1 Peter 3:⁸ To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, Loving, compassionate, and humble; ⁹ not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you would inherit a blessing. ¹⁰ For,

“The one who desires life, to love and see good days,
Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.
¹¹ He must turn away from evil and do good;
He must seek peace and pursue it.
¹² For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And His ears attend to their prayer,
But the face of the Lord is against evildoers.”

¹³ And who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? ¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be in dread, ¹⁵ but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, but with gentleness and respect; ¹⁶ and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who disparage your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. ¹⁷ For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. ¹⁸ For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; ¹⁹ in which He also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison, ²⁰ who once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. ²¹ Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.”

The theme of 1 Peter is the suffering of the diaspora Jewish Christians. This 3rd article is from the 3rd main section of suffering in the letter. Several key points:

1) As already stated in 1 Peter 2, don’t retaliate when you suffer, “insult for insult”. Most of the time you will be treated respectfully by non-believers if you are a loving, peaceful, compassionate Christian. “But even if you do suffer” for the sake of righteousness (not for something wrong you have done), you are blessed. Mainly, you will find favor with God. You will grow closer to Jesus as you experience the same sufferings that he did. You will develop proven chacter and focus your hope on eternal life not the things of this life. James 1:12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Romans 5:Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we also have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we celebrate in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; ⁵ and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Suffering completes or perfects our faith just as Jesus’ sufferings completed his faith. Hebrews 2:10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.” Matthew 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

2) How should you react when slandered for your Christian faith? Peter spoke of this “slander” in 1 Peter 2:¹² Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God on the day of visitation.” Also in 1 Peter 4:³ For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of indecent behavior, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties, and wanton idolatries. ⁴ In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them in the same excesses of debauchery, and they slander you; ⁵ but they will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” How were the early diaspora Christians “slandered” as “evildoers” by the Gentiles (we know why the Jewish non believers accused the Jewish Christians of blasphemy)? For example, (AI) “Christians were not necessarily culpable for the fire of AD 64 in Rome, according to Tacitus, but they were viewed with high suspicion as a group with ‘degraded and shameful practices’, holding to ‘a foreign and deadly superstition’; certainly they evidenced ‘antisocial tendencies’.” (AI) “The state and other members of civic society punished Christians for treason, various rumored crimes, illegal assembly, and for introducing an alien cult that led to Roman apostasy. The first, localized Neronian persecution occurred under Emperor Nero ( r. 54–68) in Rome.” (AI) “Two of the most common accusations made against the Christians by their contemporaries were that they practiced incest (because they referred to each other as “brother” and “sister”) and cannibalism ( the Eucharist being “the body and blood of Christ”, which could easily be misunderstood).” Those. Gentiles who slandered them would be put to shame on judgment day, the day of “visitation”, but only if you suffer without retaliation.

3) It is better if you suffer for doing right than for doing wrong. Jesus suffered, the just (Jesus) for the unjust (sinners). He did that to “bring us to God”. Hebrews 2:¹⁰ For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the originator of their salvation through sufferings.”  He was put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit (raised from the dead) as His reward for his suffering and death. Then Peter goes off on a tangent, discussing how Jesus went in that spirit and preached to the spirits in prison, i.e. the disobedient sinners in the days of Noah. Was that during his 3 days in the tomb that he did that? If so, he went to the Hadean world and preached to them. If so, what did he preach to them? He surely didn’t preach a 2nd chance. Maybe he just told them about his death and what they missed by being disobedient. In contrast, 8 souls were “brought safely through the water”. They were saved, not “from the water” (although that is true also), but saved “through” or “by” the water. Saved from what? They were saved from the sinful environment that was on the earth at that time. Genesis 6:⁵ Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. ⁶ So the Lord was sorry that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. ⁷ Then the Lord said, “I will wipe out mankind whom I have created from the face of the land; mankind, and animals as well, and crawling things, and the birds of the sky. For I am sorry that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” Some say this descent by Jesus into Hades is not the meaning of this passage. They say that this refers to the Spirit of Christ preaching to the people before the flood through Noah. 2 Peter 2:⁴ For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, held for judgment; ⁵ and did not spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;”

4) Peter then said that baptism “now” saves us just like (“corresponding to that”) he waters saved Noah from the moral corruption on the earth. He adds that baptism is not the removal of dirt from the flesh, which would indicate he is talking about water baptism. Also obviously he is talking about water baptism since he made it a parallel to the waters saving Noah. Again, Noah was not saved from the waters, but was saved by the waters. Baptism is the appeal to God of a good conscience, i.e. a pure conscience that wants to be saved from sin. Baptism is an act of faith, not a work that earns our salvation. Colossians 2:² having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. ¹³ And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings.” Peter also says that we are baptized through faith in the resurrection of Jesus, i.e. the same power that raised Jesus raises us from the dead spiritually when we are baptized and forgiven. “Baptism now saves you”. Peter told them in Acts 2:³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what are we to do?” ³⁸ Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” This was spoken by the same Peter who wrote 1 Peter 3:21. He said that both repentance and baptism were necessary for the forgiveness of sins. Was Peter now saying that baptism alone without faith and repentance saves you? Of course not. But he is saying that the actual point at which a person is saved by grace through faith is when he/she is baptized. In Acts 22:16 Saul (later called Paul the apostle) is told by Ananias, “arise and be baptized and wash away your sins”. How plain can that be? Even though he saw the resurrected Jesus on the road and had recognized that Jesus really was the Son of God like the Christians he had been killing claimed, he still had his sins or else Ananias could not have told him to be baptized to wash them away. Jesus told his disciples to “preach the gospel to the whole creation: he that believes and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). Doesn’t that put baptism before one is saved? It is amazing to read the “double talk” trying to say that Peter isn’t really saying that “baptism saves”. For example, from gotquestions.org “As with any single verse or passage, we discern what it teaches by first filtering it through what we know the Bible teaches on the subject at hand. In the case of baptism and salvation, the Bible is clear that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not by works of any kind, including baptism (Ephesians 2:8-9). So, any interpretation which comes to the conclusion that baptism, or any other act, is necessary for salvation, is a faulty interpretation. For more information, please visit our webpage on “Is salvation by faith alone, or by faith plus works?” The author is correct that salvation is by grace through faith, not works. But surely this author would concede that confession and repentance are necessary conditions to be saved. Romans 10:⁹ that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Acts 2:38 repent and be baptized for forgiveness. Do confession and repentance as conditions of saving faith contradict “salvation by grace through faith”? Of course not. Neither does baptism as a condition of saving faith contradict “salvation by grace through faith. It is simply a condition as an act of faith in order to be saved. The author says that we have to “filter through what the Bible teaches on the subject at hand”, but then he doesn’t deal with Acts 2:38; 22:16; Mark 16:15,16. He doesn’t do a good job filtering since he ignores those passages. He goes on to say: “Those who believe that baptism is required for salvation are quick to use 1 Peter 3:21 as a “proof text,” because it states “baptism now saves you.” Was Peter really saying that the act of being baptized is what saves us? If he were, he would be contradicting many other passages of Scripture that clearly show people being saved (as evidenced by their receiving the Holy Spirit) prior to being baptized or without being baptized at all. A good example of someone who was saved before being baptized is Cornelius and his household in Acts 10. We know that they were saved before being baptized because they had received the Holy Spirit, which is the evidence of salvation (Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13; 1 John 3:24). The evidence of their salvation was the reason Peter allowed them to be baptized. Countless passages of Scripture clearly teach that salvation comes when one believes in the gospel, at which time he or she is sealed “in Christ with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13).” Why does he ignore the passages like Acts 2:38 and 22:16 where a person is not saved until after water baptism? What about Romans 6:³ Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.” Paul is saying that we are raised from immersion in the waters of baptism (the Gk work baptizo means to immerse) to walk in newness of llfe. He is saying that you get the new spiritual life after baptism. And what about his argument about Cornelius? It is true that Cornelius got the gift of the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues before he was baptized. But does that prove that he was saved before he was baptized? No, it doesn’t. It was God’s way of showing the Jewish Christians and Peter that the Gentile could be saved just like the Jews. Acts 10:⁴⁶ For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter responded, ⁴⁷ “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” ⁴⁸ And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” This is the same Peter who said in Acts 2:38 repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins.” If Cornelius was saved just by speaking in tongues before baptism, why would he need to be baptized at all? Cornelius still needed to be baptized to receive the forgiveness of sins. His receiving the Holy Spirit before baptism was an exception to the rule and order of Acts 2:38 in which one is baptized and then receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. But it is not an exception to the requirement of Acts 2:38 that baptism comes before forgiveness. But even if Cornelius was saved before baptism, is that the normal process of salvation (Acts 2:38;22:16; Mark 16:16) or just a one time exception? But I don’t believe he was saved before baptism. The author concludes, “Baptism is the outward sign of what God has done “by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).” But if baptism is the “washing of regeneration” in this verse, then we are not regenerated until after baptism. What is “regenerated”? “In Titus 3:5, the Greek word for “regeneration” is “palingenesia” (παλιγγενεσία). It refers to the spiritual rebirth or renewal that believers experience through Christ. In essence, “palingenesia” signifies a spiritual transformation, a new beginning, and a complete change in one’s nature. Or as many have claimed, “the outward sign of inward faith”, or “to show that you have been saved”. Is this what the Bible claims about baptism? I don’t think so. But please study this subject with an open mind and search all the Scriptures.