August 1, 2019
READING TIME: 3-5 MINUTES
David, it appears Mark 16:15-16 is teaching baptism is necessary for salvation. Please explain.
Before I answer the question, there are debates regarding whether Mark 16:9-20 was in the original manuscripts. This is too complicated an issue to be explained here. If you want more information, go to this website (https://netbible.com/), click on “Read” at the top, select “Mark 16” (top left), and then click on footnote 16 after it says “The Longer Ending of Mark.”
Does this passage teach that water baptism is necessary for salvation? The answer is “no,” which several observations demonstrate. In the first place, belief, not baptism, is the critical issue in this passage. The passage says that if you do not believe you will be condemned; it does not say if you do not believe and are not baptized you will be condemned. Then, the issue is faith.
Perhaps more importantly, it should be pointed out that this passage does not say, “be baptized to be saved,” nor does it say, “if you are not baptized you cannot be saved.” Neither does it discuss believing and not being baptized. Therefore, one cannot say that this passage demands baptism for salvation.
Since this passage does not discuss the possibility of believing and not being baptized, it cannot be said that this passage teaches that baptism is necessary for salvation. To say the passage teaches that one must be baptized to be saved is to add to the passage. The apostle John gave a stern warning against doing such a thing (Revelation 22:18).
How does one then explain the statement, “He who is saved and is baptized will be saved?” The point, as Matthew 28:19 confirms, is that baptism is a part of the great commission. As has been pointed out, Mark 16:16 does not say “be baptized to be saved;” it says “he who believes and is baptized.” It is like saying, “get on the bus (and take a seat) and you will get to the stadium. He who doesn’t get on the bus won’t get there.” In this illustration taking a seat is a parenthetical thought. The sole condition for getting to the stadium is getting on the bus. Of course, this does not mean that one must sit down to get to the stadium. Technically, all that is necessary to get to the stadium is to get on the bus. Likewise, as we have seen, the critical issue in Mark 16 is faith. All a person has to do to get to heaven is trust Christ. This means one may believe, be baptized, and get to heaven, or one may believe and not be baptized and still get to heaven. What this passage does not teach is that one must be baptized to receive God’s forgiveness.
In summary, baptism is not required for salvation and it cannot remove sins (cf. Luke 23:42-43; 1 Cor 1:14, 17; 15:1-8), but is an outward symbol of salvation already received by the believer and is a sign of obedience to God. The origin of NT baptism is Jesus’s command to make disciples and baptize them (Matt 28:19). It involves identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. It is the visible sign of entrance into the universal church. It is a public declaration of the sinner’s cleansing from sin, and his dying and rising with Christ. It’s also a public declaration that the believer has been united to Jesus by faith alone in his death and resurrection (Acts 10:47-48; 16:32-33; 18:7-8; 1 Cor 11:26). Baptism is to be done in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit.
Even though Rom 6:4-5 refers to Spirit baptism (cf. Gal 3:27; Col 2:12), it’s a wonderful picture of the meaning of water baptism. 1 Corinthians 12:13 and Galatians 3:27 both refer to spiritual baptism. This is the work the Holy Spirit does in a new convert at the point of conversion when he/she places his/her faith/trust in Jesus’s finished work. To say it another way, spiritual baptism is that work whereby the Spirit places the believer into union with Christ and into union with other believers in the Body of Christ. There is both a vertical union (with Christ who is the Head of the Body, Rom. 6:1-3; Col. 3:1) and a horizontal union formed at the same time by Spirit baptism.
Sources Used
Cocoris, G. Michael. “Is Water Baptism Necessary for Salvation?” Chafer Theological Seminary Journal Volume 3 3.1 (1997): 9-11.
Wilkin, Robert N. “Repentance and Salvation Part 4: New Testament Repentance: Repentance in the Gospels and Acts” Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society 3:1 (Spring 1990).