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#5686
Anonymous
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First of all, I said that. Jon just agreed.

[quote:1gzja1sy]So you’re placing your faith in something you do – Baptism – a work by anyone’s definition[/quote:1gzja1sy]
:shock:

How do you reply to a direct quote of mine saying that baptism is God’s work as though I said just the opposite?

Allow me to repeat it for you:

Baptism is God’s work. The Bible verses you quoted say that explicitly and unambiguously, hardly what one should be deeming a cop out.

[quote:1gzja1sy]When you read it in context, the verses in front talks about the flood – [u:1gzja1sy]where water didn’t save anyone there either[/u:1gzja1sy].[/quote:1gzja1sy]
Interesting.

In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, [u:1gzja1sy]were saved through water[/u:1gzja1sy]. 1 Peter 2:20

We also find:

This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. 1 Peter 3:21

The Bible says Noah and his sons were saved through water. And this salvation prefigures baptism. The context makes the parallel rather obvious.

It is not a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him. 1 Peter 3:21-22

And this says that baptism is not a removal of dirt from the body, that is, baptism is not just a physical washing. Baptism is an appeal to God for a clear conscience, an appeal made through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Thus says the Lord GOD: I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you. Ezekiel 36:25-27

Peter (said) to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.” Acts 2:38-39

The context is not bearing out what you see there. As we saw in Ezekiel, baptism is a work of God. As we know from St. Peter in Acts, baptism was done with literal water (just as Jesus was baptized by St. John the Baptist). And as we know from St. Peter’s epistle, baptism is not a physical washing; it is a spiritual cleansing and renewal.