A Very Simple Instruction

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. (Mark 16:16)

Towards the end of Mark’s gospel account, He records the parting words of our Lord Jesus Christ to His apostles, before His ascension into Heaven. In this passage, an instruction is recorded in Mark 16:16 – “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved”. Yet, many in the denominational world have attempted to twist this passage, to diminish or even remove completely the role of baptism in man’s salvation. A very simple instruction, but man has complicated it beyond measure.

“He that believeth is saved – then he is baptized”

Many in the Protestant world will defend the false doctrine of the “Sinner’s Prayer”. They will claim that all one needs to do is to believe in the Lord Jesus and accept Him into one’s heart through the so-called Sinner’s Prayer. Baptism then comes later, as a so-called “outward show of an inward grace received”.

Imagine that I gave you instructions: “Come to my house, and clean my house, and I will pay you $100.” If you came to my house, sat around and had a cup of tea, but did not clean it – then why should I ever pay you the $100? Likewise, what gives anyone the right to ignore the clear instruction of the Lord – “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved”?

“He that is baptized is saved – then he believes”

In Catholicism, infant baptism is a “sacrament” where a child is immersed (or water is poured over his head), for the purpose of removing original (inherited) sin. As the child grows up, the child is then taught about God and what he / she needs to do to be faithful.

For starters, the Scriptures plainly teach that children are born innocent and free from sin (Matthew 18:3-4; Psalm 139:13-16) and that children do not inherit the sins of their parents (Ezekiel 18:20). But going back to the analogy we used earlier: “Come to my house, and clean my house, and I will pay you $100.” You could clean all the houses you want in the neighborhood, but if you did not first come to my house, your cleaning would be futile and I would not pay you the $100. Likewise, baptism without belief in Christ and His deity is a useless action.

“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved”

Let us therefore cling to a very simple instruction that our Lord Jesus Christ gave – that the one who believes and is baptized shall be saved. When speaking with our friends and family members, we cannot minimize the role and importance of water baptism (immersion) for the forgiveness of sins. It is such a simple command that even a child could comprehend it, and it boggles the mind how some have rejected clear, simple instructions for the complex and convoluted thoughts of man.

And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. (Acts 22:16)

Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: (1 Peter 3:20-21)