Does this language sound familiar? It should. It is a direct quotation from Mark 16:17. The full text of Mark 16:17,18, which records words that Jesus spoke to His eleven apostles after He rose from the dead, reads, "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."

The word "signs" is from a Greek word which means "a sign, mark, token . . . of miracles and wonders by which God authenticates the men sent by him, or by which men prove that the cause they are pleading is God’s" [Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, page 573, word no. 4592]. Though we sometimes read in the New Testament of three items – signs, miracles, and wonders, in reality, these three concepts are often used interchangeably. For instance, the Book of John records the "signs" that Jesus did in order to prove His deity (John 20:30,31). Signs were miraculous events.

Some Bible readers make a number of false conclusions about Jesus’ promise that signs would follow believers. For our purposes, in this article we will briefly consider two major false concepts that are based on the statement of Mark 16:17: (1) If these signs were for "them that believe," then salvation is by faith and baptism is not required; (2) Since there are still believers today, and Jesus said that signs would follow believers, then today there are genuine signs or miracles taking place.

Let us look at the first false doctrine, the one that claims if these promised signs were for "them that believe," then salvation is by faith and baptism is not required. After all, it is pointed out, Jesus Himself said the signs were to follow those that believe, not those that are baptized.

Please keep three facts in mind as you consider such a claim: (1) It is true that the Bible does teach that a person is saved or justified by faith (Romans 5:1). (2) It is false to say that "baptism is not required," because in the very verse that comes right before Mark 16:17 – that would be Mark 16:16, we read that Jesus proclaimed, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." According to the Master, someone "shall be saved." According to Jesus’ words, who is the one that shall be saved? Is it the one that simply believes? No. Is it the one that is only baptized? No. Who, Lord, shall be saved? "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." This declaration of Jesus places not just one item, but two items, before salvation. Again, what are those two items that Jesus puts before salvation? That’s right, believing and baptism. If Jesus made both belief and baptism conditions of salvation, then they are both required. A Bible student that is seriously seeking the truth about salvation should also consider other New Testament passages which indicate that the purpose of baptism is to remove or remit sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16).

(3) The third and final fact that one should ever keep in mind when he/she encounters the notion that since signs were to follow believers, then baptism is not required in order to be saved, is the truth that the word "believer" in the New Testament is often used as a synecdoche. That simply means to put the part for the whole of something. "Belief" is often used to represent all that one must do in order to be saved, that is, "belief" can include faith, repentance, confession of faith in the Christ, and baptism for the remission of sins. The word "believer" no more excludes the necessity of baptism than it excludes the necessity of repentance. Baptism, like repentance, is a condition of salvation just as much as faith is, and it is often included in the idea of "believers."

Consider, for instance, the statement of Acts 2:44 that "all that believed were together." Who were these ones "that believed?" They were the very ones that had received Peter’s message to repent and be baptized, as Acts 2:41 tells us, "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized." Do not let the word "believers" alarm you. It simply refers to those that heard, believed, and obeyed the gospel. A clear passage along this line is Acts 18:8, where it is written, "Crispus . . . believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized." How interesting. The Bible record of Acts 18:8 says that Crispus did one thing: he "believed." Yet, the Bible says that others in that same place and at the same time, did three things: they heard, believed, and were baptized. Obviously, since God is no respecter of persons and has the same salvation requirements for all people (Acts 10:34,35), then the statement that Crispus "believed" must mean that he, too, heard, believed, and was baptized [1 Corinthians 1:14 indicates that the apostle Paul baptized Crispus].

Now, let us turn our attention to a second false statement that is sometimes sounded forth by those that read Mark 16:17. Again, it goes like this: Since there are still "believers" today, and since Jesus said that signs would follow "them that believe," then today there are genuine signs or miracles taking place. There are four basic questions that will be most helpful in considering this matter.

Number one: What was the purpose of the signs that Jesus mentioned? Here is the Bible’s answer that is recorded just three verses later: "And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following" (Mark 16:20).

Number two: How would Jesus’ disciples obtain the power to perform such signs? The truth is, in this context we do not find the answer. In this setting (Mark 16), Jesus spoke of the reality that there would be such signs, but He did not at this time explain how such power would be obtained. That means that we must consider other passages of scripture in order to come to an understanding of how disciples received miraculous powers. In the case of the apostles, they received Holy Spirit baptism on the first day of Pentecost after Jesus ascended to heaven (Acts 1:4,5,8; Acts 2:1-4). What about those other disciples that were not apostles? In the first century, when the apostles laid their hands on Christians, those Christians received miraculous power from the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-20; 19:5,6).

Number three: How long were these signs to be in force? That is, how long would such miracles continue to take place? Once again, we must admit that in the context of Mark 16, there is no answer given. On this occasion, Jesus did not speak about the duration of such signs, only about their reality. Other verses point to the conclusion that when the complete will of God was revealed to mankind, that is, when the New Testament truth was completely given to humanity, then those signs ceased (1 Corinthians 13:8-10). [Or, it might be proper to say that those miraculous signs had to cease when the last apostle died, or when the last disciple died upon whom an apostle had laid hands].

Number four: Just what did Jesus mean when He said that signs would "follow" those that believed? When one studies the message of the Book of Acts and how the gospel spread into different parts of the ancient world, then he observes that wherever the gospel went, there were signs that went along with it. When the gospel was preached, miracles were performed to confirm the word or verify that the teacher’s message was true. Thus, when the Christian movement ("believers") went to Corinth, the gospel was preached and signs were observed. The same was true when Christians took the gospel to other cities like Philippi, Thessalonica, and Ephesus. There were signs that "followed" the Christians from place to place. As we have observed, those signs were for a specific purpose. That purpose was fulfilled in the first century and no genuine miracles have taken place since that time.

-- Roger D. Campbell