Ironworks

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;   but he that believeth not shall be damned.   Mark 16:16 Mark 16:16 is one of many passages that confirm that baptism is one of the five steps in the Gospel Plan of Salvation that is applicable to all men. Some observations in the verse include the fact that both belief and baptism are coequals to be saved. The diagram below shows their correlation as well as the order of both belief and immersion for the purpose of salvation. Belief is an absolute prerequisite of baptism, and this is very well explained in the second section of verse, for it is by disbelief that one is condemned. As it has been noted before, it certainly takes more to be saved than to be condemned. He____________________________________________________/shall be saved             That______________________/believeth              ...

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. John 5:24     What do you do when you hear some form of information? You may accept it as factual, or you might not believe it at all. When we are young, we may not believe the stove is hot. In fact, possibly the orange glow of the burner or open flame is appealing to the eye and the warmth is nice feeling on a cold day. However, if you chose to touch it, you will certainly be burnt and certainly believe what your mother may have warned you about. Belief is established when presented with truth, yet, when we hear truth, we have the option to believe it or not.      In matters of faith, belief is an integral part of the God's plan for saving man. Last week I wrote about hearing, and that it is the basis of that plan. We must hear, but what do we do once we hear? If we are...