Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
Consider.
They had been with Jesus for three and a half years. They had seen His miracles. They had heard His preaching. They had each been told He would die and rise again.
- But when the women told them He was alive, they did not believe.
- And when the two witnesses told them he was alive, they did not believe.
- In the case of Thomas, when all the others told him Jesus was alive, he did not believe.
When Jesus appeared to them, He upbraided[1] or rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart. But notice, He immediately commissioned them to go, and tell the world. In that Great Commission, He made this statement:
Mark 16:16 (KJV)
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
The faith that saves,
Is a faith that accepts a witness
Though they were able to perform signs and wonders at the first, it was evident that those would not last. It is faith in a witness that saves, not faith in a sign.
Is a faith that surrenders
Baptism does not save a soul. It cannot wash away sin. Too many Scriptures give evidence of that to interpret this verse so strictly. Baptism is,
- An answer of a good conscience
- The first step of obedience and
- A testimony of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ
A person does not have to be baptized to be saved, and baptism does not save. But the one who refuses baptism surely signifies they have never died in Christ[2] and is therefore not born again.
[1] Chided or rebuked
[2] Romans 6:3 (KJV)
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.
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