Peter’s Words, Part V Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: Peter’s Words, Part V ------------------------------ Date: 07/05/2000 Keywords: "abstain" "behavior "lusts"" "Peter" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: 1 Peter 3:18-22* 18. For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19. in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20. who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. 21. And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you — not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience — through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22. who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him. Questions 1. How are we able to come into the presence of a holy God?   2. How does pornography affect a man's or woman's conscience?   Practical help Peter wants us to identify with the passengers on Noah's ark. You have been chosen, just as they were, to be taken out of a place of destruction and given a new life. Peter explains that it was by Christ's death that our sins can be washed away and we are able to be reconciled to God. Baptism is like entering the ark. It is an act that represents a change of heart as you identify with the few, not the many. Like a bath is able to wash dirt off our physical bodies, baptism represents a cleansing on the inside. Understand that the cleansing is not caused because you performed a magic ritual. The cleansing comes first and baptism is a way of showing your world what has taken place in your life. The cleansing power comes from the fact that Jesus rose from the dead and has the authority to fix your soiled conscience. It's more than a coincidence that we learn early in life that porn is "dirty." If you have soiled yourself on the inside, Jesus is calling you to come to Him and be cleansed. Tell Him what you have done, and ask Him to help you. Need further help with this concept? Click here. eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2000 by eXXit *"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission."