Baptism - A Means of Grace

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.”

(1 Peter 3:18-22 ESV)

Just as we are encouraged to suffer for the sake of righteousness, we’re reminded that this is also what Christ has done. Although he is righteous, he suffered on behalf of the unrighteous. And he did so that we might be brought to God.

This salvation, Peter says, is received through baptism. Baptism, he says, now saves you. Just as Noah and his family were saved through the water, so too are we.

Baptism, he tells us, isn’t a washing in the outward sense. It’s not about the removal of dirt from the body. It’s an appeal to God for a good conscience. What he means, by this, is that we are forgiven and made holy because of Christ. And these blessings are applied to us in baptism.

Many, today, think of baptism as nothing more than a ceremony. However, we see in this passage that it’s so much more. It’s a means of grace. It’s a vehicle that God uses to bestow his grace upon us.

We must not make the mistake of thinking of baptism as a work by which we become deserving of salvation. Baptism is not something that we do for God. It’s something that he does for us.

                                            

The appeal for a good conscience is made through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s because of what he’s done, it’s because he stands victorious over sin and death, that this salvation is available to us. It has nothing to do with our goodness or efforts.

This also does not mean that, because someone has been baptized, they are saved apart from faith. The promise of God, the promise of baptism, must be received in faith. It must be received by faith because, as we see in Hebrews 11:6, without faith it’s impossible to please God.

That being said, may we never fail to appreciate the wonderful blessing of baptism. And may we receive it for what it is, a means of God’s grace. As we present ourselves or our children in baptism, and as we witness the baptism of others, may we rejoice in the salvation God is extending to us.