The Patient and Merciful God - 1 Peter 3:18-22

What should the flood make you think of God?g

1 Peter 3:18–22 NIV

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19 After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits—20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

The emphasis I want to make today is that the flood was not simply an act of justice, but a symbol of God’s patience and mercy.

Normally when we think of the flood we think of destruction. Like a dad who’s about to open up the biggest butt kicking ever on his misbehaving children.

Genesis 6 (NIV)

5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”

11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.

17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.

Putting our faith, trust, and hope in the work of our patient and merciful God.

When I ran track, there was a scrimmage we went to where we absolutely demolished the other school, we were feeling great, but when we got on the bus everything changed… we forgot to bring the starting blocks, something we were clearly instructed to do. We had to do two a days the rest of the week.

When we look at our suffering, it’s easy to assume that we

We should seek baptism or remember it.

Baptism is a pledge of a clear conscience. It means we pledge to live our lives in a way that doesn’t contradict the lifestyle that God has decided for us.

When the end of Feb comes around we have baptism and confirmation classes.