He
who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe
will be condemned. -Mark 16:16 NKJV
Mark
16:16 is probably the second favorite verse of those who believe baptism is a
part of salvation. But while the verse
at first glance seems to say you must be baptized to be saved, a closer look
dispels the problem.
And,
remember the many, many verses that teach believing in Jesus is what saves
(John 3:15-18; John 3:36; John 5:24; John 20:31; Acts 2:21; Acts 10:43; and
many more).
The
following quotes easily explain Mark 16:16.
H.
A. Ironside
On
Mark 16:16, “Those who received the message in faith were to witness to it by
being baptized, thus declaring themselves openly as His disciples. There was no saving virtue in the ordinance
itself, but it was the expression of subjection to Christ. Those who refused to believe would be judged
(see R. V.). Note that He did not say,
He that is not baptized shall be judged.”
-H. A. Ironside, Mark, Loizeaux Brothers; 1948, 1973.
Bob
L. Ross
“You
will notice that while Mark 16:16 speaks of one who believes and is baptized
and of one who believes not, it does not have anything to say about the person
who believes but has not as yet been baptized.
There is an intermediate period between faith in Christ and
baptism. Mark 16:16 does not mention this
period; it has nothing to say about he that believes but has not yet ben
immersed. Can we find the answer as to
the condition of such a person? Yes, we
read in John 3:18: ‘He that believeth on him (Christ) is not condemned.’” -Bob L. Ross, Campbellism, Pilgrim
Publications, Pasadena, TX; 1962, 1981.
Warren
W. Wiersbe
“A
superficial reading of Mark 16:15-16 would suggest that sinners must be
baptized to be saved, but this misinterpretation disappears when you note that
the emphasis is on believing. If a
person does not believe, he is condemned, even if he has been baptized (see
John 3:16-18, 36). It was expected in
the early church that believers would be baptized (Acts 2:41; 10:44-48).” -Warren W. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe
Bible Commentary, David C. Cook; 2003, 2007.
John
R. Rice
“Christians
are supposed to be baptized as soon as possible after they are saved. In Bible times they were usually baptized the
same day, oftentimes the same hour of their conversion, even if it were
midnight, as in the case of the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:33. In fact, baptism is a public profession of
faith. One can see baptism; one cannot
see faith in the heart. It is natural to
think of baptism following salvation, and Jesus said that those who believed
and were baptized should be saved. He
did not mean to contradict the rest of the Bible, though, as you will see from
the following words in the same verse; for He added, ‘But he that believeth not
shall be damned.’ That makes it clear
that the matter which settles it is believing, just the same as is taught in
John 3:18:
‘He
that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of
God.’
The
above verse, John 3:18, settles it that the man who believes in Christ is not
condemned, whether or not he has been baptized.
It also settles it that a man is condemned ‘because he hath not
believed.’ Salvation is settled by
belief in Christ, and only by that.” -John
R. Rice, Bible Baptism, Sword of the Lord; 1943, 1971. Rice (AD 1895-1980) was an independent
Baptist preacher, evangelist, author, and founding editor of the Sword of the
Lord.
B.
H. Carroll
On
Baptism: “The church authorizes; the
subject must be a disciple, and the act is immersion. The purpose is to make a
public declaration, or confession, of faith in Jesus Christ, to symbolize the
cleansing from sin, a memorial of Christ's resurrection, and a pledge of the
disciple.” -B. H. Carroll, An Interpretation
of the English Bible.
“‘He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved’; that is true. He that endures
to the end and is baptized shall be saved; that is true also. But when the
negative is stated, it does not say, ‘He that believeth not and is not baptized
shall not be saved, or shall be condemned.’ When you put it negatively it has
no reference to baptism. It does not say, ‘He that is not baptized shall not be
saved.’ It does not make any difference how many things one may put in –
believe, be baptized, keep the law, go to church – with salvation, it does not
affect salvation. If the first one was to secure salvation, it will be true if
you put all of them in. That will not take away from the truth. He that
believeth hath everlasting life; he that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved. Some would make it read: ‘He that believeth and is baptized and goes to
church every Sunday, etc., etc. etc., hath everlasting life.’ You can put in as
many as you please and they all follow from the first one. But to put it
negatively, you could not say, ‘He that does not go to church every Sunday will
be lost.’ And in negation it does not say, ‘He that believeth not and is not
baptized’ – it stops at the believer.” -B.
H. Carroll, An Interpretation of the English Bible, Broadman Press;
1938. Carroll (AD 1843-1914) was a
pastor, author, and founding president of Southwestern Baptist Theological
Seminary, Ft. Worth, TX.
J.
B. Jeter
“There
is perfect accordance between this promise [Mark 16:16] and the plain, literal
declaration of Jesus, that ‘He that believeth on the Son is not
condemned.’ Certainly, if he that
believes on the Son is not condemned, he who not only believes in the Son, but,
in submission to his authority, is baptized, is not condemned.” -J. B. Jeter, Campbellism Examined,
Sheldon, Lamport, & Blakeman; 1855.
Jeter (AD 1802-1880) was a Baptist Pastor, author, and editor of the
Religious Herald, Virginia.
Jerry
Vines
“The
main thought in that verse [Mark 16:16] is not baptism. Jesus was not teaching that you have to be
baptized to be saved. The crucial word
is believe. Baptism does not
confer salvation; it confirms it.
Baptism is an outward act that demonstrates an inward experience. Jesus did not say, ‘He that believeth not and
is not baptized shall be condemned.’ It
is he that believeth not who is condemned; that is, he shall be under
judgment.” -Jerry Vines,
Exploring the Gospels: Mark, Loizeaux Brothers; 1990.
Robert
L. Sumner
“Mark
16:16 says ‘He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved’! Exactly!
But it does not say, ‘He that believeth and is baptized THEN shall be
saved!’ This verse most certainly does not
say that a man is not saved until he is baptized with water.
Perhaps
by giving a parallel sentence I can make clear the fact that ‘shall be saved’
does not depend upon ‘and is baptized.’
For
example, take this sentence: ‘He that boards the bus and is seated will arrive
at Los Angeles.’ Obviously, the man who
gets on a bus bound for Los Angeles will arrive in that city, regardless of
whether or not he is seated. No doubt he
would sit down if a seat were available – it would be so much more comfortable
riding that long distance to do so – but even if he remained standing all the
way, he would arrive in Los Angeles IF HE GOT ON THE BUS! In exactly the same way, a man who gets on
the salvation vehicle – the man who believes
- will get to Heaven whether he sits down or not, whether he is baptized
or not.
Now,
wait a minute! If he doesn’t sit down he’s
going to be mighty uncomfortable! If he
disobeys one of God’s commands – baptism or any other – the Lord will
chasten and divine blessing will be withheld from his life. BUT THAT WILL NOT EFFECT HIS ARRIVAL IN THE
GRAND CENTRAL STATION OF HEAVEN IF BY FAITH HE GETS ON BOARD THE GOSPEL
EXPRESS! So I say unto you, ‘Get on
board, get on board!’ Then, after
you are on the bus, sit down! Enjoy the
blessings of the Lord in their fullest measure!
But the thing that damns is not failing to sit down, it is failing to
get on board. ‘He that believeth not
shall be damned’ (Mark 16:16).” -Robert
L. Sumner, Does the Bible Teach That Water Baptism Is a Necessary
Requirement for Salvation?, Biblical Evangelism Press; 1970. Also in Biblical Essays, Biblical
Evangelism; 2013, by Sumner.
Be
sure to check out other articles here on salvation and baptism.
Note: Mark 16:9-20 involves a Textual issue. See footnote in NKJV. But we will save that issue for another day.
-David
R. Brumbelow, gulfcoastpastor.blogspot.com, September 2, AD 2019.
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