Noah was saved by water baptism: 1 Peter 3:21

The Search for Noah's Ark with Steven Rudd

Noah was "saved by water": 1 Peter 3:20-21

Christians are "saved by water baptism"

"For Christ also died for sins once for all, 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; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 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. 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, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him. " (1 Peter 3:18-22)

Introduction:

1. Once Noah's Ark has been found and fully documented as fact by archeologists, geologists and other scientists, then, is the time for you to consider getting saved as Christian so that you do not suffer the same terrible fate as those who rejected the preaching of Noah.

2. Noah preached that the world was going to be destroyed with water because of their sins and called upon them to repent. In the same way Christians call upon unbelievers to repent of their sins before the second coming of Christ destroys the world with fire.

3. When you reject Jesus as your savior, you will die in your sins and join those who Noah preached to in prison.

4. When judgment comes at the second coming of Christ, those who rejected the preaching of Christians will leave the throne room of God for a judgment of eternal torment.

5. Getting saved is easy! Believe, repent of your sins, confess the name of Christ, be baptized by full immersion for the remission of your sins and you will be born again and saved!

A. Today's scoffers that reject the 2^nd coming and the end of the world:

"Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation." For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day." (2 Peter 3:3-8)

1. In the passage above (2 Peter 3:3-8), you notice that the scoffers who didn't believe Noah's preaching that the earth would be destroyed with water are identical to the scoffers that live today and reject the doctrine that the heavens and earth will be destroyed by fire and the second coming of Jesus Christ.

2. Before Noah's Ark was discovered and documented with archeology, the scoffers rejected both the past destruction by Noah's flood and the future destruction by fire at the second coming of Jesus.

3. Now that Noah's Ark has been discovered as real history, only the worst kind of fool would not realize that they better become a Christian in order to escape the future destruction of the earth by fire and judgment at the throne of Jesus Christ.

B. God loves unbelievers and offers them a chance to be saved:

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. " (2 Peter 3:9)

"This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. " (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you. " (Titus 2:11-15)

1. Every man or woman who is born can be saved if they make that choice to become a Christian and live godly lives. Everybody has a chance to go to heaven but few are seeking God. They are all wrapped up in their own selfish lives of materialism and pleasure. They never go to church, partake of the Lord's supper, give money into the church treasury, read the Bible or pray. They live for themselves and ignore God.

2. God loves each person and doesn't want anyone to spend eternity in hell, but if they reject his offer of grace and forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ, his only begotten son, then they have chosen their own eternal destiny.

3. Apostle Peter preached the very first sermon to more than 3000 lost souls and said, "Save yourselves from this perverse generation." (Acts 2:40) When they asked, "What must we do" to be saved, Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins" (Acts 2:37-38) This means that if you want to go to heaven, it all depends on you. God has already given the blood of His Son to forgive your sins. God has offered you this salvation every day of your life, but you keep saying, "No"! Yet "Today is the day of salvation!"

4. As sinners, we all deserve to spend eternity in hell, but God shows us grace and mercy by offing us a chance to be saved. If you chose to reject God after He has gone out of his way to offer you heaven, when you really deserve hell, then he will be doubly righteous and just when he sends you to hell. Although God loves you, He will send you to hell if YOU do not choose to go to heaven and "save yourself".

5. Salvation is a free gift from God and you cannot earn it through "being a good guy". Nothing you can do can merit your salvation because we are saved by grace through faith and not by meritorious works: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. " (Ephesians 2:8-9)

6. So just as Noah had to build to ark to be saved, so you need to be baptized but neither you or Noah could claim they earned their salvation by obeying God's commands.

7. Although salvation is a free gift that we cannot earn through works, that does not mean that there are no conditions of obedience that we must do. Just as Naaman had to dip 7 times in the Jordan river to be cleaned of his leprosy, so too sinners today must obey God's commands in order to attain the salvation. If Naaman had refused to be "baptized" seven times in the Jordan river, he would not have been cured of leprosy. Sinners who refuse to be baptized by immersion today do not have their sins forgiven.

C. How to get saved:

"And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. " (Hebrews 11:6-7)

1. You must believe Jesus is the Son of God: ""He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. " (Mark 16:16)

2. You must repent of your sins (stop willful sin): "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. " (Acts 2:38)

3. You must confess Jesus name before men: "Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture [Isa 53:7] he preached Jesus to him. As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?" And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. " (Acts 8:35-39)

4. You must be baptized by full immersion for the remission of your sins: "when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, " (1 Peter 3:20-21)

D. How Noah's Flood was a type of our salvation through water baptism:

1. 1 Peter 3:29-22 is an amazing Bible story of salvation that sets up an ancient parallel to how the apostles taught we are to be saved.

2. Apostle Peter said this: Just as water saved Noah, so too the water of baptism saved Christians.

3. While it is true that the ark saved Noah from the water, Apostle Peter says that the water saved Noah from the sinful world! This was an entirely new argument for the necessity of water baptism that the first century church taught.

4. Some churches teach that water baptism has no part in attaining salvation which directly contradicts 1 Peter 3:21. These churches teach that you are saved by "Faith Only" which directly violates James 2:24. Yes we are saved by faith, but not faith alone. We are saved by grace, but not grace only. Salvation is a free gift that we cannot earn or merit... but it is a gift with conditions attached like: You must believe, stop sinning, be willing to confess Jesus to others and be immersed in water. Salvation is a gift with conditions we must meet. Noah had to meet the condition of building and then entering the Ark. Naaman had to meet the condition of traveling many miles to immerse 7 times in the Jordan river. We must believe, repent, confess and be immersed in order to be saved.

5. 1 Pet 3:21 tell us that water baptism saves us by an inward cleansing of the conscience through the resurrection of Christ. There is an inward vs. outward cleansing dichotomy in the passage that shows that water baptism does not save us, by an outward cleansing of the dirt off the body (a bubble bath), but an inward cleansing of sin from the soul resulting in a clean conscience. It concludes by telling us that water baptism saves us through the resurrection of Jesus. Beware of anyone who invents any interpretation where the conclusion is that baptism does not save us. To do so, directly violates what the passage plainly says.

6. Noah's flood water washed the sins of the world and water baptism will wash away your own sins.

E. Today is your day of Salvation:

"Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it [the eternal Sabbath rest in heaven], and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, He again fixes a certain day, "Today," saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, "Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts." " (Hebrews 4:6-7)

1. As sinners, we all deserve to spend eternity in hell, but God shows us grace and mercy by offing us a chance to be saved. If you chose to reject God after He has gone out of his way to offer you heaven, when you really deserve hell, then he will be doubly righteous and just when he sends you to hell. Although God loves you, He will send you to hell if YOU do not choose to go to heaven and "save yourself".

2. While most churches today believe the story of Noah's Ark is a myth, why not attend the church you can read about in the Bible, that has always believed every story in the Bible to be real history! Click here to locate one of our Bible believing churches in your own home town.

3. Perhaps you would like to talk to someone from our church in your own home town about getting saved. Click here contact a Christian in your home town by email or by phone.

4. "Now why do you delay? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name. " (Acts 22:16)

7. The Bible doesn't say that Noah preached for 120 years or that it took 120 years to build the ark. Gen 7:6 says Noah was 600 years old when the flood came. Gen 5:32 records that Noah's three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth where born when Noah was 500. There is no indication when God told Noah to start building the Ark. Gen 6:3 says, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." But this passage indicates that man will no longer live to be 1000 years old, but 120 years max. We see that after the flood, man's life expectancy was cut to a maximum of 120 years. So we really have no idea how long Noah took to build the ark. What we do know, is that Noah preached during the construction of the Ark and that the entire world rejected his message. Their day of salvation is past. If you are reading this, your day of salvation is today!

8. Noah was called a "preacher of righteousness" because Christ was preaching through Noah, to those who rejected the message: "in which also He [Christ] went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison" (1 Peter 3:19). They were not in prison when Noah preached to them, but they are now! In the same way, if you are reading this, Christ is preaching through me to you, in order that you will not end up in prison like those in the days of Noah who drowned in the very water... the same water that saved Noah from a world filled with sin.

9. "Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, " (2 Peter 2:2-9)

10. "For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. " (Matthew 24:38-39)

Noah’s Ark, Flood and Tower of Babel