Mark 16:16 He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be damned. and this peculiarity He specially pointed out as enduring forever. To have heard these sayings is to have incurred the gravest responsibility. A man ms: read the Ethics of Aristotle, and treat the reasoning with contempt without endangering his fate; but no man can read Christ's sayings without finding saved upon one side and damned upon the other. Is this dogmatism on the part of Christ? Undoubtedly. God must be dogmatic. If God could hesitate, He would not be God. Do we stumble at the solemn words of the text? Why should we? An agriculturist says, practically, "Go ye into all the world, and say to every creature that there is a particular season for sowing seed: he that believeth shall be saved — shall have a harvest; he that believeth not shall be lost — shall have no harvest." There is a gospel of agriculture: why not a gospel of salvation? Men's disbelief of God will damn them in farming; why not in religion? Does God speak decisively in the one case, and hesitatingly in the other? There must be a climacteric point — a point of saving or damning — in all the declarations of God, because He has spoken the ultimate word on all the subjects which He has disclosed. The truth upon any matter, high or low, is the point of salvation or damnation. The man who merely points out the right road to a traveller is in a position (with proper modification of the terms) to say to that traveller, "He that believeth shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned:" in other words, "Go thus, and you will reach the object of your journey; but go so, and you will never reach it." This is the position which Christ assumes, — "He that believeth Me hath life; he that believeth not Me hath not life." Is such a projection of His personality consistent with His being imply one who spoke with the authoritative tone and earnestness of a Jew? (J. Parker, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.WEB: He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned. |
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