62. Saved
Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.
This sounds like a conditional promise: If you believe and are baptized, then you will be saved, but faith and baptism are not the cause of salvation. Jesus is. The work of Christ in His death and resurrection is the cause of our salvation. The Cross and the Empty Tomb save us from Sin, Death and the Devil. God forgives us our sins and freely saves because of Christ, nothing else. But faith is necessary to make that salvation personal and effective in our lives. The Holy Spirit applies that saving power to us by creating faith through the Gospel and baptism. The promise of being saved is unconditional since the condition is completed at the Cross.
However, salvation is individually applied only to those who believe, which faith the Holy Spirit through the means of grace works inside the person. That faith is necessary is further made clear by the opposite clause: “he that believeth not shall be damned.” Faith is the key difference between these polar opposites, salvation and damnation.Without faith the sinner remains under condemnation, in John 3:18: “He who does not believe is condemned already.”
Remember the context of this promise, “preach the Gospel to every creature,” v. 15. The result of the preached gospel is faith and baptism; but it is the gospel that saves as it creates faith in Christ. The result of faith and baptism is salvation, but believing or not believing is the hinge that separates salvation and damnation for every person. What is “not believed?” It is the Gospel is that is not believed; this unbelief condemns, for unbelief does not save the unbeliever from that condition. Faith does.
The unconditional promise is: “The Gospel saves: believe it and be baptized and you know it’s true.”