A synopsis of the sermon delivered by the Rev. David L. Hicks at St. Paul’s Reformed Episcopal Church on Sunday, March 9, 2003, Lent I. Please read I Peter 3:18-22.

The New Testament is largely comprised of letters to Christians who are facing particular struggles or difficulties. The first letter of Peter is one such letter. The Christians to whom Peter writes are facing many trials pertaining to their faith. They are suffering persecution in various forms because of their determination to follow Jesus Christ. Peter writes to them in an effort to encourage their faith and exhort them to continue living a life dedicated to the gospel. What kinds of things would you include in a letter to these Christians if you were writing to them? Would baptism be on your list of things to bring to their remembrance? It is for Peter. Peter writes that just as Christ suffered unjustly for the sake of righteousness, so the Christian should be willing to suffer for him. God was working in that suffering to bring about the salvation of his people, and he is working even now through the sufferings of his people to further the work of his kingdom and draw people to himself. Peter then connects the work of Christ with what God was doing through Noah in preparing the ark. Noah patiently followed God’s command and consequently was saved through the floodwaters. Similarly, we who have passed through the waters of baptism, find the salvation and protection of our souls through the same Lord Jesus who was at work in the days of Noah. “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (I Pt. 3:21).

Notice what Peter says about baptism. It is not simply a testimony of faith, as some would say. Nor is it just a rite of passage that Christian is expected to go through. No, it is much more than that. It is a participation in God’s act of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is in this sense that Peter says that baptism “now saves” us. Just as God required Noah to patiently endure the flood, so we endure with Christ through our baptism that connects our life to his. Baptism is the means by which an appeal is made to God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ - God’s ultimate saving act. Baptism is not my sign of faith, focused on what I am doing. It is a sign and seal of what God is doing in my life through Christ. Could there be any greater encouragement than this? To know that I am a recipient of God’s grace and a participant in his work in bringing salvation to the world makes any suffering I may experience pale in comparison. Further, as we meditate on our connection to Christ, we realize that it is precisely God’s way to use suffering to bring about the greatest good for us and for his kingdom.

I am certain that Peter’s words achieved his intent to encourage the believers to whom he was initially writing. Have his words become an encouragement to you as well? When you find yourself being discouraged or overwhelmed because of opposition to your faith, in whatever form the opposition comes, remember your baptism. Remember who are through your connection to Jesus Christ. 
Amen.