1 Peter 3:18-22

Entering a story bigger than yourself

The NT knows nothing of an unbaptized Christian

Noah rather than the Exodus

What do we know about Noah?

Parallels between Noah and the readers of 1 Peter

1. Noah was a minority

2. Noah was surrounded by unbelief

3. Noah witnessed boldly

4. Noah promised that judgment was coming

soon

5. Christ preached through Noah

7. A few were saved

Water=chaos

Gen. 1:2, Ps. 18:4, Ps. 69:1-2, Ps. 88:7, Ps. 144:7

In the Noah story, the water separated the wicked from the saved

When the waters subsided, Noah and his family entered a new world

Romans 6:3-5

A person is baptized into death

And raised with Christ

A pledge or an appeal

For God to cleanse the deepest inner-most part because of

the work of Jesus

Not magic

Resurrection is not something you can do, neither is baptism

Flee to the ark (Jesus), pass through the waters (baptism), set our lives on the rock (the Cross and

the Empty Tomb) rise to a new world (discipleship to the Risen Lord)

Not just about you.

That’s good news.

5 threads

1. Participation in Jesus (Identity)

2 Cor. 5:16-21

Becoming Weak

Eph. 2:1-10, Col. 2:8-15

2. Washing of Sin (Hope)

Repent

“Your baptism is nothing less than grace clutching you by the throat: a grace-full throttling, by which your sin in submerged in order that you

may remain under grace. Come thus to your baptism. Give yourself up to be drowned in baptism and

killed by the mercy of God, saying, ‘Drown me and throttle me, dear

Lord, for henceforth I will gladly die to sin with your Son.”—Martin

Luther

Acts 2:38, 1 Cor. 6:11

3. Gifts of the Spirit (Ministry)

NT emphasizes a connection here

Engulfed in the Spirit

Surrender to God like Jesus

Eph. 1:13-14 & 4:5, 1 Cor. 12:13

The purpose of gifts

4. Becoming part of the people of God (Community)

Union with Christ and His people

Born into a new family

5. Initiation into God’s kingdom (Ethics)

5. Initiation into God’s kingdom (Ethics)

A Pledge of Allegiance

“Baptism was and is nothing less than a declaration of allegiance to God’s transcendent kingdom and a rejection of this present age.”

The Anabaptists

Gal. 3:27-28

Baptism requires us to question our pronouns

Ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status

A New Humanity

A Prayer For The Baptized