Baptized?

He who believes [who adheres to and trusts in and relies on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] and is baptized will be saved [from the penalty of eternal death]; but he who does not believe [who does not adhere to and trust in and rely on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] will be condemned. Mark 16:16

The Greek word used here in Mark 16:16 is baptizo. Here is the way that the Greek lexicon describes its meaning.

"To dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge, to make clean, to bathe, or to overwhelm. Not to be confused with Strong's 911, bapto. The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B.C. It is a recipe for making pickles and is helpful because it uses both words. Nicander says that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be 'dipped'(bapto) into boiling water and then 'baptized' (baptizo) in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables in a solution. But the first is temporary. The second, the act of baptizing the vegetable, produces a permanent change. When used in the New Testament, this word more often refers to our union and identification with Christ than to our water baptism. e.g. Mark 16:16. 'He that believes and is baptized shall be saved' .Christ is saying that mere intellectual assent is not enough. There must be a union with him, a real change, like the vegetable to the pickle!"

There are an awful lot of very good Christians who get all caught up about us being dunked in water. They read Mark 16:16 and they believe that we are clearly shown that we need to be dunked in water, or baptized, to be saved. When what Jesus is really saying to us is that we need to trust and be one with Him in order to be saved. The word for dunked is bapto and it only appears in the New Testament three (3) times: Luke 16:24, John 13:26, and Revelation 19:17. None of these three verses refer to humans being dunked in water.

To be truly baptized with Christ is to become one with Him. This is a gift from our Father and we cannot earn it, it just has to be given. Our unity with Christ is not one that comes through a physical observance of a rule, it is a rebirth initiated by our Father. So if someone is dunked, sprinkled, or never has water applied to them doesn't matter. What does matter is that we become one with our Father through Jesus. In this union, or this baptism, we are saved. This is the baptism that John wanted and this is the baptism that he proclaimed was coming to us through Jesus.

And I did not know Him nor recognize Him, but He Who sent me to baptize in (with) water said to me, Upon Him Whom you shall see the Spirit descend and remain, that One is He Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. John 1:33

It is the Holy Spirit that unifies us with our Father, not us getting all wet. This is why someone can be saved on their death bed without ever being dunked in water. Our freedom is that the Holy Spirit can immerse us with Christ anywhere and at anytime. He is always available, at the twinkling of an eye, to serve our needs.