Christian Living

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Welcome back to our ongoing segment of "Is water baptism a pre-requisite for Salvation". This is now edition No.3 in this series of ongoing studies. Have your Bible open and ask the great Holy Ghost to lead you as you study this subject once more.

1Pe 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
1Pe 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Some people wrongly interpret this passage to claim water baptism saves the sinner, but is this true? I am going to 'rightly divide' (2 Tim 2:15) this entire passage with the rest of Scripture and from its own context for you, hope you enjoy!

1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

Verse 18 teaches us it is Christ's sacrifice that has brought us to God, 'the just (Christ Jesus) for the unjust (sinful man)'. It is speaking about a ransom having been paid for man to come to God. What specifically is this ransom? Read this next scripture:

Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

We have 'redemption' (Koine Greek: apolutrosis: a releasing effect by payment of ransom) through the 'BLOOD' of Christ. Here we can see the ransom of the life of Jesus Christ was the total payment for the buying back of mankind from sin. We simply don't need to offer to God any other 'work' such as 'water baptism' to receive or enter into it, it has already been paid in full by the blood of Jesus Christ, just receive it from your heart and say 'thanks'.

1Pe 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
1Pe 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

Verse 19 now speaks about Christ's time in 'Hades' (place of departed souls) found in Matthew 12:40 after His death. In the 3 days and 3 nights Christ spent in Hades, He 'preached' (Koine Greek: 'kerusso' to herald, proclaim) to what are called 'the spirits in prison'. Now in order for us to understand who these 'spirits in prison' are, we need to keep reading before coming to any conclusions. Enter verse 20. The verse inarguably identifies the 'spirits in prison' as the people who died in the global flood in the time of Noah (Gen 7:17-23). So why was Christ 'preaching' to these people? Were they given a second chance? Not at all, verse 20 tells us they were found 'disobedient' to God, and had died in their sins. It tells us the 'longsuffering' of God had already been exhausted in their lives. God had Noah build an Ark and preach righteousness for 120 years to them, yet they refused to repent, and at the closing of the Ark door their time was now over (Heb 9:27). Christ was now 'heralding' (v19 'preached') His victory on the Cross over death and Hades (Col 2:15, Rev 1:18, Matt 16:18).

So how should we understand this 'eight souls were saved by water' in the last part of verse 20? Simple, this is referring to those 8 persons who survived the global flood being on Noah's Ark as the Scripture itself states. This last statement is a completion of the entire verse and is not to be isolated from such. Now let me ask you a question about the Global Flood account; 'were the people saved by the water or the Ark?' It was the Ark that saved them. It's a no brainer, so we know the Apostle Peter is in no way teaching 'these were saved BY water'. The emphasis in the Koine Greek is 'these escaped the water'. To claim otherwise is to see the Apostle Peter giving a false account of an event he was well aware of. So let me make this clear again, 'IT WAS NOT THE WATER THAT SAVED, IT WAS THE ARK', and the 'Ark' is symbolic of being in Christ. In contrast, the water is the symbol of God's judgement upon sin. But don't forget this word 'SYMBOLIC', because we are about to see it again, in the scripture itself. Now let's have a look at verse 21:

1Pe 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (KJV)

The Apostle Peter now uses the Ark and the Flood to teach his readers about the Christian water baptism. His first words are 'the like figure'. This is the same Koine Greek word also found in Heb 9:24, when speaking about the man constructed Holy Place (Exo 28:35), which served as representative or 'symbol' of 'SPIRITUAL THINGS'. Hebrews 9:24 states of the man made Holy Place 'which are figures of the TRUE'. Thus, water baptism is only the 'FIGURE OF THE TRUE'. Water Baptism itself is not the 'TRUE' salvation, it SYMBOLIZES the true salvation, and the true salvation is the unseen work of the BLOOD OF JESUS washing the heart of the sinner and saving them. So then, we are to think 'symbolically' about water baptism.

The next thing to note about verse 21 is, immediately after the Apostle Peter writes 'even baptism doth also now save us', he clarifies this comment by stating 'NOT THE PUTTING AWAY OF THE FILTH OF THE FLESH'. Simply put, 'water baptism does NOT wash away sins!' After all, how can it, it is simply a physical washing, it could only at best wash away physical dirt, but what it symbolizes is, the SPIRITUAL washing of the new birth THROUGH the blood of Jesus Christ PAST TENSE! Water Baptism is not a separate washing that somehow gets the dirt that maybe the blood of Jesus left behind. It is symbolic of the blood of Jesus having ALREADY washed us. Take a look at a few more scriptures to see what actually does the washing away of sins:

Rev 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

As we can see, these scriptures teach us, it is not water baptism that washes us from our sins, it is the blood of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Peter then goes on to tell us what saves us, that being, 'OUR APPEAL TO GOD FOR A GOOD CONSCIENCE THROUGH THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST'. Peter is simply connecting water baptism with having already believed in Christ. It is not the getting wet through water baptism that saves a person, it is the persons "appeal to God for a clean conscience", attained through the washing of the blood of Jesus Christ. Let's go even further and have a look at other Scriptures on how we obtain a clean conscience? Is it water baptism or the blood of Jesus Christ which gives us a clean conscience?

Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

It is again, the blood of Jesus Christ that does the work for us to come to God and be saved, not water baptism. 1Pet 3:20-21 is in no way claiming water baptism saves a person, to do so is to directly contradict its very own context and the Global Flood account, as well as teach the blood of Jesus literally and physically is water baptism. That's literally how absurd this interpretation is. It is the sinner's belief in Christ and appeal for forgiveness of sins which always comes before things like water baptism, are we now to believe the sinners appeal for forgiveness does not save us as the 'water baptism saves you' crowd state. After this, a person then goes onto be water baptized to publicly identify and verify themselves with Christ. Let me now add my paraphrased commentary of the two verses together to help clarify what the Apostle Peter is communicating to us:

1 Pet 3:20 Who in that day refused to repent and continued in their sins, all the while God put up with their sins and patiently waited for them to repent through Noah's preaching, preparing the Ark to save all who would repent and believe, of which only 8 souls were saved from the watery judgment of God upon sin.
1 Pet 3:21 In the same way water baptism now serves as the symbol of that which saves us. It is not water baptism that washes away the sins of the flesh, rather, it is the cry of the believing heart appealing to God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ for a clean conscience.

Now then, here's another clear reason why the Bible does not teach 'water baptism' is a pre requisite for Salvation.

Act 10:44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
Act 10:45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 10:46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
Act 10:47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
Act 10:48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

Oopps! Let's see how the 'water baptism saves you' crowd go with this one. Verse 44 tells us the Apostle Peter is preaching the Gospel to these Gentiles, when suddenly the Holy Ghost fell on them. Clearly, this is teaching us the hearts of the unsaved hearers were repenting and being saved even before Peter gave an altar call. This wasn't just the Holy Ghost falling on their outward bodies, as verse 46 tells us they were praying in tongues, try theologizing that without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit! So here we have it, A FACT, SALVATION WITHOUT WATER BAPTISM OCCURED! Verse 47 then tells us these people were then encouraged and ushered into being water baptized, to symbolize the fact of their ALREADY OCCURRED, PAST TENSE conversion!!!! Water Baptism being the 'SYMBOL' of their faith in Christ, repentance from sin, death to self and being raised up in new life to ever live their days in obedience to Christ. But what is ever so clear here to anyone with an ear to hear and an eye to see, and the mental capacity that exceeds a 5 year old, is that 'SALVATION OCCURRED BEFORE WATER BAPTISM'!!!!!

For the still genuinely ignorant, stay with me as I answer reference's given by the 'water baptism saves you' crowd to justify their view, and show you what the Bible clearly teaches in further parts to this article.

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