Lesson 928

(Lesson 928)(03-28-14) Mark 16:15-20

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen."

Today's lesson is a continuance of yesterday's. I feel it necessary to expand upon it because of the importance of it's message and because it is, and always has been, generally misunderstood by most religious isms.

As was said yesterday, the term "baptize", as it is applied in today's quote, simply means that a lost soul must be, by faith, immersed into the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. One must spiritually become, by faith, a part of that sacrifice.

In order to accomplish this "baptism", one must first believe that our sovereign God exists and rules over all things throughout infinity. One must believe beyond any doubt that Jesus is the virgin born Son of God, that He lived a perfect, sin free, life on earth, fulfilling all the prophesies of the Old Testament. One must also believe that Jesus, God in the body of a human man, was crucified, declared dead, buried in a tomb, and that He arose from the dead to live again on the third day, leaving the sins of all who would believe on Him, in that grave.

The latter portion of today's quote describes the powers that are automatically awarded to the saved who sustain enough faith to accomplish them.

A very good example of some who had already been saved but who lacked the faith to accomplish those things promised to believers, can be found in Matthew 17:19-20, "Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?" (referring to a devil the Apostles had been unable to cast out.) "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Take note here that Jesus did NOT say if you believe AND are immersed, or sprinkled in/with water, you will be able to do these things, He said, "for verily I say unto you, IF YE HAVE FAITH as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Remember, the faith of a "grain of mustard seed", is not a small amount of faith, it is total faith.

This lesson is Marks account of the same things Jesus said in Matthew 28:19-20, wherein Jesus instructed His followers to "baptize" (sanctify) those whom they would convert, in the embodiment of the Holy Triune, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

There is NO sanctity in water "baptism". Sanctification comes only by, and through, placing ones spiritual self, by faith, into the crucified "body" of Jesus Christ that secures the soul for all eternity.

Once salvation is accomplished through faith (believing), one can be assured that his/her soul is sealed by the Holy Spirit of God until the day when Jesus returns to deliver the saved to the presence of God, "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby YE ARE SEALED unto the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30)

There will be much more discussion of the "baptistm" issue as these lessons progress.
If you have any questions or comments about all or any part of this lesson, please be sure to post them.
Please pray for me.~