BAPTISM AND SALVATION

Over the years I have heard 1Peter 3:21 explained by those who are more interested in explaining it away than believing what it says. For that reason, let us look at what 1Peter 3:21 actually says.

“That water [the water of the Flood] prefigured baptism which also now saves us (not by removing the filth of the flesh, but as the promise of a good conscience toward God,) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

The reason many have difficulty with this passage lies in the fact that our English word for baptism denotes only the outward ceremony, a ceremony that involves water. Aside from some figurative meanings that holds true for every English dictionary I have looked at. In contrast, the Bible refers to baptism as a “baptism of repentance” (Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3, Acts 2:38). And, because the Bible calls baptism a “baptism of repentance,” when Peter wrote the words “baptism doth also now save us,” he was not talking about baptism as an isolated application of water, but about baptism in its context of repentance and faith in Christ. In other words, Peter was talking about conversion, of which baptism is just the outward sign (Romans 4:11). It is faith in Christ that saves! And, baptism was intended to be an outward expression of that faith, something that goes hand-in-hand with conversion, not a work or “act of obedience” that has no connection with it.