Mary, the mother of the Lord

[donadams]

Why is eph 2:8 the absolute authority on salvation?

Why not mk 16:16 he who believes and is baptized shall be saved.

Thks

 

[donadams]

From the 9th verse of Mark 16 to the end is NOT IN THE BEST MANUSCRIPTS. It is believed that they were added by a Scribe.

That being a fact, then allow me to say to you that A close look at Mark 16:16 reveals that it is not connecting baptism with salvation as the Catholic Church teaches you.

Rather, when we actually READ the Bible for ourselves, we see that the verse distinguishes between belief and salvation, and lack of belief and condemnation. The first half of the verse emphasizes belief as the means of salvation. The public expression of that belief is baptism.

The second half of the verse clearly notes "whoever does not believe will be condemned."

The contrast is clearly between belief and lack of belief, not between baptism and condemnation.

Further, the prior verse, teaches, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation." It does not teach to go into all the world and baptize the whole creation. The emphasis in the surrounding context is on preaching the gospel so others will believe in Jesus and receive salvation.

Please, read the Bible and do the study and do not rely on Catholic teachings all of the time when it come to correct Bible truth.

Again.......I am always blessed to help your understanding.

First have united faith & baptism
Not faith alone

Where does scripture ever say baptism is a “public expression of faith”?

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

He who believes Christ and His doctrine of (((faith & baptism))) shall be saved! He who not believe Christ and His doctrine of ((( faith & baptism)) shall be damned!

Amen!

 

[Free]

First have united faith & baptism
Not faith alone

By faith alone is mentioned numerous times. In addition to the passages listed below, there is:

Act 15:8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us,
Act 15:9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.

Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—
Rom 3:22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Rom 3:24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Rom 3:25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
Rom 3:26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Rom 3:27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.
Rom 3:28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
Rom 3:29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,
Rom 3:30 since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

Rom 4:3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”
Rom 4:4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.
Rom 4:5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
...
Rom 4:9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.
Rom 4:10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised.
Rom 4:11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well,
Rom 4:12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Rom 4:13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
Rom 4:14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.
Rom 4:15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
Rom 4:16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,

Rom 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom 5:2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Rom 10:6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down)
Rom 10:7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
Rom 10:8 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);
Rom 10:9 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.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Gal 2:16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Gal 3:2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?
Gal 3:3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
Gal 3:4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
Gal 3:5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—
Gal 3:6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
Gal 3:7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
Gal 3:8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”
Gal 3:9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
...
Gal 3:14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Eph 2:9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Seems pretty clear that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; no baptism involved, although a believer should be baptized to be obedient.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

He who believes Christ and His doctrine of (((faith & baptism))) shall be saved!

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

Be very careful. First, these verses are questionable. Second, if legitimate, Jesus says only once, or at least it is only recorded once (again, in verses that are questionable), that "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved." Third, if baptism is necessary for salvation, it is odd that Jesus only says "whoever does not believe will be condemned," with no mention of baptism. Being condemned is based on disbelief only.

Fourth, Jesus says elsewhere, many times and in passages that aren't questionable:

Joh 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
Joh 3:15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
Joh 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Joh 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Joh 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Notice that condemnation is based on disbelief only, just like in Mark 16.

Joh 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Joh 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
...
Joh 6:47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

Joh 11:26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Those such things are why John wrote:

Joh 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

Joh 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Joh 20:31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

(All ESV.)

Notice the lack of mention of baptism as necessary for salvation.

He who not believe Christ and His doctrine of ((( faith & baptism)) shall be damned!

Where is that stated?