What does I Peter 3:21 mean? Does it mean baptism saves you?

Question

Many of you will try to explain away the plain words of scripture. Remember that the devil put the word "not" into God's words when he said to Eve: "You will NOT surely die."

Answer 1

Yes

Furthermore:

John 3
5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.

Romans 6:4-6

4We were therefore buried with him THROUGH BAPTISM into death....If we have been UNITED with him like this IN HIS DEATH, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

Mark 16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Colossians 2:11-13

11In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature,[a] not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

Answer 2

Well, circumcision was a covenant for those that converted to to Judaism in the OT, and I would take 1 Peter 3:21 as a covenant too, since baptism and salvation were tied that closely together. Seems to fit, anyway. The thief on the cross not being baptized would be much like a new Jew who could not be marked as God's own.

Answer 3

In a matter of speaking, baptism does save you. First of all, we need to step back and look at the drawn out analogy that Peter was using. He was comparing, in a round about way, Christ and how his Atonment save us with Noah being saved from the Flood. So first of all, I believe that Peter was trying to make the point that it was Christ who saved Noah, and it is Christ who will save us. However, you will note that he makes, at least in our English translations, a peculiar play on words. It says that Noah was saved "by water" and not "from the water" as you would expect. So, it is Christ that is doing the saving, and it is "by water." He then makes the comparison to us, "the like figure" being our baptism. He mentions that baptism isn't so much to wash away our filthiness, but to show our obedience to God. And he does say that baptism saves us. Why does it save us? He says that it is because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He mentions in the next verse that Christ is reigning with the Father up in Heaven, and infers that through baptism, we can also have a part in that. It is interesting to note that he mentions baptism as part of having a "good conscience towards God" or being obedient to God. How so? Is baptism a commandment or requirement. According to Jesus, it is. Check out John 3:5,

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

This is a very clear statement. So, you asked: Does it mean that baptism saves you? Well, it is Christ that saves us, but by extension, and like Noah's case, it is baptism "by water" that gets us on the road to salvation.

Answer 4

Peter’s words at 1 Peter 3:21? There he says: “That which corresponds to this is also now saving you, namely, baptism, (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the request made to God for a good conscience,) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Peter was comparing baptism to Noah’s experience of passing through the waters of the Flood. (Verse 20) Noah, showing full faith in God, built the ark for the preservation of his family. Similarly, by exercising faith in God and his provision for salvation through Christ Jesus, people today can be saved from this present wicked world. They must also act on that faith. By repenting of sins, turning around from a wrong course, and making an unreserved dedication to God in prayer, the request is made to God for a good conscience. But it is on the basis of Jesus’ sacrifice, and his resurrection by which he presented the value of that sacrifice to God in heaven, that sins are forgiven and salvation is possible. 1 Peter 3:22.

Answer 5

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:
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
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.
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:
22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
This passage has reference to the passages in front of it concerning the saving of Noah's family by the flood. The eight souls saved by the flood were still subject to baptism for salvation through the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The flood was an effectual baptism of the earth, cleansing it from the sins of mankind and the eight souls not subject to the flood were still subject to the baptism of immersion in symbolic cleansing of death of the carnal being and raised a clean, spiritual being like unto the death, entombment and resurrection of Christ. This is in complete agreement with Paul's teachings in Romans about being buried with Him in baptism and being raised up a new being unto Christ. The baptism cleanses our mortal sins (filth) and gives us a new spiritual life (good conscience). This is of course subject to our continued obedience to the teachings, laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

Answer 6

No. Salvation is a free gift of God, and is possible because of Jesus. It cannot be bought or earned in any way. Baptism is an outward, public confession that one has accepted the gift of salvation and has placed their trust in Jesus Christ.
In 1 Pet., it is not saying that baptism saves a person, it means that faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that which baptism is a figure of, does save the soul.

Answer 7

Yes. You can certainly use this as an example that baptism is one of the things that are part of salvation.

Answer 8

We are saved by the grace of God- not baptism-- we are saved when we confess and repent of sin, believing that Jesus Christ IS Lord ( Romans 10)
Then we are told to be baptized, baptism is what we do AFTER we are already born again in the Spirit of God-- it is an outward expression of our faith in God.
"For it is by GRACE you have been saved, through FAITH, and it is not of yourselves, it is the GIFT of God" Ephesians 2:8

Also notice in this verse: 21and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge[a] of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

-It says saves you "also" meaning that it is not the only thing you must do to be saved, nor the FIRST thing you must do to be saved. Baptism is our obedience to God. It SYMBOLIZES our being "washed clean" by Jesus Christ....for it is only THROUGH Him we can be saved, by His wonderful grace. (See John 14:6 and See Romans 10)

Answer 9

It does seem to indicate that baptism saves, although you seem to be saying that the not in that verse was added. Can you provide something credible for me to look at which indicates that the "not" should not be there?

Tom

Answer 10

No, no, no. The flood "symbolizes" baptism, and baptism "symbolizes" salvation. Baptism has never saved anyone.