He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16)

The Command Of Jesus

Before Jesus returned to His Father, He spent forty days with the eleven and other disciples, teaching them about the kingdom of God. The establishment of the church and furtherance of the gospel would rest on the shoulders of twelve men and the first disciples. God has always revealed to men what they must do to be saved. Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. God gave a law to the Hebrews under the leadership of Moses. Before the coming of Jesus, salvation for the Gentile came from the Abrahamic faith, and salvation for the Jew came from keeping the Law. When Jesus died and rose from the dead, salvation was only possible through Him.

What the resurrection of Jesus accomplished was the removal of the Law of Moses and the law of faith the Gentiles lived by. No man can be justified by keeping the old law. It is impossible to live outside Christ’s law and be saved. Jesus did not leave His disciples without the divine instructions of what a man must do to be saved. The grace of God provided the avenue of divine mercy to open a door of salvation for all who would believe and obey. God’s love made it possible that all men could know the path to salvation. All that a man needed to know to be saved came from the revelation of the Holy Spirit.

Before Jesus returned to the Father, He commanded the eleven. He told them that if someone believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ and were immersed in water for the forgiveness of their sins, they would be saved. This is what Jesus commanded. Men did not create these instructions. Jesus said if a man believed and was baptized, he would be saved. That is not a hard sentence to follow. His command is easy to understand.

If a person has no desire to believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, they will refuse to do anything else. There is no need to add to the command if a man does not believe and is not baptized, he will be condemned. That is the logical conclusion. Disbelief leads to disobedience. A man will have no desire to repent, make a confession of Christ as Lord, or be immersed in water if he does not believe. The command of Jesus is straightforward, simple, and powerful.

Most people in the religious world reject the need for baptism. They say baptism is not necessary for salvation but essential (which is a conflict). So many have accepted the lie of false doctrine to believe that if someone accepts Jesus into their heart as their personal Savior, they will be saved because that is all they must do (doctrine of faith only). How does that fit the command of Jesus that says salvation does not come until after immersion? Jesus said, “He that believeth AND is baptized will be saved.” Written two thousand years ago, that command has never changed.

The sad reality in the religious world today is that so many churches claim to tell people what they must do to be saved, and they tell them in a way that will condemn them. There are untold myriads of souls that die, expecting to see eternal life – based on the false testimony of those who deny immersion as essential for salvation – and find Jesus was right. How tragic and incredibly sad. Jesus did not deny telling His disciples about grace, love, mercy, forgiveness, etc. Baptism does not eliminate the power of God working to save man. But refusing to accept and teach Mark 16:16 denies God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit.

If a person does not believe, he will not obey. When a person refuses to obey, they will be condemned – lost. There is no good deed a man can do to justify himself without obedience to the will of God. Jesus explained that most people will be lost. One reason is because they believe the lie told them by false teachers who deny Mark 16:16. It is sad to see those who believe in Jesus and refuse to follow His word. The command of Jesus is plain. Reading Mark 16:16 a thousand times will not change the command of Jesus. The disciples went out and preached the command of Jesus everywhere.