Trust the Right Baptism

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. 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. *I Peter 3:18-21*

Noah and his family were saved by water, but they never got wet.  The water in Noah's day was the wrath of God. The wrath of God (the waters of wrath) came upon Jesus Christ on the Cross, and He endured my penalty for sin dying in my place.  See Psalm 88:7; Psalm 69:14-15; Jonah 2:3 (the sign of Jonah; Luke 12:50; Psalm 42:7; II Samuel 22:5, etc) When Jesus was baptized in Jordan, this was a picture of the waters of wrath He would endure three years later for us and then be raised from the dead and then be glorified by the Father.  The natural man with a carnal mind cannot understand this Truth.

The baptism in I Peter 3:21 is not referring to water baptism. It was the baptism of suffering the Lord Jesus underwent for us on the Cross and then rose victoriously from the grave after three days.  Luke 12:15 -- But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!  The baptism of suffering which Jesus was referring to was accomplished and finished on Calvary's Cross.  Trust to His baptism of suffering, and your soul is safe.

We must trust in Jesus' baptism of suffering (Luke 12:15) to save our soul, and then after that the Holy Spirit baptizes us into Christ (I Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 4:5; Galatians 3:27) by grace through faith in His Atoning Blood (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:25).

Jesus became sin for me, He bore my sins and the wrath of God, He died to propitiate God, He was buried, and then He conquered death by resurrecting from the dead. The waters of Noah's judged the world, but saved Noah. Christ's suffering judges the world, but saves me. Noah was on top of the world after the flood.  Jesus is on top of the universe after He suffered the wrath of God, resurrected, and ascended.

We must trust to the right baptism (see Psalm 88) in order to be born again: Christ's baptism of suffering on Calvary's Cross.