Bible
Study - Are You Really Sure Of Your Eternal Salvation?
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." 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.
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 infantbaptism, 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 obey or not to obey. When one refuses
to obey the first part of Mark 16:16 then the second part of the
verse applies to him, "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.
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
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 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 has 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?