16:16 Does what Jesus says here mean that one must be baptized in order to be saved?
16:16 Does what Jesus says here mean that one must be baptised in order to be saved?
Jesus is not teaching here that baptism saves, since He goes on to say that those who do not believe will be condemned - they will be condemned for not believing, not for not being baptised.
Conversely, those who believe and are baptised will be saved because they believe, not because they are baptised - their baptism is merely the picture of their new life in Christ, not the means of securing it (cp 1Pe 3:18-21).
See also comments on Mt 28:19-20(B); Ro 6:3:5; Eph 4:4-6; Col 2:12; 1Pe 3:20-21 and author's study Water Baptism in his book Foundational Truths of the Christian Faith.