We find a very misunderstood Scripture in 1 Peter 3:21.  Here is the passage:

For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit: By whom also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Who formerly were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, by which a few, that is, eight souls were saved through water. The like figure unto which even baptism does also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. (1 Peter 3:18-22 KJ2000) 

Consider how many people must have been in this prison of death where Jesus preached!  Everyone alive in the world at the time Noah’s deluge began were there, except the eight from Noah’s family.  These were all of those who heard Noah preach about righteousness, yet failed to repent.  These were rebels and evil men and women.  How many of these people do you think failed to respond when Jesus proclaimed the gospel to them?  Again, how many people do you think remained in prison after Jesus preached the truth to them? 

What did Jesus preach to them?  The Word!  What is the Word?  Jesus!  What did Jesus preach to them?  The Truth.  Jesus is the way, the truth, the life.  The sum of his words is truth.  What represents the Word in Scripture?  Water.  One of the clearest passages by which to understand this concept is Ephes. 5:26 which says that Jesus “might sanctify her [the Bride, the true church], having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word….”

Here we learn that the Bride of Christ is cleansed by the washing of water and that that washing of water is with the word.  This means that the Bride is cleansed by the washing of the word.  Remember, the Old Testament sacrifices were always washed with water before they were burnt upon the altar.  All of these sacrifices typified the life of a believer.  Faithful Christians cleanse themselves with God’s Word.  This is how they prepare themselves for sacrificial lives of fruit-bearing.  Of course all things are by grace through faith, but the faithful work out their salvation in fear and trembling.

The passage above from 1 Peter speaks of this washing, this baptism.  It has nothing to do with the initial baptism of faith in Jesus and initial repentance of sins.  That is why Peter says that this baptism is not for the removal of dirt from the body.  The first baptism was for that.   The first baptism removed our dirt of sin and gave us a clear conscience before God.

This baptism Peter speaks of is an ongoing baptism, just as Noah’s was.  Noah’s lasted for a whole year.  Ours lasts for a whole lifetime, for we must always cleanse ourselves by the washing of water with the word and by confessing our sins.   This is the ANSWER of a clear conscience toward God, as Peter says. 

So, Peter’s baptism is not the initial baptism of faith and repentence which brings our initial salvation experience (the salvation of the spirit – this is why Jesus went and preached “to the spirits”).  Peter’s baptism speaks of the salvation of the soul (our mind, will, and emotions), the salvation that comes by our work with fear and trembling, as we apply the Word of God to our lives in obedience, as we practice righteousness by confessing our sins and the sins of our brothers.