Here's a blurb which explains what I am thinking better than I can...
While Peter is connecting baptism with salvation, it is not the act of being baptized that he is referring to (not the removal of dirt from the flesh). Being immersed in water does nothing but wash away dirt. What Peter is referring to is what baptism represents, which is what saves us (an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ). In other words, Peter is simply connecting baptism with belief. It is not the getting-wet part that saves but is the “appeal to God for a clean conscience” which is signified by baptism, that saves us. The appeal to God always comes first. First belief and repentance, then we are baptized to publicly identify ourselves with Christ.Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/baptism-1Peter-3-21.html#ixzz34jzwc149
I would say that baptism is “the answer of a good conscience”. To me, the ‘answer of a good conscience’ is actually doing something to show your conscience has been pricked/changed.
It’s kind of like God saying “Ok, now you SAID it. Prove to me that you mean it”.
I think back to Jesus saying in Matthew 7:21 “Not all who say to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father.” Just saying” Yeah, I believe” won’t cut it. You have to prove it in your life. Step #1 is being baptized. If you don’t take that first step, you haven’t committed.
Baptism is that final step of taking an action to show that you are dying to (committing to abstaining from) sin. If you are not willing to be baptized, you aren’t willing to die to sin.
was just reading this one myself.