Word@Work 1Pet48 - 1 Peter 3:20b-22
Published: Wed, 07/01/09
Word@Work from BeaconLight
GOD'S PATIENT SALVATION
1 Peter 3:20b-22 ... God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolises baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience towards God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand--with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. (NIV)
These verses have had a variety of interpretations, including the idea that the physical act of water baptism has saving power. But other Bible verses do not agree! We are saved through God's grace when we put our faith in Jesus the Saviour (cf Eph 2:8-9). We are forgiven when we repent (cf Acts 2:38), and a desire for baptism is the confirmation of that repentance. Religious leaders who came to John the Baptist were refused baptism because there was no change of lifestyle to offer any evidence of a change of heart (cf Matt 3:7-8).
God longs to save all who choose to find refuge in Jesus; like Noah's family who were kept safe in the ark (cf Gen 5:8-9:17). The flood was a 'baptism' which engulfed them; and yet their faithful obedience and God's grace preserved them. But the flood also separated them from the wicked world that had despised God's provision for 120 years (cf Gen 6:3). After that 'baptism' there was no going back to the old world - it had gone. So today, water baptism marks out the person who has declared faith in Christ, having repented of sin; and it affirms the beginning of a new life, renouncing the old life.
All that is most reassuring to the conscience. A bad conscience can see no hope, but a good conscience breeds confidence in God's promise of a good future with Him. We can be confident that as Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of the Spirit, so it is possible to live a resurrection life now (cf Rom 6:4): and to receive a resurrection body like that of Jesus when He comes again. God wants you to have that confidence to live His new life today, and to refuse to go back to old ways.
Prayer: Dear Lord. Thank you that I have found a refuge in Jesus. Thank you for the confidence you give to live unashamed because I am forgiven, loved and safe for eternity. Help me to remember that my decision to be baptised was also a decision to renounce shameful ways, and to follow Jesus only. For His Name's sake. Amen.
You can read the verses around this Bible passage from the Internet Bible: - in English, and many other languages
These verses have had a variety of interpretations, including the idea that the physical act of water baptism has saving power. But other Bible verses do not agree! We are saved through God's grace when we put our faith in Jesus the Saviour (cf Eph 2:8-9). We are forgiven when we repent (cf Acts 2:38), and a desire for baptism is the confirmation of that repentance. Religious leaders who came to John the Baptist were refused baptism because there was no change of lifestyle to offer any evidence of a change of heart (cf Matt 3:7-8).
God longs to save all who choose to find refuge in Jesus; like Noah's family who were kept safe in the ark (cf Gen 5:8-9:17). The flood was a 'baptism' which engulfed them; and yet their faithful obedience and God's grace preserved them. But the flood also separated them from the wicked world that had despised God's provision for 120 years (cf Gen 6:3). After that 'baptism' there was no going back to the old world - it had gone. So today, water baptism marks out the person who has declared faith in Christ, having repented of sin; and it affirms the beginning of a new life, renouncing the old life.
All that is most reassuring to the conscience. A bad conscience can see no hope, but a good conscience breeds confidence in God's promise of a good future with Him. We can be confident that as Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of the Spirit, so it is possible to live a resurrection life now (cf Rom 6:4): and to receive a resurrection body like that of Jesus when He comes again. God wants you to have that confidence to live His new life today, and to refuse to go back to old ways.
Prayer: Dear Lord. Thank you that I have found a refuge in Jesus. Thank you for the confidence you give to live unashamed because I am forgiven, loved and safe for eternity. Help me to remember that my decision to be baptised was also a decision to renounce shameful ways, and to follow Jesus only. For His Name's sake. Amen.
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