The ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also. 1 Peter 3:20-21 (NIV)
Noah believed God would bring him safely to a new world. He must have felt rather foolish building the ark and loading it with all the animals when there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. But when Noah got in the ark, in an act of faith, God closed the door.
Then the rain came. The ship built in the desert rose, and Noah and his family were lifted in the ark, brought through the judgment, and carried safely into a new world.
The ark is a wonderful picture of Jesus Christ. The Bible describes a Christian as a person who is in Jesus Christ. Just as the ark carried Noah safely through God’s judgment, so every believer in Christ will be carried safely through the judgment of God into the new world He is preparing for all His people. We are saved because we are in Christ.
Baptism is the sign of being in Christ. Peter makes very clear that it is not the act of baptism that saves you. Rather, being in Christ saves you because He has risen and He “has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him” (3:22).
So if you’re in Him, that is your safety. Whatever happens, you are safe for eternity in the hands of Jesus. This safety is why Peter exhorts us, “Do not fear what they fear” (3:14).
The distinguishing mark of the Christian is that we know we have everlasting life through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. Christ came to “free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Heb. 2:15). We are in Christ, and He has set us free to live without fear.
How can reflecting on Noah’s faith and your own position in Christ help you live without fear?
