Mark 16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Whoever believes
The phrase "whoever believes" emphasizes the universality of the Gospel message. The Greek word for "believes" is "pisteuō," which means to have faith or trust. This belief is not merely intellectual assent but involves a deep, personal trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Historically, this call to belief was radical, as it extended beyond the Jewish community to include Gentiles, breaking cultural and religious barriers. The invitation is open to all, reflecting God's desire for everyone to come to repentance and faith.

and is baptized
The act of baptism, derived from the Greek word "baptizō," meaning to immerse or submerge, is a public declaration of faith and an outward symbol of an inward transformation. In the early church, baptism was closely associated with conversion and entry into the Christian community. Archaeological evidence, such as ancient baptismal fonts, highlights the importance of this rite in early Christian practice. Baptism signifies identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, symbolizing the believer's cleansing from sin and new life in Christ.

will be saved
The promise "will be saved" offers assurance of eternal life and deliverance from sin's power and penalty. The Greek word "sōzō" means to save, heal, or preserve. Salvation is a comprehensive term encompassing justification, sanctification, and glorification. Historically, this assurance of salvation provided hope and courage to early Christians facing persecution. It underscores the transformative power of the Gospel, offering peace and reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ.

but whoever does not believe
The contrast "but whoever does not believe" highlights the critical importance of faith. The absence of belief, or "apisteō," signifies a refusal to trust in Christ. This unbelief is not merely a lack of faith but an active rejection of the truth of the Gospel. Scripturally, unbelief is often associated with spiritual blindness and hardness of heart, as seen in the Israelites' wilderness wanderings. It serves as a solemn warning of the consequences of rejecting God's offer of salvation.

will be condemned
The phrase "will be condemned" speaks to the reality of divine judgment. The Greek word "katakrinō" means to judge against or pronounce guilty. This condemnation is not arbitrary but a just response to the rejection of God's grace. Historically, the concept of judgment was well understood in Jewish thought, with the expectation of a future day of reckoning. In the New Testament, this judgment is linked to one's response to Jesus Christ, emphasizing the gravity of the decision to accept or reject Him. The verse serves as both a warning and a call to repentance, urging individuals to embrace the salvation offered through faith in Christ.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus Christ
The speaker of this verse, Jesus is giving final instructions to His disciples after His resurrection.

2. Disciples
The immediate audience of Jesus' command, tasked with spreading the Gospel.

3. Believers
Those who accept the message of the Gospel and are baptized.

4. Non-believers
Those who reject the message of the Gospel and face condemnation.

5. Baptism
A significant Christian sacrament symbolizing faith and obedience.
Teaching Points
Faith and Obedience
Belief in Jesus is the foundation of salvation, and baptism is an act of obedience that follows faith.

The Importance of Baptism
While belief is primary, baptism is a public declaration of faith and a step of obedience.

Condemnation and Unbelief
The absence of belief results in condemnation, highlighting the urgency of the Gospel message.

Evangelism Mandate
As followers of Christ, we are called to share the Gospel, encouraging belief and baptism.

Assurance of Salvation
Believers can have confidence in their salvation through faith and the outward sign of baptism.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Mark 16:16 emphasize the relationship between belief and baptism in the process of salvation?

2. In what ways does the command in Mark 16:16 align with the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20?

3. How can understanding the original Greek word for "believe" (pisteu?) deepen our comprehension of this verse?

4. What role does baptism play in your personal faith journey, and how can it serve as a testimony to others?

5. How can we effectively communicate the urgency of belief and the consequences of unbelief to those around us?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Matthew 28:19-20
The Great Commission, where Jesus commands His disciples to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them.

Acts 2:38
Peter's sermon at Pentecost, emphasizing repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

Romans 6:3-4
Paul explains baptism as a symbol of dying and rising with Christ.

John 3:18
Jesus speaks about belief and condemnation, similar to Mark 16:16.

1 Peter 3:21
Peter describes baptism as a pledge of a good conscience toward God.
A Sailor's Definition of FaithMark 16:16
Believing and SalvationThos. Brooks.Mark 16:16
Christ's Last WordsMark 16:16
Christ's Sayings Determined the Destiny of All Who Heard ThemJ. Parker, D. D.Mark 16:16
Destiny Determined by BeliefC. H. Spurgeon.Mark 16:16
Difference Between Penalty and ConsequenceJ. Parker, D. D.Mark 16:16
Faith and UnbeliefBishop Horne.Mark 16:16
On that Belief Which is Necessary to BaptismS. Clarke, D. D.Mark 16:16
Rejection of GraceInchinus.Mark 16:16
Salvation Through BelievingW. Blood.Mark 16:16
SavedDr. Talmage.Mark 16:16
Saving FaithWelsh.Mark 16:16
The Difficulty of FaithBishop Horne.Mark 16:16
The Indissoluble Connection Between Faith and SalvationOutlines of SermonsMark 16:16
The Misery of UnbelieversBishop Horne.Mark 16:16
The Nature of FaithBishop Horne.Mark 16:16
The Necessity of BelievingBishop Horne.Mark 16:16
The Perils of UnbeliefJ. Guttridge.Mark 16:16
The Sin of UnbeliefS. R. Hole, M. A.Mark 16:16
True FaithMark 16:16
Unbelief DamningA. Barnes, D. D.Mark 16:16
Wesley's Improvement of Infant BaptismDr. Osborn.Mark 16:16
An Eventful DayJ.J. Given Mark 16:1-18
The ResurrectionR. Green Mark 16:1-18
Effects of UncertaintyBeecher.Mark 16:14-20
The Departing SaviourJ. A. Seiss, D. D.Mark 16:14-20
Upbraided ThemW. Denton, M. A.Mark 16:14-20
Final UtterancesE. Johnson Mark 16:15-18
People
James, Jesus, Mary, Peter, Salome
Places
Galilee, Jerusalem, Nazareth
Topics
Baptised, Baptism, Baptized, Believe, Believed, Believes, Believeth, Condemned, Damned, Disbelieved, Disbelieves, Disbelieveth, Faith, Judged, Salvation, Saved
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Mark 16:16

     8168   way, the
     8744   faithlessness, as disobedience
     8835   unbelief, nature of

Mark 16:15-16

     6125   condemnation, divine
     7512   Gentiles, in NT

Mark 16:15-18

     8020   faith

Library
The World-Wide Commission
'Every creature.'--Mark xvi. 15. The missionary enterprise has been put on many bases. People do not like commandments, but yet it is a great relief and strength to come back to one, and answer all questions with 'He bids me!' Now, these words of our Lord open up the whole subject of the Universality of Christianity. I. The divine audacity of Christianity. Take the scene. A mere handful of men, whether 'the twelve' or 'the five hundred brethren' is immaterial. How they must have recoiled when they
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Enthroned Christ
'So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.'--Mark xvi. 19. How strangely calm and brief is this record of so stupendous an event! Do these sparing and reverent words sound to you like the product of devout imagination, embellishing with legend the facts of history? To me their very restrainedness, calmness, matter-of-factness, if I may so call it, are a strong guarantee that they are the utterance of an eyewitness, who verily saw
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Perpetual Youth
'And entering Into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment.'--Mark xvi. 5. Many great truths concerning Christ's death, and its worth to higher orders of being, are taught by the presence of that angel form, clad in the whiteness of his own God-given purity, sitting in restful contemplation in the dark house where the body of Jesus had lain. 'Which things the angels desire to look into.' Many precious lessons of consolation and hope, too, lie
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Love's Triumph Over Sin
'Tell His disciples and Peter that He goeth before yon into Galilee.--Mark xvi, 7. This prevailing tradition of Christian antiquity ascribes this Gospel to John Mark, sister's son to Barnabas, and affirms that in composing it he was in some sense the 'interpreter' of the Apostle Peter. Some confirmation of this alleged connection between the Evangelist and the Apostle may be gathered from the fact that the former is mentioned by the latter as with him when he wrote his First Epistle. And, in the
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Incredulous Disciples
'And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him. 2. And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 3. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? 4. And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 6. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Angel in the Tomb
'They saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were aifrighted. 6. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted. Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: He is risen; He is not here; behold the place where they laid Him.'--Mark xvi. 5,6. Each of the four Evangelists tells the story of the Resurrection from his own special point of view. None of them has any record of the actual fact, because no eye saw it. Before the earthquake and the angelic descent,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Christ Crowned, the Fact
"When God sought a King for His people of old, He went to the fields to find him; A shepherd was he, with his crook and his lute And a following flock behind him. "O love of the sheep, O joy of the lute, And the sling and the stone for battle; A shepherd was King, the giant was naught, And the enemy driven like cattle. "When God looked to tell of His good will to men, And the Shepherd-King's son whom He gave them; To shepherds, made meek a-caring for sheep, He told of a Christ sent to save them.
by S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks on the Crowned Christ of Revelation

Baptismal Regeneration
Our Lord having thus given us an insight into the character of the persons whom he has chosen to proclaim his truth, then goes on to deliver to the chosen champions, their commission for the Holy War. I pray you mark the words with solemn care. He sums up in a few words the whole of their work, and at the same time foretells the result of it, telling them that some would doubtless believe and so be saved, and some on the other hand would not believe and would most certainly, therefore, be damned,
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 10: 1864

Unbelievers Upbraided
On Thursday Evening, June 8th, 1876. "He . . . upbraided them with their unbelief."--Mark 16:14. I SHALL not dwell so much upon this particular instance of the disciples' unbelief as upon the fact that the Lord Jesus upbraided them because of it. This action of his shows us the way in which unbelief is to be treated by us. As our loving Saviour felt it to be right rather to upbraid than to console, he taught us that on some occasions, unbelief should be treated with severity rather than with condolence.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 50: 1904

Sermon for Ascension Day
This third sermon on the Ascension tells us how man ought continually to follow after Christ, as He has walked before us for three and thirty years, passing through manifold and great sufferings, before He returned unto His Father. Mark xvi. 19.--"So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God." AFTER the Son of God, Jesus Christ, had eaten with His disciples upon the Mount of Olives, and reproved them, that they had been so long time
Susannah Winkworth—The History and Life of the Reverend Doctor John Tauler

The Necessity of Faith for Justification
1. THE LUTHERAN HERESY VS. THE TEACHING OF THE CHURCH.--The Protestant Reformers, notably Luther and Calvin, did not deny that justification is wrought by faith, but they defined justifying faith in a manner altogether foreign to the mind of the Church. a) They distinguished three kinds of faith: (1) belief in the existence of God and the historical fact that Christ has come on earth, suffered, and ascended (fides historica); (2) the sort of trust which is required for exercising the gift of miracles
Joseph Pohle—Grace, Actual and Habitual

Fifth Appearance of Jesus.
(Jerusalem. Sunday Evening) ^B Mark XVI. 14; ^C Luke XXIV. 36-43; ^D John XX. 19-25. ^b 14 And afterward ^c as they spake these things [while the two from Emmaus were telling their story] , ^b he was manifested unto the eleven themselves as they sat at meat; ^d 19 When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus ^c himself ^d came and stood in the midst, ^c of them, and saith unto them, Peace
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Third and Fourth Appearances of Jesus.
(Sunday Afternoon.) ^B Mark XVI. 12, 13; ^C Luke XXIV. 13-35; ^E I. Cor. XV. 5. ^b 12 And after these things he was manifested in another form [i. e., another manner] unto two of them, as they walked, on their way into the country. ^c 13 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus [Several sites have been suggested, but the village of Emmaus has not yet been identified beyond dispute. Its location is probably marked by the ruins called el Kubeibeh, which lies northwest
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Ascension.
(Olivet, Between Jerusalem and Bethany.) ^B Mark XVI. 19, 20; ^C Luke XXIV. 50-53; ^E Acts I. 9-12. ^b 19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken unto them, ^e 9 And when he had said these things, ^c he led them out until they were over against Bethany: and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them [it is significant that our Lord's gesture, when last seen of men, was one of blessing], and ^e as they were looking, he was taken
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Obedience to the Last Command
Go ye therefore and make disciples of all the nations.' --Matt. 28:19. Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.'--Mark 16:15. #8216;As Thou didst send Me into the world, even so send I them into the world' -- John 17:18; 20:21. Ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be My witnesses unto the uttermost parts of the earth.'--Acts 1:8. All these words breathe nothing less than the spirit of world conquest. All the nations,' all the world,'
Andrew Murray—The School of Obedience

Baptism, a Divinely Appointed Means of Grace.
When we inquire into the benefits and blessings which the Word of God connects with baptism, we must be careful to obtain the true sense and necessary meaning of its declarations. It is not enough to pick out an isolated passage or two, give them a sense of our own, and forthwith build on them a theory or doctrine. In this way the Holy Scriptures have been made to teach and support the gravest errors and most dangerous heresies. In this way, many persons "wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction."
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

Of the Places of Burial.
There were more common and more noble sepulchres. The common were in public burying-places, as it is with us: but they were without the city. "And through that place was no current of waters to be made; through it was to be no public way; cattle were not to feed there, nor was wood to be gathered from thence." "Nor was it lawful to walk among the sepulchres with phylacteries fastened to their heads, nor with the book of the law hanging at their arm." Some sepulchres were extraordinary; that is, in
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Baptism.
Literature. The commentaries on Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:16; John 3:5; Acts 2:38; 8:13, 16, 18, 37; Rom. 6:4; Gal. 3:27; Tit. 3:5; 1 Pet 3:21. G. J. Vossius: De Baptismo Disputationes XX. Amsterdam, 1648. W. Wall (Episcopalian): The History of Infant Baptism (a very learned work), first published in London, 1705, 2 vols., best edition by H. Cotton, Oxford, 1836, 4 vols., and 1862, 2 vols., together with Gale's (Baptist)Reflections and Wall's Defense. A Latin translation by Schlosser appeared, vol. I.,
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

Christ Risen
"And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen. And they were saying among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the tomb? and looking up, they see that the stone is rolled back: for it was exceeding great. And entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, arrayed in
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Ascension
"So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken unto them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen." MARK 16:19-20 (R.V.) WE have reached the close of the great Gospel of the energies of Jesus, His toils, His manner, His searching gaze, His noble indignation, His love of children, the consuming zeal by virtue of which He was not more truly the
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

Of Baptism.
1. Baptism defined. Its primary object. This consists of three things. 1. To attest the forgiveness of sins. 2. Passages of Scripture proving the forgiveness of sins. 3. Forgiveness not only of past but also of future sins. This no encouragement to license in sin. 4 Refutation of those who share forgiveness between Baptism and Repentance. 5 Second thing in Baptism--viz. to teach that we are ingrafted into Christ for mortification and newness of life. 6. Third thing in Baptism--viz. to teach us that
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Dispute with Whitefield
1741. Sunday, February 1.--A private letter, written to me by Mr. Whitefield, was printed without either his leave or mine, and a great numbers of copies were given to our people, both at the door and in the Foundry itself. Having procured one of them, I related (after preaching) the naked fact to the congregation and told them, "I will do just what I believe Mr. Whitefield would, were he here himself." Upon which I tore it in pieces before them all. Everyone who had received it, did the same. So
John Wesley—The Journal of John Wesley

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