Baptism II — Spiritual Growth for New Believers

I. What Baptism Does for a Person

Mark 16:16 (NRSVue):

"The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned."

This verse tells us what baptism does for a person.

1. Baptism Saves a Person Out of the World

“The one who believes and is baptized will be saved.”

I believe most Protestants feel a bit uneasy about this verse. Because of that, many Protestants avoid reading it as it is. Every time they read it, they alter it to say, “The one who believes and is saved will be baptized.”

But the Lord never said that. This alteration comes from a desire to avoid the errors of Roman Catholicism. Yet, in doing so, people fall into another error. The Lord clearly said, “The one who believes and is baptized will be saved.” No one has the authority to change it into “The one who believes and is saved will be baptized.”

1) The Object of Salvation Is the World

We must understand what “saved” means in Scripture. What are we saved from? The Bible shows that salvation refers to being saved out of the world, not from hell.

The opposite of eternal life is not damnation. Scripture never presents damnation as the opposite of salvation. Rather, salvation is being delivered out of the world. As long as a person is entangled with the world, they are already in perdition.

Let’s consider our standing before God. People in the world are not damned because they commit certain sins. It's not that someone has to murder to be damned, or that not murdering spares them. The entire world is already in perdition. When God saves someone, He pulls them out of that doomed mass.

In other words, the whole world is perishing, but God, in His mercy, draws one out here and another out there. It’s not like God fishes the entire sea and sorts good and bad fish afterward. No — the whole sea is condemned. The few fish God draws out are saved. The rest remain in the sea.

2) Salvation Is a Matter of Position

Because of Adam’s sin, all have become sinners. Not because everyone individually sins, but because of one man's disobedience. So, God saving one person out of humanity means taking them out of a doomed position.

As long as a person remains in the world, regardless of how good or moral they are, they are in opposition to God. Their position is wrong — a position of enmity, of destruction.

Salvation, therefore, is not merely personal and moral; it involves leaving a corporate body — the world — and entering another — the church.

Receiving eternal life is personal. Salvation, in contrast, goes further: it includes being delivered from a collective entity — the world — that is opposed to God.

3) Four Biblical Truths About the World

There are four great truths about the world in the Bible:

1. The world is condemned before God.

2. The world lies in the power of the evil one.

3. The world crucified the Lord Jesus.

4. The world is the enemy of God.

So regardless of a person’s character, if they are in the world, they are condemned. It is not about individual merit, but the nature and position of the group one belongs to.

Leaving the world is not easy. As long as a person still sees the world as lovable, they won’t part from it. But once they realize that the world is condemned before God, no matter how good it seems, they must separate from it.

4) Salvation Means Coming Out of the World

What is salvation? It means leaving the condemned group, the wrong position, the hostile relationship with God. In short, it is coming out of the world.

People often focus on individual salvation, but the real question is: saved out of what? Scripture emphasizes salvation out of the world, not out of hell.

Believing in the Lord Jesus gives eternal life — that’s absolutely true. The moment a person believes, life enters them. But if they haven’t been baptized, they haven’t yet come out.

Yes, they have eternal life. But are they seen as a saved person among others? No — not unless they’ve been baptized. Baptism declares to the world that a person has broken ties with it.

5) Believing Is Active, Baptism Is Separative

What is baptism? Baptism is separation. Believing is internal and active. Baptism is external and declarative. It’s a cutting off from the old group.

Before baptism, the world counts me as one of its own. But once I am baptized, they know I’m no longer theirs. They say, “We’ve known you for years, but now you’re done. This is your grave, your end.”

At that point, everyone knows: I belong to Jesus. I am His.

“The one who believes and is baptized will be saved.”

When someone believes and is baptized, their position is clear to all. If someone claims to believe but isn’t baptized, their inner reality is not outwardly verified.

Baptism is separation. It shows who is “in” and who is “out.”

“The one who believes and is baptized will be saved.”“But the one who does not believe will be condemned.”

Not believing is enough to be condemned — because it proves a person is still part of the condemned world. But believing alone is not enough for full deliverance. Without baptism, a person is not outwardly separated from the world.

6) A Most Remarkable Thing in the World

One of the most remarkable things in the world is how Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism respond to baptism.

Among the Jews, a person can secretly believe in Jesus without facing persecution. Many Jews quietly believe. Their real difficulty is not in believing, but in being baptized. Once baptized, they’re cast out.

In some cases, a woman is poisoned by her fiancé after baptism. Even in modern cities like London and New York, this still happens. You can believe — just keep it to yourself. But once baptized, they act.

In India, you may believe quietly, and they won’t act. But once you are baptized, they drive you out.

In Islam, the danger is even greater. It's said that there are few living Muslim converts to Christianity — because as soon as one believes, they are killed. Dr. Swema, the first person to work effectively among Muslims, said: “My work will never grow, because I must quickly send away every convert to save their life. Otherwise, they die within days of baptism.”

Baptism is the public declaration: I have come out.

“The one who believes and is baptized will be saved.”

Please don’t treat this "salvation" as merely referring to the soul’s eternal salvation. In Scripture, salvation often refers to coming out of the world — not escaping hell.