Baptism

aptism (as the NIV translates the Greek term antitupon, literally, "antitype").
Baptism now saves us, Peter says--just as the water "saved" Noah and his
family. But, of course, we know that Peter was not asserting that there was
some salvific aspect to the floodwaters. Floodwaters did not save Noah. It was
the ark that saved Noah. It was God who saved Noah and his family because
Noah believed God. Because of the righteousness of Noah (the head of the
family), the entire family escaped destruction. Noah and his family did not
receive the baptism. The earth received the baptism through which the (sins of
the earth) sinners were washed away and the "answer of Good Conscience
towards God" of Noah brought forth salvation to him and to his household.
The earth was reborn. They were saved from the water baptism, which the
sinners received, and they escaped. Peter is careful to inform his readers that
he is not teaching baptismal regeneration, namely, that a person who submits
to baptism is thereby regenerated, for he says, "not the putting away of the
filth of the flesh." Baptism, Peter explains, does not wash away the filth of the
flesh, either in a literal sense as a bath for the body, nor in a metaphorical
sense as a cleansing for the soul. Peter goes on to define by saying that it is
"the answer of a good conscience toward God," and this is actually
accomplished, today, "through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.".
The Greek word for "appeal" or "answer" as in "answer of a good conscience
toward "is translated in different ways.
Here is how the various versions render it:
King James Version
American Standard Version
New American Standard
Berkeley
Revised Standard Version
Bible in Basic English
Darby Bible
Douay-Rheims Bible
God’s Word
answer of a good conscience
interrogation of a good conscience
appeal to a good conscience
earnest seeking
appeal to a good conscience
making you free from the sense of sin
demand .. of a good conscience,
examination of a good conscience
request .. for a clear conscience
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