02/15/2026
BAPTISM: Does it Save Us?
This passage is often used as a proof text by proponents of the aberrant doctrine of “Baptismal Regeneration.” While there may be nuance among the many groups holding to this distortion of doctrine, what is shared in common is the belief that Christ’s propitiatory death at Calvary is only effectual in the lives of would-be followers when they participate in the ordinance of water baptism. Apart from indulging in this rite, they say, “There is no salvation available.” Yet this prime positioning of water baptism at the very core of the Gospel of Salvation would be news to the Apostle Paul who pointedly declared to the Corinthian Church that; “Christ did not send (him) to baptize, but to preach the gospel.” Were they one and the same, this edict would be impossible to carry out.
The truth is, like many of the emotional predilections of man, this infantile emphasis on the “doctrine of baptisms” only serves to stunt the growth of those truly seeking spiritual maturity. We are warned in scripture of a coming time of “famine of the hearing of the Word of The Lord.” A time when deluded believers, rather than submitting to “sound doctrine,” will instead seek out false teachers to “turn away their ears from the truth to myths.” The wresting of truth from this passage to support the myth of baptismal regeneration provides evidence of our existing in this prophesied time of famine.
One of my favorite quotes, offered by an unknown author of antiquity declares: “The greatest enemy of truth is never the lie, but is invariably the myth.” It is a simple thing to show that 2+2 isn’t 8. One need only set out two sets of pencils and count them before those in doubt. Yet when these simple facts are recast and intertwined with some proposed “secret lost truth” from history, what is plain to see empirically is recast emotionally, making the untenable tenable. One need only look at all of the written works extant over the centuries that declare themselves to be representations of restored truths that were somehow lost from God’s Word. My purpose in this 1st issue, of my series of ARC Shorts entitled: ”Why I Believe…,” is to unwind mortal myth from God’s truth regarding this passage so that focus can be directed on the clear point of doctrine being expressed here by The Holy Spirit through the hand of the Apostle Peter.
Grasping upon the word “baptism” in this passage, those who would seek to wrest it from God’s truth to support errant theology conveniently sidestep the clarifying context this carefully excised single word is seated in. This would include Peter’s presentation of this “baptism” as an “antitype,” with the “type” from which it is drawn being set in the preceding verse.
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.” (verses 18-20)
After having given both warning, (“judgement begins in God’s house”), and renewed focus on the charge of all believers, (“Sanctify God in your hearts and be ready to provide a defense..”) in the previous verses, Peter then provides sourcing in verses 18 and 19 for this charge to sacrificial service in the example of Jesus Christ, “the just” who gave His life for the “unjust,” in fulfillment of The Father’s purpose in His incarnation. A purpose that carries over to all who seek to follow His lead. Then in verse 20, Peter provides illustration for the “type” from which the “antitype he references in verse 21 is drawn from in the Ark of Noah. Understanding the role this “type” played in the salvation of Noah and his family is critical to understanding what the “antitype” is, and the role it plays in the life of those being saved today. To be clear; the water in verse 20 played no role in the salvation of Noah and his family. In fact, ALL who entered the water of Noah’s day were doomed and damned! Conversely, ALL who escaped the water were saved from its destruction. This salvation resulted from their being INSIDE THE ARK! To be crystal clear here, Peter pointedly presents the ark as the structure by which Noah and his family are saved from God’s judgement exemplified in the ravaging waters of death in this passage. This truth is undeniable. Therefore, in that being immersed in the water is NOT being presented as a “type” of salvation in verse 20, being immersed in water in the rite of water baptism also IS NOT being presented here as a salvation antitype in verse 21. Instead, the “baptism” presented as the salvation antitype here is the “Baptism of The Holy Spirit,” whereby new believers are immersed into the “Body of Christ” upon conversion. Thus, just as Noah and his family escaped God’s judgement upon fallen mankind by being placed INSIDE the Ark, (Type); so also will those who come to Christ by faith likewise escape God’s judgement upon a fallen world by being placed INSIDE the “Body of Christ,” (Antitype).
In closing, conclusive evidence that the Baptism Peter speaks of here is not one of water can be found in the parenthetical phrase immediately following his usage of the word “baptism,” where he to clarify his intent in using the word. Here he declares this baptism did not involve “the removal of the filth of the flesh,” (one of water); but rather was “the result of a acquiring a good conscience towards God,” (one resulting from faith). The inclusion of this clarifying language was intended to make it crystal clear to the readers of this letter that the baptism of which Peter speaks should not be confused with the ceremonial immersion in water that had been practiced in Israel from the beginning of their walk with God, as seen in the examples of John the Baptist, Jesus and others. Selah
