Jesus clarified the first clause with
..but he who does not believe will be condemned. What I shared with you is not faulty reasoning. We need to properly harmonize scripture with scripture before reaching our conclusion on doctrine.
That is faulty reasoning. If someone does not believe in the existence of Jesus then of course they would not get water baptized, yet there are still numerous people (especially "nominal" Christians who are members of false religions and cults) who have been water baptized and at best believe "mental assent" in the existence of Christ and that His death, burial and resurrection "happened" yet they are still missing the crucial element of belief that saves, namely,
trusting in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ as the ALL-sufficient means of their salvation (Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4) so they
do not believe unto salvation, yet they still get water baptized anyway because they are trusting in water baptism to save them.
While Mark 16:16 does tell us something about believers who have been baptized (they will be saved), it does not say anything about believers who have not been baptized. In order for this verse to teach that baptism is absolutely necessary for salvation, a third statement would be necessary, such as, "He who believes and is not baptized will be condemned" or "He who is not baptized will be condemned" but, of course, neither of these statements is found in the verse. Again, what did Jesus say in John 3:15,16,18; 5:24; 6:29,40,47; 11:25,26? What happened to baptism? *Hermeneutics.
Do you attend the church of Christ?
Jesus does not need to spell out the word repent in that one verse because those who believe have already repented in the process of changing their mind and choosing to believe. Repent and believe are two sides to the same coin. Where one is mentioned in regard to salvation the other is implied or assumed. Also notice the order of repent and believe/faith.
Matthew 21:32 - For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you
did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not
repent and believe him.
Mark 1:15 - And saying: The time is accomplished, and the kingdom of God is at hand:
repent and believe the gospel.
Acts 20:21 - testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of
repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
I have often heard certain people misinterpret Romans 10:9,10 in such a way which means we can believe unto righteousness today, but are still lost until we confess Christ later, which may be next week and then we are finally saved next week, but that is not what Paul is talking about here. Someone who is moot (unable to speak) would also remain lost according to that erroneous interpretation of Romans 10:9,10 for failing to verbally confess with their mouth. Also, those who teach that we are not saved until after we are water baptized place confession before baptism in a 4-5 step plan of salvation, so confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:10) before water baptism becomes a problematic contradiction for such people.
Now in regard to Romans 10:9-10, Confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in our heart that God raised Him from the dead are
not two separate steps to salvation but are chronologically together, so it's not faith plus the work of confession. Confession here is an expression of faith and not a work for salvation.
Romans 10:8 - But what does it say?
"The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (TOGETHER) that is, the
word of faith which we are preaching, (notice the reverse order from verse 9-10) - that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Confess/believe; believe/confess.
1 Corinthians 12:3 - Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and
no one can say that Jesus is Lord except BY the Holy Spirit. There is divine influence or direct operation of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a person when confessing Jesus as Lord. This confession is not just a simple acknowledgment that Jesus is the Lord (even the demons believe that), but is a deep, personal conviction from the heart that Jesus is that person's Lord and Savior.
*So simply believing in our head (and not in our heart) that God raised Him from the dead does not result in righteousness and simply giving lip service to the words "Jesus is Lord" not by the Holy Spirit is not unto salvation.
Jesus clarified the first clause with
..but he who does not believe will be condemned. Also, there is no AND is baptized in John 3:15,16,18; 5:24; 6:29,40,47; 11:25,26. Do you really want to question Mark 16:16(b) and John 3:15,16,18; 5:24; 6:29,40,47; 11:25,26 or just abide in what Jesus said? ALL of what Jesus said or do you prefer to hang your hat only on one half of one verse? Jesus did make himself clear and nowhere does the Bible say "must be baptized in order to be saved" or "whoever is not baptized will not be saved." That is your eisegesis.
Now elsewhere, Jesus said
unless you repent you will all likewise perish. (Luke 13:3) That's because if we don't repent (change our mind) then we will not believe in Jesus for salvation and become saved. Jesus also said, He who
believes in Him is not condemned; but he who
does not believe is condemned already, because he
has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:18)
You really need to keep that in mind. If one
does not believe/trust in Jesus as the ALL-sufficient means of their salvation (John 3:18) then they are lost already and nothing else matters regardless of whatever else they believe or do.