Baptism that saves

1 Peter 3:18-22 says: "18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people were saved through the water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also - not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 21 who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand - with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him."

This is a big chunk of a verse to chew on and there could be many different sermons preached on this verse because it includes so many topics, but the thing I want to focus on is the baptism part of it. When one reads the first part of verse 21 "and this water symbolized baptism that now saves you also" one might conclude that it is the water baptism that saves you, but if we read on in the verse : "not by the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God." It is not the physical act of baptism that saves you, but the promise of a good conscience toward God. Baptism is a matter of the heart: "an outward reflection of an inward change" as one of the leaders of my old church used to say.

If we use Peter's comparison of baptism to Noah's flood we can come to some interesting conclusions. Peter stated that Noah and his family were saved through the water that covered the entire earth, however those that were covered by the water perished. The flood basically washed away all the evil, corrupt, unbelieving people of that world and humanity got a new start when Noah, his family, and the animals walked off the ark. The flood water cleansed the world. Yet, Noah would have never built the ark had God not called him, and thus none of us can be saved if we are not called and pulled by the Spirit to do so. Just as Jesus said "No one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." John 6:65 So basically without the promise of God's salvation and our faith in him, we are no better than those people who were destroyed by the flood. Here's another important thing to note. Noah could have heard God's call and believed that the flood was going to happen, but if he wouldn't have built the ark, would even he have been saved? He showed that he truly believed by building the ark. His action was the result of his belief.

James states this very clearly in James 2: 14-26. Look at verse 18 and19, "But someone will say, 'You have faith, I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder." Baptism is one of those first acts of obedience that shows to the world that you believe in God and furthermore in Jesus Christ and that you are going to entrust your life to him. It is the action that shows that you are turning from your old ways to God. This is what Peter meant by speaking of "a pledge of a good conscience toward God." It is a covenant between a person and God that the person is going to live for Christ. Peter also goes further to say that baptism "saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ", which was made possible by the Holy Spirit v. 18. Just as Jesus said in John 6:63-64 "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe."

God told Noah what was going to happen and promised him that if he built an ark the way he was told, he would be saved from the flood. How hard it must have been to hear the jeers of the neighbors as they witnessed Noah building this ark. Yet Noah believed God and his actions showed it and he was saved.

In a similar way, God speaks to us by His Holy Spirit, through preachers, Christian music, but ultimately through his Word. He warns us of the danger of our sins: condemnation to Hell. He has provided a way to be saved by his own ark, Jesus Christ. We then have to decide whether we are going to believe in him or not. Believing and turning to him would mean eternal life. We can believe all we want, but if we do not turn, our belief is futile. One of the first steps to acting out faith is by baptism, a symbol that you are no longer going to live in sin, but that you are turning to God and trusting and believing in him. Baptism is the first of many acts that will be done from the faith of believing in the Almighty God and many of those acts will be jeered by others as God's Spirit continues to work through you.