We're going to be in 1 Peter this morning, so if you'd like you can start turning it out. I think the Pew Bibles, Nikki you can help me with this, but I think it's 1010? 1016? Sweet. Alright, so 1016 in the Pew Bibles. We might start just before that. Amy Carmichael was a Christian missionary in southern India. She died there in January of 1951 and she served Christ there for 55 years. She went without a furlough. Her mission was to rescue little girls out of the Hindu temple, the abuse that they suffered there in the temple, and to protect them even as their captors came looking for them. She ministered to their needs and taught the gospel message. She was opposed, as you would expect, and she suffered much for Christ in this life. In one of the books she wrote, it's entitled If, by Amy Carmichael, there's a quote that I'd like to read. It says, if I ask to be delivered from trial, rather than for deliverance out of it, to the praise of his glory, if I forget that the way of the cross leads to the cross, and not to a bank of flowers, If I regulate my life on these lines or even unconsciously my thinking so that I am surprised when the way is rough and think it strange, though the word says think it not strange and count it all joy, then I know nothing of Calvary love. Amy Carmichael lived a powerful life because she was willing to suffer for Christ. She saw these girls as so valuable in Christ's image. Suffering for Christ's sake is certain for those that believe in Christ. In Philippians 129 we read, for it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him, but also suffer for his sake. You have guaranteed suffering coming. And I think it's important to distinguish the different types of suffering that we have coming. We have suffering that's due to the general effects of sin in this life, sickness and disease, oftentimes, natural disasters. It's from the general effects of sin, and it will cause suffering. We have suffering, the second, second suffering, we have suffering due to sin in our lives, personal sin in our lives. God's established authorities to punish that sin, and that can cause suffering. And God disciplines those he loves. That can include suffering. So there's suffering due to sin. And the third is that we suffer due to persecution for righteousness. And we'll examine that type of suffering in more depth today. Last week, Todd began a sermon in 1 Corinthians 4 that he'll complete, Lord willing, when he returns next week. He presented to us a cross-shaped view of Christian life and ministry. We're servants and followers of Christ. ready to follow him in humble dependence and in sacrificial devotion, ready to bear our cross for Christ's sake, ready to accept this suffering for righteousness. And this morning, as Todd was in 1 Corinthians, this morning we're gonna be in 1 Peter, like I said. So I wanted to take a few moments and go through just an overview of 1 Peter and make sure that we know where we're at in the book. Let's see, so the author, that's what I've got up there. Author, Peter, it's in 1 Peter, so that would make sense. In verse one, he clearly identifies himself, and Peter's one of the apostles that we read so much about in the Gospels and in Acts. The audience that he's writing to is the believers in Pontius and Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia, and it's all modern day northern Turkey. So he's writing to the believers there, and those believers are predominantly Gentiles, okay? Probably including Jewish believers as well in the area, but predominantly Gentiles. And we started to get a hint of that this morning as Lauren was teaching through 1 Peter chapter four, that there's a lot of Gentiles around. And when did he write it? He probably wrote it in 62 to 64, somewhere in that time frame, AD, probably before the fires of Rome and the intense persecution of Christians from Nero. We know that because he probably wrote it in Rome. He mentions some indications of being in Rome in the letter, and so he doesn't say anything about the intense persecution of the Christians, and he doesn't say anything about the fire, the fires, and so it's probably happened before that, so 62 to 64. And why did he write it? He wrote it for growth in faith and obedience in the midst of suffering. The church, especially here in northern Turkey, in that area, the church was suffering for Christ's sake in a society that valued a pagan way of life, similar to ours. So he wrote this letter to encourage them in their suffering and to give them direction in their suffering. So let's look at the overview of what this letter looks like. How did he go about doing this? The first part, the first two verses you'll see is just an opening and it kind of identifies himself and who his audience is. It identifies some really big spiritual truths also in the second verse there. Then he goes into a discussion there in chapter one, verse three, through chapter two, verse 10, where he's talking about our salvation. And he's talking about the benefits of our salvation and what those benefits call us to. So the things that our salvation calls us to is to holiness and to love. And he clearly points that out. Our salvation, this great gift that God has given us, calls us to holiness and to love. Then he transitions into a portion where he's talking about how we need to live out our lives in front of the world. And in chapter 2.11 through 4.11, he starts with a general encouragement on how we're to live, and then he quickly goes into four different areas in our life that need to be characterized by this holiness, holiness and love, love of the brothers especially. And those four areas are authorities in our life, government, authorities in our life specifically, masters and slaves, in this day that that would be our employers or our employees, husbands and wives and the family, and to one another in the church. So four areas that he really shows that we need to be in submission and we need to honor each other. And then he transitions into a section on suffering, and that's where we find ourselves this morning. Responding to suffering in a godly way. And we will be starting there in 313 and go through the end of chapter three this morning. He'll spend time talking about suffering here in this place because he's just talked about how we live our life in the world, under government authorities, under masters, in our families, and in the church. And in those places, that's where we spend all of our time, and that's where we're going to suffer. And so it's natural then to transition into a talk on suffering and encouragement in suffering. He's going to continue then in Chapter 4 and into Chapter 5, and Lauren's going to get into this in our E412 time, which, by the way, I'd encourage you to come to if you haven't been able to come. E412 is an hour before service starts at 930. We start opening the scriptures together, and we have time there to get a little bit more in-depth. I encourage you all to come. He gets into a section on really persevering in suffering. Suffering is going to last. We're in the last days, and suffering will continue until it's over. And then he'll wrap things up in the conclusion, and we will not get that far today. Praise God. Okay. So let's transition to the first slide there, and let's begin reading in 1 Peter 3, 13. Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled. So the first point for us to consider this morning as we look for encouragement in suffering is point one, do not fear the world. As a side note, the first two points this morning are really gonna be more Lessons on how to deal with suffering and how we need to be acting in that. And the third point we really get to is going to be a lot of encouragement from examples. So this first point, do not fear the world. Fear can control us subconsciously and even consciously at times. Many things we fear cause us to act responsibly, perhaps, at times. When we're hiking, let's say, if you fear a rattlesnake, you're probably going to step around obstacles on the trail in case there's a rattlesnake on the other side. So fear of a rattlesnake, in this case, could cause us to act responsibly. At other times, fear can cause us to act irrationally. In high school, I did some rock climbing at Garden of the Gods down in Colorado Springs. And there were places in the climb when I would come to a point where I was unsure that I could make the next move. And irrationally, I would freeze. Because that's what you do when you want to get off the rock. No. But I'm not thinking. Fear can cause us to be irrational at times. Another example of fear. Governments, they use fear, fear of punishment, like fines or imprisonment or even the death penalty, to control the citizens, to cause citizens to act in a responsible way or in a way that the government would like. When you're driving and you see a police car on the side of the road, you might fear a speeding ticket. So you instinctively look at the speedometer and hit the brake. Fear of the government controls us to some degree. In these examples and others, we see that we typically avoid what we fear. But that's not the only way it affects us. It also magnifies suffering when we fear the source of our suffering. Military personnel going through basic training are compelled to do a lot of exercise. And that exercise is compelled by the angry shouts of feared drill instructors. Do I have any retired military in here? Yeah, Pepe. You can ask Pepe about stories of this later. Retired military folks can tell you story after story of those disliked experiences decades later. It really made an impression. Every day, individuals freely submit themselves and they even pay a lot of money to extreme exercise regimes, don't they? CrossFit and P40, whatever. Pay a lot of money to extreme exercise regimes and they love it, okay? Fear alters and magnifies our perception of reality. It causes suffering to be worse. when we fear the source of our suffering. In our text, Peter's talking about fear of those that would harm us, fear of those that would cause us to suffer for righteousness, fear of the world. Our flesh desires to avoid harm and suffering, like being ostracized and being made fun of, not being accepted, being hungry, not being able to provide for our families. being treated unjustly, and the list goes on and on. The things that we fear. We avoid these fears by not speaking up about Christ. We avoid these fears by acting like those around us. We avoid these fears by coarse joking, unethical business practices. The list goes on. We do it all just to fit in. But we're commanded to have no fear of them. Likewise, in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 12, verses four through five, Jesus says, I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear. Fear him who, after he is killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. And again, we see similar declaration by David in Psalm 23. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me. It's easy to mentally agree with this command in the comfort of our seats here in church this morning, but how do we keep from fearing the world? How do we do that? How do we fear God more than man? And how does that shift encourage us? The Holy Spirit through Peter gives us two pieces of guidance here, and the first is found in verse 13. Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? If you're zealous for what is good. So point A, be zealous for what is good. Through God's common grace to all mankind, he's caused those who are zealous for what is good to normally expect not to be harmed or to suffer as a result. Normally, those who do good don't suffer. In Romans 13 and three, we read about the approval of leaders towards those who are characterized by good conduct. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who's in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval. And in Proverbs 16, seven, we read that even our enemies find it hard to persecute those who please the Lord. It says in Proverbs 16, seven, when a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. God supernaturally causes peace normally for those who do good. There's general restraint in society from harming good people. So being zealous for what is good eliminates much suffering from our lives. If we obey verse 13 and be zealous for what is good, we'll eliminate suffering for our sin, because we're doing what's good, and we'll eliminate suffering, the suffering that we've earned. Peter, knowing that it's impossible to always do what's good and knowing that it's easy to lose sight of the goal, here includes the word zealous. It doesn't just say do good. He says be zealous about it. We must be zealous or vehemently contending for doing what's good in order to be characterized by it. Doing what's right can't be something we happen to do unintentionally or when it's convenient. It must be something we strive for. putting off the old, renewing our mind, putting on the new. It takes a lot of effort and dedication to be zealous. Can you see how being zealous for what's good helps to eliminate the fear of the world? It removes earned suffering, and we can trust in the promises of God. Even though God's common grace typically results in no suffering for those who do what's good, it doesn't always. I think we see this more and more as the days go on, and we see it more and more in other societies. Sometimes being righteous will incite persecution, as we've been promised in Philippians 129 that we read earlier. The second guidance Peter gives us for eliminating fear of the world is found in verse 14. But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Letter B, recognize God's blessing in suffering. recognize God's blessing in suffering. On first glance, even if you should suffer seems to indicate that suffering for righteousness might not happen. I think it's better to understand this verse by saying that normally we don't suffer for doing right, but sometimes we do. And even if we do, then we will be blessed. The if is conditionally saying that if suffering than blessing. It's not saying suffering is optional. We know in Philippians it's not optional. It's saying that blessings will come with suffering. If we know that we receive blessings from God in suffering, I think it'll be helpful to identify some of those blessings for our encouragement. Blessings the word sorry the word blessed carries the same meaning as in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus says Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. It's in Matthew 5, 10 through 12. So this blessing includes inheriting the kingdom of heaven. It includes having great reward in heaven. This blessing also includes current blessings in this life. A few verses earlier, Peter quotes from Psalm 34. So let's go to Psalm 34. Psalm 34 and verse 15 through 22. It says, the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil to cut off the memory of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones, not one of them is broken. Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems the life of his servants. None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. In suffering for righteousness, we will experience real blessing. In the future, and we'll experience real blessing now by God attending to our troubles and delivering us. These are all reasons to not fear the world, to not be troubled, and to trust God in suffering. This leads us to the next point for us to consider as we look for encouragement in suffering. Point two, honor Christ the Lord as holy. So we come back to our text in 1 Peter, and we'll look at verses 14 through 17. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. Fearing the world is opposed to honoring Christ the Lord as holy. We honor Christ when we trust him instead of fearing the world. Verse 15 is similar in structure and grammar to Isaiah 8, 12 through 13. Likely Peter had this verse in mind as he wrote his letter. Isaiah 8, 12 through 13 says, Now notice something here that's a little subtle. Wayne Grudem, in his commentary on 1 Peter, points out that the passage in Isaiah is in reference to the covenant name of God, Yahweh. In our text, it's indicated by four capital L-O-R-D, Yahweh, the covenant name of God. In 1 Peter, Peter's referencing Christ. It's a similar text, and it's Peter's claim that Christ is equivalent to Yahweh, Christ is God. We're directed to honor Christ the Lord as holy. Honor means to sanctify, to separate to God, to purify, to dedicate, and to hallow. Hallowing God's name was a high priority for Jesus. When he taught his disciples to pray, he started with, hallowed be thy name. We hallow God's name and we honor Christ's name when we understand that he stands unique, and above all of creation. He is great and mighty. He's the King of kings and the Lord of lords. We cannot fear man, but must fear God. And we cannot help but to tell others about him. So point A, share your hope in God. Share your hope in God. So back to 1 Peter 3 in verse 15. Honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect. There's two main parts to making a defense that Peter points out here. The first is that we must be prepared to make a defense, and the second is that we must deliver it with gentleness and respect. The Greek word for defense is apologia or apologetics, and it's a reasoned defense or an argument. Not in the argument, yelling and shouting sense of the word, but an interaction where you're reasoning through why you have this hope. It can be formal or informal. You could be called on the carpet in front of authorities like Paul was, or it could just be a personal interaction with a friend. Peter's saying we should be prepared to make a reasoned defense for our hope that honors Christ the Lord as holy. It does not honor Christ the Lord as holy if we have no defense for our hope. If somebody asks us the reason of our hope and we say, I don't know, or I just go to church with my mom and dad, that's where they took me. If we have no reason for our hope, it does not honor Christ the Lord as holy. There are countless reasons to hope in Christ that are specific to each of our lives. Christ has ministered to each of us differently. Why do I hope in Christ? Well, in part, it's because I've seen his gracious care and tender love firsthand as he preserved and healed my daughter on many occasions. But let me ask you, and just think about it for a second, what is your hope? Why do you hope in Christ? You're here this morning to worship God. Why do you hope in Christ? Each of the reasons in our heads, the real ways that God has ministered in our life, that he has shown his love, each of those things is real. But it all comes back to one overarching reason, and Peter tells us about his hope in chapter one of 1 Peter. Chapter one, verses three through five. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Praise be to God. He saved us. We should be prepared to make a defense, a reasoned argument for our hope, because this honors Christ the Lord as holy and encourages us in suffering by focusing our hearts on the truth of his love. Which brings us back to our second point, and that's that the defense needs to be done with gentleness and respect. This is a reflection of the repeated ideas of submission and honor from the earlier passage. Paul also addresses this in 2 Timothy. That's in 2 Timothy 2, 24 and 26. Our enemy is not those that persecute us. They're lost souls that Jesus cares for, just like us. But our words and our deeds, by our words and our deeds, we're trying to win people who are persecuting us for God's glory. So we must honor Christ the Lord as holy by sharing the reason of our hope. And, point B, by living righteously while suffering. Back in 1 Peter 3, 16 and 17 says, The conscience is the part in us that discerns between what is morally good and bad. It prompts us to do the good and shun the bad. It convicts us of the bad and commends us for the good. Having a good conscience is not having sin weighing on us. And having a good conscience is accomplished by God's washing and a sanctified life. As we spoke about earlier, it's shameful to revile and slander someone who is good and who does what is right. If our persecutors don't feel that shame now, they will in the judgment to come. However, if we don't live righteously in the midst of suffering, how is Christ honored in that? It's better to suffer for doing what's right than to suffer for sin. It is God's will for our life. for suffering, for righteousness, and then we sin, we're not honoring God in that. We need to be righteous in suffering to honor God. God is sovereign, and we should trust his plan and rest in his grace. And this leads us to the final point for us to consider as we look for encouragement in suffering, and that's point three, think correctly about suffering. So we'll read verse 18 through 22 back in 1 Peter 3. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is eight persons, were brought safely through water. 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, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. So there's a couple of issues presented here that have historically drawn debate, even within Orthodox Christianity. Let's look at this passage in three sections following our outline there. Remembering that Peter's encouraging us in suffering with three examples. The example of Christ's suffering, the example of Noah's suffering, and the example of our baptism. So we're gonna walk through those three examples. The first, A, part A, Christ suffered unto death. Let's reread verses 18 through 20. Christ has also suffered. We're not alone in our suffering. We do not have a leader that directs us. We don't have a God that directs us to suffer while he's removed and untouched. No, we worship Emmanuel, God with us. In fact, Christ has suffered more than we have. Warren pointed this out this morning. Christ has suffered more than we ever will. He has suffered for the sins of all of us beyond what we can. He suffered to bring us to God, to restore a relationship with God that was broken when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. We each bear this original sin, and we can see it in our lives as each of us commits personal sin. In Romans 3.23 it says, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Sin separates us from God, but God didn't leave us there. God in his grace and wisdom provided a way for sins to be covered under the law with animal sacrifices in the Old Testament. The law sets a standard that's impossible to attain. We cannot achieve righteousness. The sacrificial system is imperfect and does not change our heart. We just can't break free from sin and death and the sacrifices of the Old Testament had to be continually offered. They were not an enduring payment of sin. In Hebrews 10.4 it says, for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. It wasn't a permanent solution to our sin problem. How could a sacrifice ever be sufficient, not just for all the sins of one man or for all the sins of one nation, but for all the sins of all men for all time? It would have to be a perfect sacrifice. It couldn't be an animal sacrifice without conscience. Not a sinful man, that wouldn't be a good sacrifice. He has to pay for his own sins. It has to be a sinless man who is tempted in every way as we are, but did not yield to sin and offered himself willingly on our behalf. For God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin he condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh but according to the spirit. Romans 8, three through four. Praise be to Jesus Christ. Christ's atonement is sufficient for all the sins of all men for all time. Amen. Verse 19 has been historically interpreted a couple of ways by Orthodox Reformed believers. So let's look at verse 19. The first interpretation is that when Noah was building the ark, Christ in spirit was in Noah preaching repentance and righteousness through him to unbelievers who were on the earth then, but are now spirits in prison. And the second interpretation is that after Christ died, or after he rose but before he ascended to heaven, he traveled to hell and proclaimed triumph over the fallen angels who had sinned by marrying human women before the flood. So two historical interpretations of verse 19. I favor the first because there's a lot of scriptural support, but I can't completely rule out the second. Neither present a doctrine that's opposed to clear teachings of scripture and both fit the context and the purpose of Peter's letter here. In these circumstances, it's okay to let the tension between the two interpretations remain. Either way, this section helps us to think correctly about suffering and considering Christ's suffering. For example, let's go through six different ways that this encourages us. The first, Christ also suffered. You see that in the first couple verses here. Chapter two says that he did this so that we would follow him. He suffered so that we would follow. Second is that Christ atoned for our sins and reconciled us to God, so we're at peace with God. That's a huge encouragement. The third is that Christ's work conquered sin and death. We can hope in our resurrection. The fourth, those who do not suffer for Christ's sake will end up in prison. It's not where we want to be. The fifth, Jesus is long-suffering and desires that all men would come to him. And so he preaches a message of repentance. And the sixth is that Jesus has proclaimed victory over sin and death, so our suffering is temporary. It will end. So moving to our second section, the example of Noah's suffering, letter B, God kept Noah safe through suffering. Let's reread verse 20. God's patience waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared in which a few, that is eight persons, were brought safely through water. So we can see from the few passages in Genesis that the ark took no more than 100 years to build. That's all, right? Great. During this time, God was patient with an ungodly world and the spirit of Jesus preached through Noah. Peter calls Noah in his second letter a herald of righteousness to the corrupt and wicked ancient world. He was a herald of righteousness. And we see also that Christ preached through him. Noah suffered immensely during this time. Imagine, if you will, eight people in the whole world that God is going to save. Eight righteous people in the whole world So it's difficult enough odds, but add to that picture the righteous minority, the eight, are preaching repentance to the wicked majority. They're not happy about it, and there's intense persecution. We in this nation complain about our suffering, but it hasn't reached this level. Most of the world is beyond us, and this is amazing suffering. Eight versus the whole world. Peter specifically says that eight people are saved through the water and these eight people are identified in Genesis. In Genesis 7.13 it says, on the very same day, Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons entered the ark. So Peter here is showing us that the very words of scripture, the numbers that are used in scripture, the letters, the words, all of them, are God-breathed, they're trustworthy, they're significant. Eight people were mentioned in Genesis 7 as being saved in the ark, and Peter clearly shows here that this detail, this detail is inspired truth. There were no stowaways, there was no extra boats. Inspired truth that eight people were saved. We can and we should trust the very words of scripture. So these eight persons in the ark were brought safely through the water. The water, we're told, blotted out every living thing, but God saved them. And as Ryan pointed out in our E412 class, they couldn't even shut the door to the ark themselves. When the rain started, God had to close them in. They couldn't save themselves. God saved them. Encouragement and correct thinking for us in this example of Noah. First, a few people suffered for righteousness in the midst of a wicked generation. A few people suffered. And the second, God noticed them and he saved them through the water. He didn't save them from the water. He didn't pluck them out and let the flood take everything away and then put them back. He saved them through the water, through suffering. All right, let's get to our third example. Letter C, Jesus Christ is our salvation. 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, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers, having been subjected to him. Peter's connecting the floodwaters and salvation of Noah's family to the ordinance of baptism. This is an example of type-anti-type relationship. Typology is the study of these types and anti-types, where the types are foreshadowing messianic truths. For example, Romans tells us that Adam was a type of Christ. Hebrews tells us that Melchizedek was a type or an example of Christ. Hebrews also tells us that the temple and the tent were types or examples of heaven. So we see Old Testament truths, Old Testament people and things representing New Testament messianic truths, typology. In this case, the flood is a type of baptism. The flood teaches us something about baptism. Peter's saying here that the flood is a type or an example of the anti-type baptism, and I wanna point out three ways that that's the case. The first, the water was God's judgment on a sinful world. It was the means by which unrepentant man was punished. The water in baptism symbolizes our death with Christ. We're put to death with Christ when we're put down below the water. The second is that being saved through the waters of the flood is like coming up out of the water in baptism. It symbolizes new life in Jesus. It also represents cleansing and a washing away of our sins. The third is that God does the saving, not man. Noah didn't save his family, God did. We can't save ourselves, God can. So how does baptism save us? That's what the verse kind of reads. Baptism then saves you. So let's look at the next two phrases because I think Peter clarifies this for us. First, we can see the baptism that saves us is not the baptism that removes dirt from the body, right? Not the immersion in water, not the physical act of baptism. Even if you were to get in the baptism pool and scrub around, that doesn't save us. Getting the dirt off doesn't do anything. Peter's negatively emphasizing that the physical immersion in water is not saving us. All right, well let's look at the second then. We can see that the baptism that saves us is the baptism that appeals to God for a good conscience. It's an act of faith in Christ's atoning work on the cross. The baptism that saves us is our request for Jesus's blood to wash us clean of the stain of sin in our lives. It's guaranteed through the resurrection of Jesus. In Ephesians 2, eight through nine, we can read, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast. The physical act of baptism cannot save us. Faith in Christ alone saves us. God, through Peter, has given us these two clarifications to ensure we understand what Peter's talking about. In summary, this passage references three baptisms, really. The first is the type. It's Noah's family being saved through the waters of the flood. And the second baptism that's referenced here is the anti-type, or our salvation. That's the New Testament messianic truth. It's our salvation, right, through repentance of sin and faith in Christ, characterized by our death to sin and life in Christ and cleansing of sin from our lives in this present state. And the third baptism is the symbol. So we have the type, the anti-type, and the symbol. And the symbol is believer's baptism. It's a symbolic ordinance of immersion in water, and it's been commanded by Christ for all believers. What an amazing truth that Jesus Christ is condescended to live among us, fully God and fully man. He lived the perfect life so that he could be sympathetic with our suffering. He died a brutal death on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. He rose again to show his victory over sin and death, and he ascended to heaven where he sits at God's right hand, seated, because all of creation has been subjected to him. And this conquering king loves you. He cares for you, and he will sustain you in suffering. As we come to the end of the message this morning, if you want to know more about receiving God's grace in your life, about receiving Christ into your life and taking hold of these truths, about God's amazing gift of salvation through Jesus, please talk to somebody after the service. Ryan or I or the person on your right or the person on your left, talk to somebody after the service. We'd be happy to pray with you about it. There's nothing more important. There's nothing that will sustain you through suffering like Christ. Let's pray. Lord God, we know that we have been promised suffering in this life. We know that to come behind you and to carry a cross means that we will suffer. and that we will suffer for righteousness' sake, we will suffer unfairly, not for deeds that we have committed, but just because we're identified with you. But God, we want to glorify you. And God, we care more about your glory, God, than about our pain. God, would you sustain us in suffering? Would you allow us to understand your truths and to grow in your truths and to work through suffering in our lives, God? Would you give us grace? I pray that you would go before us, God, that you would be with us. We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.