Mark 16:16 “He That Believes Shall Not Be Condemned”

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16 ESV)

Some Christians believe this passage teaches that only those who are baptized are or can be saved. Is this true? Those who believe in and teach baptismal remission (and regeneration) base their teaching on this verse. Does Jesus teach that those who believe, but are not baptized, are not save? I do not believe this is what Jesus meant.

Image by Bob McCaffrey via Flickr

First, Jesus said, "But he that believeth not shall be damned." If you take it word for word, then the only one not condemned is the one who does not believe. Rather than take it literally, some add their interpretation "of course one who does not believe will not be saved, because he will not be baptized." That is an assumption and a fallacy known as “the converse of the condition.” If you applied to this to other passages you would have serious problems. For example, Paul said, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed.” (Gal. 3:29), could you reverse that and say, “If you are Abraham’s seed, you belong to Christ”? Surely not!

If you would like to read the rest of this article go to "Mark 16:16 'He That Believes Shall Not Be Condemned.'"

You might also be interested to read "Does Baptism Save?" from Q & A on my website.