Baptism Now Saves You

Rev. Carl Roth, pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Peter 3:18-22.

St. Peter arrives at the theological heart of his first epistle. This creedal text lays out the saving work of Jesus Christ as the reason for the hope that is in us. Jesus suffered once for sins as the righteous one for the unrighteous ones in order to bring us to God. After His death and resurrection, He descended into hell to proclaim His victory over the devil and his demons. St. Peter specifically speaks about the days of Noah in order to preach the comfort of Holy Baptism, the water combined with God’s Word that saves us. The horsepower of Baptism is the death and resurrection of Jesus, by which we are given a good conscience before God, at whose right hand Jesus reigns over all things for our good.

“The Imperishable Inheritance” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the epistles of 1 and 2 Peter and Jude. The life of the Christian Church right now is life in exile. We endure attacks from various trials and from false teachers. Such suffering makes us long for the eternal home that will be ours at the resurrection of the dead. In Jesus, we have this promise of eternal life that can never be snatched away. These three epistles strengthen us to hold fast to Christ in the midst of suffering and to give witness to the hope that is ours in Him.