And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.…
sacred writings?
Good morning Miss Jaqueline Spratt,
As a preliminary it should be observed that saving faith is not mere belief that some fact it so;
it is trusting in the Lord Jesus.
< Ps 37:
Commit thy way unto YHWH;
Trust also in him, and he will bring it to pass.
And He will make thy righteousness to go forth as the light,
And thy justice as the noonday.
Hezekiah illustrates saving faith:
"Thus saith the king [of Assyria], Let not Hezekiah deceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you out of his hand: neither let Hezekiah make you trust in Jehovah, saying, Jehovah will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria."
"He trusted in Jehovah, the God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among them that were before him. 6 For he clave to Jehovah"
Only 1 Way of Salvation in the Bible
As a 2nd Preliminary, it should be noted that (aside from narrowing the object of faith to the 2nd person of the Trinity) there are not different ways to be saved in different dispensations of Bible History. Water immersion has never saved; and certainly there is hint in the OT that water immersion saves.
Proof of that:
1) Abraham is the great example of how to be saved/justified, used in the NT; but Abe is an OT character, justified by faith apart from any works (including water works).
2) A key passage on salvation in the NT is Romans 10:13-14 where it is a call of belief which saves: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be saved. But that is an OT quote from Joel.
Corrolary:
If you make the fallacious argument that the way to be saved changed at the cross or at Pentecost (Acts 2), then you may not argue from John 3 about Nicodemus that John 3 tells Nicodemus to be water-immersed for salvation.
As to Mark 16:
1) Spirit Baptism is salvific, but
2) Water is not mentioned in your verse.
3) A ton of verses offer salvation for faith with no ref to water immersion.
4) God does not false advertise.
5) Thus nothing besides believe/faith/trust in the Savior can be essential to salvation.
6) Whosoever believes rules out any thing essential to salvation beside believe.
7) Ur vs condemns the non-believer, not the unbaptized.
8) Ur vs is of the form:
If A + B, then C.
If not A, then not C.
From that it is a fallacy to deduce: If not B, then not C.
Illustration: If a man finds gold & brushes his teeth, he will be rich.
9) Human works do not save. Immersion is a human work. Therefore, immersion does not save.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, not of works lest anyone should boast.
10) Verses which put in juxtaposition baptism and salvation are rare; thus not the place to start.
11) Verses which offer salvation merely for believing/faith/trusting the Lord Jesus are too abundant to be accepted in one post on this forum.
There is but one MUST I DO for salvation.
Do you believe God's offer of free salvation to Whosoever believes?
Sirs, What must I do to be saved?
Answer: Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved.
Are the following sacred writings?
Rom 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that
believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17 For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by
faith.
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Rom 3:21-30
But now apart from the law a righteousness of God hath been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22 even the righteousness of God through
faith in Jesus Christ unto all them that believe; for there is no distinction;
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23 for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; 24 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 whom God set forth to be a
propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to show his righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God; 26 for the showing, I say, of his righteousness at this present season: that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath
faith in Jesus.
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27 Where then is the glorying? It is excluded. By what manner of law? of works? Nay: but by a law of faith. 28 We reckon therefore that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yea, of Gentiles also: 30 if so be that God is one, and he shall justify the circumcision
by faith, and the uncircumcision
through faith.
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Rom 4:1ff
:1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, hath found according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not toward God. 3 For what saith the scripture? And Abraham
believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.
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4 Now to him who works, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as of debt. 5 But to him that works not, but
believeth on him that justifies the ungodly, his
faith is reckoned for righteousness.
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6 Even as David also pronounces blessing upon the man, to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works, 7 saying,
Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin.
9 Is this blessing then pronounced upon the circumcision, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say, To Abraham his
faith was reckoned for righteousness.
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10 How then was it reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision: 11 and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision: that he might be the father of all them who
believe, though they be in uncircumcision, that righteousness might be reckoned unto them; 12 and the father of circumcision to them who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of that
faith of our father Abraham which he had in uncircumcision. 13 For not through the law was the promise to Abraham or to his seed that he should be heir of the world, but through
the righteousness of faith.
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14 For if they that are of the law are heirs,
faith is made void, and the promise is made of none effect: 15 for the law works wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there transgression. 16 For this cause
it is of faith, that it may be according to grace; to the end that the promise may be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of
the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all
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17 (as it is written, A father of many nations have I made thee) before him whom he believed, even God, who giveth life to the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were. 18 Who in hope believed against hope, to the end that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19 And without being weakened in
faith he considered his own body now as good as dead (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; 20 yet, looking unto the promise of God, he wavered not through unbelief, but waxed strong through faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully
assured that what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 Wherefore also it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.
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Rom 5:1-2
Being therefore
justified by faith, let us have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; through whom also we have had our access by
faith into this grace wherein we stand; and let us boast in hope of the glory of God.
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Rom 9:30:
What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who followed not after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of
faith: but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Wherefore? Because they sought it not
by faith, but as it were by works. They stumbled at the stone of stumbling; even as it is written,
Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence:
And he who believes on him shall not be put to shame.
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Rom 10:4ff
For Christ is the end of the law unto righteousness to everyone who
believes.
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For Moses writeth that the man that doeth the righteousness which is of the law shall live thereby. But
the righteousness which is of faith says thus, Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down
or, Who shall descend into the abyss? (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of
faith, which we preach.
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1 Cor 1:21
it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save them that
believe.
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Gal 2:15-16
We being Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but
through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed on Christ Jesus[/B], that we might be justified
by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law: because by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.
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Gal 3:
This only would I learn from you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of
faith?
3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now perfected in the flesh?
4 Did ye suffer so many things in vain? if it be indeed in vain.
5 He therefore that supplieth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you,
doeth he it by the works of the law, or
by the hearing of
faith?
6 Even as
Abraham
believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.
7 Know therefore that they that are of
faith, the same are sons of Abraham.
8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by
faith, preached the gospel beforehand unto Abraham,
saying, In thee shall all the nations be blessed.
9 So then they that are of
faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham.
For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one who continues not in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them. Now that no man is justified by the law before God, is evident: for, The righteous shall live by
faith;
12 and the law is not of faith; but, He that doeth them shall live in them. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one who hangs on a tree: that upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through
faith.
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Gal 3:22ff
But the scripture shut up all things under sin, that the promise by
faith in Jesus Christ might be given to them that
believe. But before faith came, we were kept in ward under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. So that the law is become our tutor
to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by
faith. But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor. For ye are all sons of God, through
faith, in Christ Jesus.
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Gal 5:5-6
For we through the Spirit by
faith wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision; but
faith working through love.
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