He who believes and is baptized will be saved (general cases without making a qualification for the unusual case of someone who believes but is not baptized) but he who does not believe will be condemned. The omission of baptized with "does not believe" shows that Jesus does not make baptism absolutely essential to salvation (just ask the thief on the cross). Condemnation rests on unbelief, not on baptism. So salvation rests on belief. If water baptism is absolutely required for salvation, then why did Jesus Himself not mention it in the following verses? (3:15,16,18; 5:24; 6:29,40,47; 11:25,26). What is the one requirement that Jesus mentions 9 different times in each of these complete statements? BELIEVES *What happened to baptism?
(Hope you do not mind i divided your post into 2 parts)
You originally said "
The gospel is not a set of rituals to perform, a code of laws to be obeyed or a check list of good works to accomplish as a prerequisite for salvation"
So far it seems that you agree that the unbeliever, impenitent, the denier of CHrist cannot be saved, that in fact one must do the 'rituals' of believing repenting and confessing.
Mk 16:16 is a compound sentence with two different subjects.
Mk 16:16a deals with the subject of salvation and puts belief and baptism BEFORE salvation making both requirements to being saved.
Mk 16;16b deals with the subject of condemnation and makes unbelief the only requirement to be lost. THerefore one does not have to both not believe and not be baptized to be lost, unbelief is sufficient to being lost.
So the requiremnts to being saved (belief and baptism) are different from the requirement to being lost (unbelief), one had nothing to do with the other.
Also in Mk 16:16a Jesus used a sequence of prerequsite steps...one cannot be saved until he is baptized. One cannot be baptized unless he first believes...believe > baptized > saved. Since Jesus made belief a prerequsite to being baptized, that impliles an unbeliever cannot be baptized and be saved. Therefore in Mk 16;16b when Jesus said "he that believeth not" the phrase "believeth not" therefore automatically, logically includes the unbaptized for again belief is a prerequsite to baptism.
Just because baptism is not mentioned in every salvic verse in no way means it is not required. Many times 'believe" is used as a synecdoche (a part for the whoel) where "believe" includes being baptized.
Acts 2:41 "T
hen they that gladly received his word were baptized:..."
Acts 2:44 "
And all that believed were together..."
In v41 those that receved Peter's gospel message were baptized, conversly those that rejected his gospel message rejected being baptized. So who were the ones that are said to have "believed"in v44? Obviously the ones that "believed" in v44 are the ones that were baptized in 41 and NOT the unbelievers that rejected Peter's gospel message and rejected baptism. So we have "bevelied" in v44 used as a synechdoche in v44 where "believed" includes being baptized. Furthermore the language of v41 shows that one recieves the gospel by being baptized. Therefore one is rejecting the gospel message until he has obeyed by submitting to baptism.
mailmandan said:
Where does the Bible say that whoever is NOT water baptized will NOT be saved? If a list of additional requirements (rituals, works) must be accomplished after one believes the gospel in order to become saved, then why does God make so many statements in which He promises salvation to those who "BELIEVE"? (John 3:15,16,18,36; 5:24; 6:40,47; 11:25,26; Acts 10:43; 13:39; 16:31; Romans 1:16; 3:25-26; 4:5; 10:4; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8; 1 John 5:13 etc..). You are forced to either take these complete statements about salvation through belief/faith and turn them into incomplete statements then patch them together with verses that you believe teach salvation through rituals and works or else simply "shoe horn" rituals and works into belief/faith. Either method would be flawed hermeneutics.
Mk 16:16; Acts 2:38 [among other verses] make baptism essential for salvation so it is understood that not being baptized leaves one lost. Again from what I posted above about Mk 16:16b, the phrase "believeth not" automtically includes the unbaptized, so any verse that condemns unbelief, is at the same time, condemning not being baptized. Again, Jesus made believing a prerequsite to being baptized.
mailmandan said:
Who keeps His commandments? Saved believers or lost unbelievers? 1 John 2:3 - Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 1 John 2:4 - He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. Do you perfectly obey the whole law? Are you sinless, without fault or defect, flawless, 100% of the time? We love Christ because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). We receive the love of God in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5) who was given to us when we BELIEVED the gospel (Acts 10:43-47; 11:17; Ephesians 1:13) and we then became new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We don't just conjure up genuine agape love in our flesh apart from saving faith in Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Anyone that loves God must keep His commandments. Unbelievers must keep his commandments to get into a sved positoin and belivers must keep his commandments to remain in a saved positon....Jude commanded Christians "keep yoursleves inthe love of God" [v21] and Christians do that by keeping His commandments.
No, I am not perfectly sinless and God is not expecting or looking for perfection but God has always looked for an obedient faith as He got from Abraham who was not perfectly sinless. Eph 1:4 and 2 Pet 3:14 say that the Christian is to be holy, without spot, without blame. SO how can a Chrisitan who ocasionally sins ever be without spot and without blame?>>>>
1 Jn 1:7 "
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
1) IF is a condtional owrd, I have a choice to walk or not walk in the light as a Christian.
2) both verbs walk and cleasneth are present tense, an ongoing, sustained action.
So if I have an obedient faith (even though I occasionally sin) and
CONTINUE to walk inthe light, then Christ's blood
CONTINUES to cleanse ALL my sins leaving me without spot and blame. IF I quot obeying completely, quit walking inthe light all together, then Chris't blood no longer cleanses away all my sins, I thin have spot and blame and will be lost (if I do not rpent and return to walking in the light).
Faith only does not get Christ's blood to cleanse away all my sins. Walking includes a faithful obedience in repenting, keeping Christ's works unto the end, being faithful unto death, Rev 2:10,26.
mailmandan said:
How do works maintain our salvation? So how many works must we accomplish and add as a supplement to Christ's finished work of redemption in order to help Him save us? Good works neither attain or maintain our salvation. From beginning (have been saved through faith - Ephesians 2:8) to end (receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls - 1 Peter 1:9) salvation is through faith in Christ. Christ's finished work of redemption is sufficient and complete to save us. Jesus needs no supplements.
Again, 1 jn 1:7 faithful obeidnce in walking in the ligh keeps Christ's blood cleanseing away ALL, not some, but ALL my sins keeping me without spot and blame. Faith only does not do this.
Obedient works in believing repenting confessing and submitting to baptism do save. Good works keeps the Christian saved, Eph 2:10. GOd before ordaiend that Chrisians walk in good works, s oit is not possible for a Christian to be saved not walking in good works. One either does good or evil, no inbetween, and if the Christian is not doing good, doing righteousness, obedience then he is doing sin, unrighteousness, disobedience.
mailmandan said:
So where do you draw the line in the sand and say that you were "good enough"? It sounds like you are depending on your performance to help Jesus save you. Is that faith in Christ or faith in self? John makes it clear about those who are born of God, regardless of what people claim: - 1 John 3:7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; 8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. This does not mean that Christians are sinless, without fault or defect, flawless, 100% of the time.
Not an issue about being 'good enough' but the Chrisian must do good works as he is able...Gal 2:10 "
As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith."
If a Christian has the means to help a fellow Christian but does not then "
But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" 1 Jn 3:17 and he will face the condemnation in Mt 25:41-46.
mailmandan said:
The point of quoting these church fathers was not to establish whether or not they are false teachers but to establish that "faith alone" was not invented by the reformers. It was taught prior to the reformation. Who said that salvation comes by a dead faith only? What a genuine believer means by salvation through "faith (IN CHRIST) alone" and what James means by "faith only" is NOT the same message. Don't let the word "alone" fool you. James is talking about the "kind" of faith that remains "alone" (solitary, unfruitful, barren) and demonstrates that it's a dead faith. In James 2:14, we read of one who "says he has faith" but has no works. This is not genuine faith, but a bare profession of faith. So when James asks, "Can that faith save him?" he is saying nothing against genuine faith, but only against an empty profession of faith. James does not teach that we are saved "by" works. His concern is to SHOW the reality of the faith professed by the individual (James 2:18) and demonstrate that the faith claimed (James 2:14) by the individual is genuine. Good works prove or manifest the genuineness of our faith (James 2:14-18). I will SHOW you my faith by my works. Saving faith trusts in Christ "alone" for salvation, which causes us to be made alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:5-8) and results in producing good works (Ephesians 2:10) so faith is not alone in that sense but it trusts in Christ alone for salvation and not in works righteousness.
It does not matter to me where "faith only" came from, it is not biblical and should be rejected.
James plainly said faith only does
NOT justify but by works a man is justified. Again, 1 Jn 1:7 by an obedient faith in walking in the light, that obedient work of sustained "walking" keeps all my sins cleansed away continually, ie, keeps me justified. Again, no verse says faith only does this.
The works James speaks are obedient works, an obedient faith to God as Abraham had, a faith that obeys God's commands, ie, a faith that does God's rightoeusness.
You post "
James does not teach that we are saved "by" works"
James says "
by works a man is justified, and not by faith only" James 2:24,
Note the
order of events as Paul has them in Rom 6;17,18:
1) servants of sins
2) then obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine
3) then freed from sins (justified) servants of righteousness.
Obedient works B
EFORE justifcation just as James says by works a man is justified. Many try to reverse this and put 3) before 2) to force it to fit their man-made theologies. as many of those men you quoted did this very thing.