There are times in life when we are up to our necks in flood waters only to look around and see alligators and fire ants coming our way. Jesus swam in these same waters and lived a perfect life in the process. Jesus, who was the only perfect human, died on the cross to save all of the imperfect humans on the planet. Having done so, he proclaimed His victory to the entire universe – beings seen and unseen.

But wait, there’s more. Not only did He save use from drowning in our sin, but He called us to live with Him eternally and swim with him for as long as we are dwelling on this planet, 2/3 of which is water. And He uses water to usher us into His kingdom – through baptism. While the thief on the cross will testify, you do not have to be baptized to be with Jesus throughout all eternity. However, in baptism we demonstrate our obedience to Him and our own identification with His death, burial, and resurrection. And, as we read in 1 Peter 3:22, our baptism is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, March 9, 2025. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons is Hunger for Holiness: Living Pure in an impure World. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/hunger-for-holiness-1-peter-digital-study-guide/ .Handouts with slide content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .


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