Eph. 5:5-6). He Who “DOES NOT BELIEVE” And Is Baptized Will Be Saved There are a few religious bodies that hold the teaching for baptizing those who haven’t believed in Christ. We are not talking about adults, but rather young infants who have not had the opportunity to learn about Christ before being baptized. Most of the time these infants are said to be baptized and have water only sprinkled or poured upon them. The Bible teaches, that baptism is a burial in water that requires both the one baptizing and the one being baptized to go down into the water (Romans 6:1-8). The Bible tells us, “Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized? Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him” (Acts 8:36-38) The Bible also tells us that, “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6), and besides, who would say that these young children are in need of salvation from sin when Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven was made up of these little ones (Matthew 18:1-3), who have not committed sin in their life. One fact is sure…you will never find a single passage in the Bible where a young baby was baptized but rather it teaches in Acts 8:12, “But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.” Belief must come before baptism or we are changing the Lord’s plan for salvation from sin. He That Believes And Is “NOT BAPTIZED” Will Be Saved Most of the religious bodies in our world today are teaching this error. In essence, the teaching here is “faith alone in Christ alone” or “faith only” which is never used this way in the Bible. Actually the Bible states, “You see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only” (James 2:24). While most people who hold to the “faith only” doctrine think baptism is a good thing to do, they would teach that it has nothing to do with salvation…one is saved and then baptized. Those who teach this are basically saying, “He that believes and is saved will be baptized”. But Jesus said, “He that believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16) Which one will you accept? When someone understands true Bible faith, they will find that it is an obedient faith. While passages abound for faith in Christ (John 3:16; Eph 2:8-9; Rom. 10:9-10), it must also be acknowledged that this is not simply a mental assent to who He is, but a trusting, active faith that heeds His instructions. The Greek word pisteuo suggest the idea of putting your trust in someone or something. In John 3:36 another word, apeitheo, is used to capture our belief in Jesus, “He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.” The definition is “ not believe, disobedient, obey not, unbelieving.” Please notice the consequence for not obeying the Son of God. It is amazing how when we study all of scripture (even 20 verses from the well known John 3:16) that we find our need to obey and not just believe as the religious world has taught. Will you believe and be baptized? Don’t twist the words of the Lamb of God that takes away that sins of the world. The Bible asks this question, “And now why are you waiting? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” (Acts 22:16) Don’t delay…Obey!!! |
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