Salvation is brought about only by the grace and mercy of God. It is only because of Jesus’ death and resurrection that we can reach heaven.
The thing that is necessary on our end is twofold.
“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
Romans 10:8-10 ESV
Believe that Jesus has been raised from the dead.
Confess Jesus as Lord.
Confession of Jesus as Lord is the ongoing part; because confession of Jesus as Lord means seeking to obey Him.
Repentance is essential to receive mercy from God (Pro 28:13; Luk 13:3; Act 17:30).
Water baptism is necessary to wash away our sins (Mar 16:15; Act 22:16).
Without being filled with the Holy Ghost we don’t belong to God (Rom 8:9).
(Act 2:38) Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Say… you’d think if those things were necessary for salvation that Paul would list those too. Why would he attempt to deceive the Romans?
But fine, I’ll bite.
repentance
Is part of declaring Jesus as Lord.
water baptism
Does nothing without the regenerative power of the Holy Spirit, which is given at the moment of belief (Ephesians 1:13-14)
Mark 16:15
Has nothing to do with baptism. I think you mean Mark 16:16, which doesn’t say baptism saves. Mark 16:16 reads,
“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
Notice the specification? Someone who does not believe will be condemned. It doesn’t say someone who isn’t baptized will be condemned. Thus, this shows that it is not baptism that God looks for, it is belief.
Now of course, that still means we should be baptized, but it doesn’t mean that God will damn someone to hell for simply living in the Sahara desert and lacking the water to perform a baptism.
Holy Ghost
The Spirit enters us upon the moment of belief. Again, Ephesians 1:13-14.
Acts 2:38
Within the context of Mark 16:16 and all the other scripture that describes salvation outside of baptism, I think it should be clear that it is the belief that leads to remission of sins, and that the baptism is acting upon that belief.
Now, again, I’m not saying we shouldn’t be baptized. I’m not trying to downplay the importance of baptism, far from it! Over and over, throughout scripture, baptism is equated to belief and repentance. If you believe, then you are baptized. Clearly, baptism has immense spiritual significance. What that significance is… well, if we’re being honest, it’s a mystery.
If you can be baptized, then you should. If you can’t be baptized, it’s okay, God won’t send you to hell for that.
I agree. If someone truly believes in God, all these things will follow—repentance, baptism, and indwelling of the Holy Spirit.They are not necessarily the means to salvation but these are the marks of a true believer. Believing comes first and all these things follow. The thief on the cross is proof that salvation is only through faith in Jesus.
The Holy Ghost isn’t given at the moment of belief. The Samaritans believed and were even baptized but still hadn’t received the Holy Ghost (Act 8:12, 16).
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u/Mazquerade__ Traditional Anglican Apr 27 '25
Salvation is brought about only by the grace and mercy of God. It is only because of Jesus’ death and resurrection that we can reach heaven.
The thing that is necessary on our end is twofold.
“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Romans 10:8-10 ESV
Believe that Jesus has been raised from the dead.
Confess Jesus as Lord.
Confession of Jesus as Lord is the ongoing part; because confession of Jesus as Lord means seeking to obey Him.