Is 1 Peter 3:21 Bible?
Is 1 Peter 3:21 Bible?
Let's take a look:
1 Peter 3:18-21 : 18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also — not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ...
This is a matter of interpretation, as it usually is. As an aside, I note that the bolded part is 100% antithetical to Catholic teaching. Be that as it may, we have an honest disagreement as to the underlined part. I see this as baptism by the Spirit, which in my view is the only thing that counts, and you see it as referring to a physical baptism with water. I would say that the symbolism in this passage is self evident.