Water is a vital element in God’s creation. It is an essential component to life as we know it. Its unique properties make it excellent for cleaning. It is able to replenish itself through the water cycle and allows for biochemical processes in the body to take place. It should be no surprise then that water also plays a vital role in salvation.
In 1 Peter 3:20-21, the apostle reveals that a connection between water and salvation exists in the New Testament and existed in the Old Testament. Peter says, “…when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah…eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism…” Peter clearly shows us that water saved Noah from a sinful world, and now baptism saves us.
However, this is not the only time that God uses water as His mechanism for salvation. When Moses was called to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt, they too were saved by water. Of this event Paul wrote, “…all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea…” (1 Cor. 10:1-2). Again, the Bible shows a direct connection between baptism and salvation.
But what happened when people rejected water being tied to salvation in the Bible? We can read of Naaman in 2 Kings 5 being plagued with leprosy. Elisha told him to immerse himself in the River Jordan, but he rejected the notion because it was too farfetched for him. However, his servants believed Elisha and convinced him that he was wrong, saying, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” (2 Kgs. 5:13). So, he bathed in the river, and he was cured.
Then, in Numbers 14, we read of Israel refusing to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land. Because they feared the giants on the other side, they rebelled against Moses and were cursed to wander in the desert for forty years. All those who refused to cross through the water died without receiving God’s land promise. But their children found salvation when they obeyed the word of the Lord and crossed the Jordan (Josh. 4:21-24). Because they did not fear what lay beyond the river, they took the Promised Land and established the nation of Israel.
The Bible’s theme of tying water to salvation remains true today. Baptism is what God chose to save us from this sinful world. It doesn’t matter if it makes no sense to us. It is true. We have been shown a pattern to follow, and if we doubt or fear the life beyond the water, we will miss our chance at salvation.