God can do something with His pictures that we cannot do with ours, even with the latest technology. He can actually take a picture of truth before it exists!

I love to take pictures with my digital camera. Do some of you like to take pictures? How many of you have gone digital? I’m sorry for the rest of you folks. (Just kidding, of course.)

I don’t know for sure whether God prefers digital or film but after many years reading and studying this Bible, I’ve come to the conclusion that He really likes pictures. The Bible is full of them – word pictures, I mean – stories of people and events that are not only fascinating to read in themselves, but can also teach us a lot about our faith. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. I don’t know how accurate that is but sometimes when someone is trying to explain something, it becomes clearer much faster if they’ll just provide a picture. You scapbookers and website designers know what I’m talking about. Your pages with the most impact consist of a combination of text and pictures. The same is true of magazines – a combo of text and pictures, but the pictures are what sell the product – lots of pictures.

God can do something with His pictures that we cannot do with ours, even with the latest technology. He can actually take a picture of truth before it exists! Think about that. For instance, before He actually offered up His only Son as a sacrifice for our sins, He foretold the event in Genesis 22 through the account of Abraham’s willingness to offer up his only son, Isaac as a sacrifice. Before God allowed man to lift His Son up on the cross so that those who wish to be saved could come to Him, He foretold the event in Numbers 21 in the account of Moses lifting up the bronze replica of the fiery serpent in the wilderness. Before Jesus spent three days in the grave God foretold the event in the story of Jonah and his three days and three nights inside the belly of the great fish. These are just a few of the "taken-before-they-happened" pictures in God’s album, the Bible. There are many more.

You seasoned Bible students will recognize what I’m talking about as type and anti-type. While that terminology is the more precise designation for this practice of foretelling events through word pictures, for the purpose of this message I’m just going call them simply "pictures."

"Early Pictures of Christian Baptism" is the title of my message. We’ll consider two texts: 1 Peter 3:21-22 and 1 Corinthians 10:1-4. We’ll also look at the Old Testament passages that support them – the account of the flood of Noah’s time in Genesis 7 and 8 and the account of the crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus 14. These passages are the earliest pictures of Christian baptism that we have. Going on the assumption that God provides such pictures to present especially important truths, these are very valuable to us. They are exciting, instructive, and interesting. Both of them involve water – lots of it. Both of them have to do with salvation. And both of them help us answer some of the puzzling questions we hear today regarding Christian baptism. Let’s take a look. God’s earliest picture of Christian baptism is seen in:

The account of the Great Flood is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. The catastrophic, worldwide deluge destroyed the entire race of sinful man but at the same time it saved Noah and his family. Let’s do a quick scan of the story in Genesis 7 and 8. You will need to open your own Bible for this because the passage is too long for me to put it up on the projector. Since our time is limited, I have selected some representative verses. We’ll begin with Genesis 7:10-12:

Even to we Oregonians, accustomed as we are to lots of rain, that’s a lot of water. Now drop down to verses 17-24:

Drop down now to chapter 8, verses 14-19:

"O.K.," you ask, "Why do you say that this is a picture of Christian baptism?" I don’t say it. It was the apostle Peter who said it. In 1 Peter 3:18-22 he wrote:

18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20 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. [That’s the story we just read.] 21 And 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…."

Peter says here that the salvation of Noah and his family through the waters of the flood is a corresponding picture of salvation in Christian baptism. Let’s examine it a little more closely.

"And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you," says Peter.

An ordinary person, just reading through the Bible, might get the idea from his passage that baptism saves, don’t you think? Yes, I know that some folks today don’t agree with that conclusion, but what did Peter say? In words that would seem to take a PhD to misunderstand, He said, "Baptism now saves you." In the clearest manner possible, the apostle tells us that baptism and salvation are connected – just like the flood and the salvation of Noah’s family. One would have to do some very pretty fancy footwork to avoid the obvious meaning of these words. Rather than do that, for the sake of our discussion, let’s just assume that Peter meant what he said.

So how does it work? How does baptism save us? Well, think about the flood. It was a whole lot of water that destroyed a whole lot of wickedness while simultaneously saving a very few obedient people. It really is no more complicated than that. So couldn’t we say from what we learn about the flood that baptism destroys a whole lot of wickedness while simultaneously saving a relatively few obedient people? Does it need to be more complicated than that? "In the days of Noah," says Peter, "eight persons were brought safely through the water." "And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you."

Several important and controversial issues regarding baptism can be addressed here. First, Peter’s comparison with the flood clarifies the medium of baptism. The kind of baptism Peter was referring to was water baptism. Why would I say that? Because that is what he said. Noah and his family were brought safely through the water. The baptism that Peter refers to is water baptism because water is the common element in the correspondence between the flood and Christian baptism. The New Testament mentions several kinds of baptism, including water baptism, Holy Spirit baptism and the baptism of fire and the baptism of suffering. Here it is water baptism. We know that because Peter compared it to the water of the flood.

Is there any corroborating evidence in the New Testament that verifies that the baptism that saves is water baptism? Yes there is. Every conversion described in the book of Acts ended in baptism. Whenever the medium is mentioned, we find that it is baptism in water. Two examples that that specifically mention baptism in water are the stories of the Ethiopian Eunuch and the house of Cornelius. Presumably, the other cases were the same. In the account of the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8:36 we read that the Eunuch, after Philip had taught him, said, "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?" Upon this confession of belief, Philip baptized him and he went his way rejoicing. In the case of the household of Cornelius in Acts 10:47, Peter said, "Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?" At that point Luke tells us that Peter "ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ." The medium of baptism as it relates to salvation is water, which parallels the flood account of lots of water.

Secondly, Peter’s comparison with the flood clarifies the effect of baptism. The apostle says "baptism now saves you." Noah and his family were saved from the destruction that came upon the corrupt world of their day when the ark rose up on the waters of the flood. Likewise, we are saved in the waters of baptism. Is this a reasonable conclusion? If so, there is probably some corroborating evidence in the New Testament. So is there any such corroborating evidence? Yes there is. Jesus said in Mark 16:16, "He who believes and is baptized shall be saved." Again, we see the effect of baptism. It saves. According to Luke in Acts 2:40, Peter exhorted the Jews on Pentecost: "Be saved from this perverse generation!" Then in the very next verse (verse 41) Luke tells us, "So then, those who had received his word were baptized…." So there it is again – the effect of Christian baptism. It saves. An angel told the Gentile Cornelius in Acts 11:14, "Send to Joppa, and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here and he shall speak words to you by which you will be saved…." When Peter arrived and came to understand that God wanted the Gentiles as well as the Jews to hear the gospel, he said in Acts 10:47: "Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?" Then Luke adds in the very next verse, "And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ." Peter was sent to speak "words" by which Cornelius and his family could be saved. Part of the "words" he spoke was the order to be baptized. The effect of Christian baptism, according to Peter – and others in the New Testament - is salvation.

Thirdly Peter’s comparison clarifies the nature of Christian baptism. The apostle does this both negatively and positively. Negatively he tells us what baptism isn’t. Baptism isn’t a bath which removes physical dirt. He says that it is "not the removal of dirt from the flesh." Some misunderstand this issue today. They believe that the efficacy of baptism is something magical in the water. Peter nixes that idea. Baptism isn’t a bath to remove dirt. There is nothing magical or supernatural in the water itself. From a positive angle, Peter tells us that baptism is "an appeal to God for a good conscience…." Why would we need a good conscience? We need a good conscience because of our sin. Sin defiles our conscience. Baptism is the point of the conversion process where, after we have come to believe the gospel, and have decided to turn our lives toward God, we appeal to Him to give us a good conscience by taking away our sins. Many today tell us that the appeal should take the form of a prayer (often referred to as the "Sinner’s Prayer") but according to Peter, the appeal is baptism. Also significant in that regard is the conspicuous absence of any such prayer in the New Testament.

If baptism isn’t a bath to remove dirt and there is nothing magical or supernatural in the water, what gives baptism its power to save? Peter’s answer in our text is this: "Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." We haven’t time for it this morning but Paul gives a wonderful explanation of how the resurrection figures into Christian baptism in Romans 6:1-11. I encourage you to read that to learn more.

Is there any corroborating evidence elsewhere in the New Testament that links baptism with taking away sin? Indeed there is. Peter told the Jews on Pentecost in Acts 2:38 to "Repent and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins…." Ananias told Saul of Tarsus in Acts 22:16: "And now, why do you delay? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins…." Baptism is the means by which we ask God to take away our sins. For the penitent believer, God does just that.

To summarize, in 1 Peter 3:20-21, Peter tells us that there is a correspondence between the picture of the flood of Noah and Christian baptism. Both involved water. Both brought salvation. He also clarifies how baptism works. It isn’t a bath to remove physical dirt. It is an appeal to God to give us a good conscience. God does this when He takes away our sins.

We’re looking into God’s photo album at two of His earliest pictures of Christian baptism. He first was the flood of Noah. The second is:

That story is in Exodus 14. Again I ask you to turn there as the passage is too long for the projector screen.

In the wake of the tenth plague that God brought upon Egypt, stubborn Pharaoh let Israel leave their bondage after 430 years. But once they left Egypt, the king changed his mind and pursued them to bring them back. The Israelites were trapped up against the edge of the Red Sea. According to Moses in Exodus 14:10, "As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord."

Then in verses 13-14 Moses said: "Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. 14 The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent."

Then in verses 15 and 16, God said to Moses, "Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. 16 And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land."

At that point, according to verses 19 and 20, "The angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel…."

Verse 21-22: "Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided. And the sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left."

With water on all sides of them, and the pillar of cloud over them and behind them (We know it was over them as well as behind them because verse 24 says that God "looked down upon" the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud) Israel was fully immersed in water and protected from Pharaoh and his army. At some point however, Pharaoh realized what was happening. As the cloud lifted he could see how Israel had crossed on dry ground. He set out to pursue them right into the sea.

Verse 26-28: "Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.’ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing right into it; then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even Pharaoh's entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained."

Then verse 30: "Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore."

Israel’s total immersion in the Red Sea both saved them and destroyed the power that Pharaoh had over them. What a remarkable picture of deliverance and salvation! So what does this have to do with you and me?

Paul cites a correspondence between this early picture and Christian baptism in 1 Corinthians 10:1-4:

In familiar Christian phraseology, Paul links Israel’s deliverance through the Red sea with Christian baptism. "All were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea…." This remarkable language has some interesting correspondence to New Testament teaching on Christian baptism.

First Paul’s comparison clarifies the effect of baptism. Paul’s words "baptized into Moses" here in 1 Corinthians 10 corresponds remarkably with similar phrases elsewhere in his writing. In Galatians 3:27, for instance, Paul wrote: "For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." Israel was "baptized into Moses." We are "baptized into Christ." Then again in Romans 6:3 Paul wrote: "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?" Israel was "baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea." In like manner we are "baptized into Christ." The correspondence is obvious. The effect of baptism is that it puts us into Christ.

Secondly, Paul’s comparison clarifies the mode of Christian baptism. Israel was "baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea." The Greek word that Paul used in 1 Corinthians 10 for "baptized" is BAPTIZO and is clearly understood both by reading what the lexicographers have written about it and by looking at God’s picture of the crossing of the Red Sea. The lexicons say that "baptize" means "to immerse." Israel was "immersed" into Moses. But just in case someone might be inclined to doubt that conclusion, we see the same thing in God’s picture of Israel crossing the Red Sea. As I pointed out earlier in our reading of Exodus 14, there was a wall of water on either side of the Israelites and a pillar of cloud above and behind them. Israel was totally immersed in water! Likewise, when we are baptized we are totally immersed in water. Other so called "modes" of baptism today (like sprinkling and pouring water) just don’t match God’s picture.

Is there any corroborating evidence elsewhere in the New Testament to verify this conclusion? Indeed there is. In Romans 6:4 Paul wrote, "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death…." Baptism is a burial. When you bury someone you fully cover them up. You immerse them in dirt. Speaking of our salvation from the effects of the flesh, Paul wrote in Colossians 2:12 that we have been "buried with Him in baptism." When you bury someone you completely cover them up. The mode of Christian baptism is immersion. God’s picture of the crossing of the Red Sea clarifies it.

Will you look again with me at Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 10:1? Of ancient Israel, the apostle said, "all were under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses…." There were no exceptions in Israel’s salvation. They were all saved in the same way. No one went around the Red Sea. No one stood on the edge and simply prayed to God for deliverance. It is the same with Christians today. Two chapters after Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 10, he said this in 1 Corinthians 12:13: "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free…." There are not varying plans of salvation for different kinds of people. People are all saved in the same way.

Before Israel went through the water, they were in real danger of destruction by the army of Pharaoh. The water of the Red Sea did two things for them. It destroyed the power of their old master, Pharaoh, and it brought them under the leadership of a new master, Moses. Baptism does the same thing for us. It destroys the works of our old master, the devil, and it brings us into the realm of a new Master, Jesus.

Conclusion

With dead Egyptians washing up onto the eastern shore of the Red Sea on the morning after their crossing, I seriously doubt that the Israelites argued much among themselves about the necessity of the crossing. It is no more reasonable to argue with the necessity of baptism today – and act which destroys the effects of the old life and puts us into the new life as we are "baptized into Christ."

God’s word pictures make things very clear. We need to do things God’s way, not our way. If you have never been properly baptized and you want to be saved from the penalty of death, you need to takes steps to rectify your deficit.

Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.

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All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.

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