The Augsburg Confession and baptism
I just went through Augsburg Confession and found that we must be baptized and have faith to be saved according to this document. Also there is the passage that states: "Whosever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." This says we need both, but the second part states nothing about baptism and condemnation. There are many passages that talk only about faith in Jesus as the way. Please clear up the baptism part as needed for salvation. I have never believed that. There are some who might not be baptized that I pray will be in heaven.... babies and adults.
As confessions of faith are often drafted in times of controversy to state the truths of Scripture, it is important to keep in mind the historical context of the Augsburg Confession. The Roman Catholic theologian John Eck had been accusing Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon of holding views toward baptism that downplayed its importance. In addition, the Anabaptists were spreading their ideas that baptism was to be limited to adults. With the drafting of the Augsburg Confession, the reformers were able to state to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V what Lutheran churches believed and taught from Scripture about baptism and many other subjects.
And so, Article IX: Of Baptism in the Augsburg Confession states: “Of Baptism they [our churches] teach that it is necessary to salvation, and that through Baptism is offered the grace of God; and that children are to be baptized, who, being offered to God through Baptism, are received into God’s grace. They condemn the Anabaptists, who reject the baptism of children, and say that children are saved without Baptism.”
When it comes to the “necessity of baptism,” we distinguish between what is absolutely necessary for salvation and what is ordinarily necessary. Baptism is ordinarily necessary because of God’s command to baptize. This is the way in which the Augsburg Confession speaks of baptism being necessary. Baptism is not absolutely necessary for salvation because God can create faith through the word alone. As you noted in the words from Mark 16:16, it is not the lack of baptism that condemns; it is the lack of faith that condemns.
People have every reason for utilizing and cherishing baptism when they understand the Lord’s command for it and the blessings that are attached to it.