"And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved..."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." Mark 16:15-18.
This says quite plainly that all who believe and are baptized SHALL do these things. Not just a few, it says ALL who believe. It does not say maybe, or should, or can, if you have enough faith. It does not say to pick out a few signs that fit your personality and let them be for you; it says ALL signs are for ALL who believe.
Or let's go a little simpler. When did you sell all you had and joined together with other believers and had all in common? When did you give alms?
Now, if you were truly following ALL of Christ's words, would you not be doing these very things He instructed you to do? I didn't think so. And yet, you choose not to follow Christ's revelations to Paul, for us, either. So you are following those things you choose to follow. Is that what Christ said to do? Either in the kingdom gospel or the gospel of the grace of God? I'll let you answer that one.
I’m far from following all of Christ’s words. This is my failing not Christ’s and why I pray for His mercy.
But my failing does not mean Christ’s teaching are wrong or no longer in effect.
Christ is Truth. This is fundamental Christian faith, it has no ‘sell by’ date.
Study those who do better than I in following Christ, study Mt. Athos for example, if you no longer believe what He taught is true.
My, and your, failures and weaknesses in no way make Christ’s words, ministry and being false or no longer in effect.
Honestly, in my opinion it only compounds, sublimates or makes a crutch out of our weakness to go the route you’ve chosen and give up on following Christ.
Say, isn't that passage in Mark the one that Catholics like to appeal to to demand that water baptism is required for salvation, but then ignore when it comes to the rest of it?
Who was He saying this to? The Eleven. And by implication their successors. He was telling them to perform or be associated with miracles. Hint: what does the requirement for a Catholic Saint include?