Praise ye the Lord. Let all that is within me adore Him. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Forget not all His benefits. Daily loadeth us with benefit. Good hymn. Great hymn. Go with me now to 1 Peter chapter 3. 1 Peter chapter 3. An old familiar story, Noah and the Ark, but here Peter tells us what it represents. Okay, and we've heard it before, but look at verses 18 and following. Christ suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, like that Ark. all the wrath of God was poured out on that ark, Noah's ark, that he might bring us to God. And everyone in that ark made it to the new world. Being put to death in the flesh, Christ crucified, but quickened by the Spirit, notice Holy Spirit, capital S, by which, by the Holy Spirit, he went and preached under the spirits in prison, which sometime or at one time were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah. Now listen very carefully. That's not saying that Christ went into hell and preached to people in hell. That's not saying. Why would he do that? The gospel is the power of God and salvation. There's only one reason to preach the gospel. That's salvation. And those people are... No, no. You notice it said, by the Holy Spirit, Christ preached in the days of Noah. Noah was a preacher. And unless the Spirit of God speaks through a man, God's not speaking. So that's what they're saying. All right, so he's saying that in the days of Noah, verse 20, while the ark was preparing, Eight souls were saved by water. And the like figure, the figure of this symbol, what represents baptism, doth also now save us. Not, doesn't put away of the filth of the flesh, doesn't put away sin. But it's the answer, verse 21, are you reading that? It's the answer of a good conscience toward God. by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven on the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers made subject unto him. So baptism is just a confession of faith in Christ as our salvation. All right? Now, the story of - go to Genesis 6. Go back to the story of Noah and the ark, which Peter - Isaiah, Moses wrote a Noah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Paul, Peter, our Lord Jesus Christ said, as in the days of Noah, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. He spoke of it all through the Scripture. This is not a fable. It's a fact. And I don't know, John, you asked me what we're going to preach Wednesday. I don't know. Maybe I've been telling you to read Second Peter three all the time. And that's. And it talks about the flood and how the world rejects it. I reject creation. That there is a sovereign God who made everything and controls everything and reigns and rules over everything and reject that. And then the flood that got this sovereign God who's holy and righteous and angry and poured out his wrath on the sinful world, destroyed it by flood, and the world rejects that. You don't. And they say it's just a fable. It's not a fable. Peter said this is no fable. It's fact. All the prophets spoke of it. And Jesus Christ spoke of Noah, and if you don't believe that, you're calling him a liar. Right? Okay? Now, I want you to see some things. You already know these things, most of you, but this is how you know you love the Gospel. It's always wonderful to you. Noah represents our Lord Jesus Christ as a preacher. Noah was a preacher. It says in 2 Peter chapter 5, Noah was a preacher of righteousness. 2 Peter 2.5. It says he was a preacher of righteousness. Are you with me? I don't want to lose you now. You've got to understand what baptism is about. By the chance, I love being able to call you brother now. By the chance Bolton is going to confess our Lord according to his command. according to the command of everybody that believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is what it's all about. You must understand before you do this. Noah was a preacher of righteousness. Whose righteousness? God's righteousness. That God is holy, just, and righteous. God is not first love. He's holy, holy, holy. He will by no means clear the guilt. What does the law say in Romans 3 to those that are under the law? What does it say? Guilt him. Everybody. Everybody. Noah preached righteousness for 100 years while he was preparing the ark. He was preaching the wrath of God's coming down. God does not love this place. He's angry with it and the wrath of God. But God, who's rich in mercy, loves those, and those will find grace in the eyes of the Lord and will be spared if they're in this ark. Is that clear? I'm going to try to make this as simple as possible. And that ark of Noah represents Jesus Christ. Over and over and over through the epistles, it talks about being in Christ. In Christ. Paul said, I want to be found in Christ that day. Well, when the rain came down and destroyed this whole world, there were eight people that were saved. Why? Because they were in the ark. You understand that? That's what you do when you get in this pool. You say, I believe, I want to believe, be found that day in Jesus Christ. Noah preached righteousness. Now look at Genesis 6, verse 5. God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. That's what God says about mankind. He doesn't say good things about mankind. He doesn't say there's some good in everybody. No, it's the opposite of that. And Psalm 14 says, God looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that didn't understand, any that seek after God. He said there's none, none righteous, none that doeth good, none that understandeth. Romans 3, no fear of God before their eyes. None. That's what it said. None righteous. Not one. Look at verse six. It repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth. No, God doesn't repent of anything. But repent means to change of mind or to turn from something. But he's speaking in a way that we will understand. We say things like this. I wish I'd have never done this or never done that. Right? We say that all the time. God, known unto God, are his works from the beginning. But he's saying this in a way that we'll see just how much God abhors filth and sin and wretchedness. He said, I wish I'd never made man. There's nothing good about anybody, anywhere. I can't find one. The Lord said in verse 7, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, man and beast. Creeping thing. Fouls the air. It repenteth me that I've made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Was he better than anybody else? No, no. God just said it. None. None. Not one. But Noah. He knows salvation is by grace. Sovereign grace. He said, I will be gracious. When I find somebody gracious, no, no, I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy. Noah found grace. God sovereignly chose to save him and made him just, verse nine, these are the generation of Noah, made him a just man, perfect. in his generation, and Noah walked with God. Because he found grace. Because God, by his grace, saved him. That's Noah the man. But I want you to see Noah as a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why. That's why he's used in this way. Noah was a preacher. Our Lord Jesus Christ came preaching, didn't He? Didn't He? That's what he did. What did he preach? What was the first thing he said out of his mouth? Repent. For the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And then in Matthew 5 was his Sermon on the Mount. You know what he said there? Blessed, blessed are they that mourn. Blessed are the poor that mourn over sin and all that. Because God grants repentance to some. And he went on down there to say, Todd, he went on down in chapter 5 to say, Except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, You're not going to enter the camp there. Do you understand what that means? The scribes and the Pharisees were the best, most moral outwardly, seemingly, to men. They looked moral. They kept the law. That's what Paul said. I thought I did, but I didn't. See, I was guilty of breaking every law, and I didn't know it. I thought I kept it. No, no, no. He said God looks on the The law of spiritual demands perfection like God. Holiness and righteousness in thought, word, and deed. That's how holy you have to be to get to heaven. As righteous as God. That's a fact. That's not just doctrine. That's a fact. And the Pharisees, they looked that way. They looked that way at everybody. They sounded it. They sounded righteous and all that. Our Lord said, you've got to be better than them. And there's none. But one. We just read. Did you read with me in Romans 5, it said there's one. One man. Look at Chapter 7 of Genesis. Look at Chapter 7. Look at it. It says, Noah was a just man, perfect in his generation. God looked, couldn't find any, but Noah. All right, Noah has a picture of pride. Look at chapter 7, verse 1, the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark, for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. You're the only righteous man on this earth, God said. Now who's that speaking of? Jesus Christ. You understand? You and I are not going to get to God. We're not going to be saved by virtue of anything we've ever done or quit doing or turn over a new leaf or whatever. We're going to be saved by one man, Jesus Christ. Now His righteousness be in charge to us and our sin charge to him and him going to cross and paying the punishment for our sin, which is death. We're not going to live. We're not going to have life unless Christ died for us and paid for our sin. That's what Noah preached 100 years, 100 years. None righteous, but God sending someone And this ark is a representation of that. That's what Noah sent. All right? And as we read there, Noah was a just man, perfect, righteous. And they all were saved in that ark because of Noah, weren't they? They were all saved because of Noah. Look at chapter 6 with me. Look at chapter 6 of Genesis. And it says in verse 18, and I'm trying to make this as simple as possible, I'm trying to simply preach Christ. Verse 18, God said, With thee will I establish my covenant. Brothers and sisters, God made a covenant before the world began with His Son, Jesus Christ. The covenant of salvation that all whom God would give to Him, He would come to this earth and save them. Be their righteousness. Be their salvation. Be their blood atonement. Be their burnt offering. Be their refuge. Be their rest. Be their everything. Be their law keeper. Be their salvation. Be their everything. And they're all going to be saved by cause of Him. In Him. By Him. Through Him. That's it. That's the covenant God made long before Noah or Abraham the world, it was an eternal covenant, ordered in all things, and sure, because it's in the hands of a surety. Which is, who is? Jesus Christ, that Noah represents. Are you with me? All right? With thee will I establish my covenant with Christ. Thou shalt come into the ark, thou, thy sons, thy wife. Why are these sons of God? Why are anybody's son of God? Because God adopted them. How? In whom? In Christ. Being predestinated in the spirit of adoption by Jesus Christ unto God. And his wife, Noah's wife, was in that ark. Why? Because she's a picture of the church. Christ, the bride of Christ. Look at verse 19. Every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort, shalt thou bring in the ark to keep them alive. Noah, you're going to keep them alive. If anybody comes in that ark, you're going to bring them. He read with me in Romans 5, to bring us to God. Who did? Christ did. He left the 99 in the wilderness and come after one lost sheep. There's one sheep that's ever lost. The covenant of God is no good, and what Christ did is no good. But no, Christ said, I'm going to find them and bring them to me. Bring them in the ark, in Him. Okay, verse 20, fowls after their kind. That's what we are, a bunch of fowl fiends. Creeping things. Two of every sort shall come unto thee to keep them alive. Are you with me? I'm starting to lose you, so I've got to holler. Why is anybody in that ark? Noah brought them. Why did God say, I'll save them? Because Noah brought them there. It was by virtue of Noah. It wasn't Shem, Ham, Japheth, anybody. It was Noah. God said, Noah, you're the one. You have I seen right you. And you're going to bring them all in this ark. You're going to save them. Every one of them is going to be saved by you, Noah. Noah is not our Savior, Jesus Christ is. And verse 22, did he fail? Did Noah fail? Were there some he couldn't bring? Verse 22, Thus did Noah, according to all that God commanded, so did he. He did the work, John. He finished it. And every single one that he went out to call, he brought them in the ark. I'm getting way ahead of myself, but I can't help it. In chapter 7 it says, God, shut him in. And they can't get out. Don't you like that? Why? Because of Jesus Christ. He's the Savior. He didn't try to save anybody. That's not the Savior you're confessing. You're confessing a captain, a God manifest in the flesh, Perfect, successful. He shall not fail. He didn't. He finished the work. Alright. Noah, as I said, is a preacher. Noah, our Lord, preacher. Noah, just, perfect and righteous. He represents Christ. And it says in our text, are you still back in 1 Peter? Go back there again. I want you to see this. You've got to see this. Because this is what baptism says. 1 Peter 3. Go back there. And keep your place in Genesis, okay? Just go back there. Just two places, okay? Not too hard. Genesis 6. Simple. Man, have I looked at a lot of Scripture. But 1 Peter 3, it says in verse 21, The like figure, verse 20, Noah, the ark was preparing, Noah prepared an ark. Wherein few, that is eight, only eight souls were saved by water. The like figure, baptism by water, doth also now save us. It doesn't put away sin, filth of the flesh, but it's an answer of a good conscience toward God. OK, a good conscience toward God. What is that? That's important. It's vital to understand that. Our Lord said this, he was a preacher, he said in John 16, he said, when the spirit of God comes, he's going to convince men of three things. You know what it is? John 16, 8 through 11. He'll convince men of sin. I told myself, don't bring up false religion, so I'm not. But true preaching preaches sin all the time, all the time. If you don't understand something about sin, you don't understand why God's going to destroy this world. You don't understand why God doesn't love this whole world. No, no, no. He loves some, and He loves those that are in Jesus Christ only. You understand me? That's the love of God, Romans 8, 29. It's in Jesus Christ. It's outside of Christ. Like that ark of Noah, outside of Christ, outside of that ark, God was angry. He came down and killed them all. Every single one of them. Yes, he did. But in the ark, God was not angry. The love of God was in that heart. They wouldn't be there. Do you understand? Where am I? Oh, sin. You're convinced of sin. Can you tell me the next thing? Somebody. Righteousness. Is it important? Five hundred times in the Spirit. Sin all through the Psalms. Sin? All of sin. Righteousness. God demands that we be as holy and righteous as Him. We can't do it. Judgment. God's going to bring everybody into judgment. Stand before Him someday, to be judged by Him for everything they've done. Where do you stand? All right, sin. Have you been convinced? Here's a good conscience. Have you been convinced? Is your conscience guilty over your sin? Can you say with Paul, when God finally revealed to him that self-righteous Pharisee, that you're not righteous, you're anything but righteous? And Paul said, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me? In my flesh dwelleth no good thing. That's what he said. He was convinced of sin. Righteousness. He's the one that wrote Romans 5. Righteousness. Like David said, I'm going to make mention of one righteousness and one only. Who's? Jesus Christ. I'm not going to get to heaven because I did this or I did that. I'm going to get there because He did this. Do you understand that? Do you understand that? That's what you're confessing. You're confessing, I deserve to die for my sin. I deserve to be punished. I'm still a sinner. I'm still a sinner. But Christ is still my hope. He's my righteousness. He's my... He paid for my sins. That my redemption is in His blood. Not corruptible things. My works. And judgment. There's a judgment to face. And if I stand there, Paul said, I don't want to be found in my own righteousness standing before God. And God sees right through everything and puts on the board every thought of every thought. I don't want to stand there in my righteousness, judge on the basis of anything I've ever done. No, no, no. I want to stand in Him, in Christ, covered, robed, covered by Him with the blood of righteousness. You understand? That's a good conscience, you see. That's a conscience convinced of sin, righteousness, judgment. A conscience convicted. A conscience that's comforted. One way. You know what Noah's name means? Rest. Rest. That's what his name is. His father and mother, not knowing what they were saying, brother, said, this one will comfort us because of all the labor we're going through, because of the curse. They didn't know what they were saying. This son, we're going to name him Noah, meaning rest. He's going to comfort us because we labor and prevail and get no rest. The law can't keep the law, but he's going to keep it because of this curse. Now, we've got to go there, okay? We've only been 25 minutes. Go to Hebrews 4. His name means rest. All right, here's the only way a conscience can be good, that is, comforted and without guilt and without conviction and be quieted and be at rest and be at peace. Here it is. Okay? Like Brother Scott used to say, the only thing that will quiet your conscience is blood. Hebrews 4. Let us, verse 1, fear lest the promise being left us of entering into His rest, that's Christ. Any of us should seem to come short of it. Brothers and sisters, I keep preaching Christ every single Sunday. And if some of you are not in Jesus Christ, and the time is short, and I urge you to come to Christ. If you're not found in Christ when He comes, you're going to perish. Verse 2, the gospel was preached unto them, that is, every creature, the people in the days of Noah, Lot, but the word preached did not profit them. It wasn't mixed in faith. They didn't believe it. They heard it, but they didn't believe it. But down in verse 10, it says, He that is entered into Christ's wrath has ceased from his own works. as God did from here, meaning, Lord, I cannot work my way to heaven. I can't produce good works. I can't produce faith, enough faith. I can't do anything. I can't repent. I can't repent like I want to. I can't do what I want to. I can't do, I can't, it's not that. Lord, I'm completely dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ to get me to heaven. Is that what you believe? That's what this is a picture of. Rest. The only thing that will quiet your guilty conscience is to hear and see that Christ, when he said, come unto me, all you that labor, heavy laden with sin, guilt, I'll give you rest. I'll give you rest. He entered into his rest. You're not trying to work your way to heaven anymore. It doesn't mean you want to sin like, you know, shall we sin that grace may abound? No, no, no, no. But just that the only thing that will give you any peace is Christ is your peace. All right? Now, let's look at Noah and the ark as a picture of baptism in our text. Now go to Genesis 6, and we'll end here. Go back to Genesis 6. His name means rest. Noah was a preacher. Our Lord was a preacher of righteousness. Noah was a just man, seen righteous. All those were with Him, found in Him. They were saved because of Him. That's Christ. Noah, His name means rest. If you come to Christ, you quit going anywhere else. You rest in Him. Alright, Noah and Ark and Baptism. This is wonderful. Genesis 6, now look at verse 14. Make thee an ark. God said this to Noah. Make an ark. Who built salvation? Who performed salvation? Who did this? Jesus Christ. His work. It's his work. It's not a cooperative effort. It's his work completely. that God made this sound like Noah single-handedly built that whole ark by himself. He didn't. There's no way that that one man could have lifted a 50-foot-long oak beam, gopher wood beams. No way. But God made it sound like that. Why? Because Jesus Christ did. He really did do the work by himself. Make thee an ark of gold for what room shalt thou make in the ark." Rooms. Dwelling places. Do you remember John 16? The Lord is leaving. His disciples were upset. He said, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in me. He said, I go to prepare a place for you. Like nowhere. He prepared it. Christ said, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go, I'll come again and receive you in my cell. So in my father's house, he said, are many rooms. And I love, it's hard for me to not stop and dwell on these animals and all that. But you know, there were There was a big white noble stallion on that ark. Beautiful, okay. There was a skunk on that ark. A smelly skunk. But God took away, you know He took away that smell. He said, John, I couldn't have dwelled with them. God changed it. There was a lion, there was a wolf on that ark. And there was a lamb. And they all lay down together. God changed everybody's nature when they died. See, all kinds. All kinds. See, all one in Christ. Yeah, in Christ. You see that? What, are we better than they? No way. God proved all under sin. None good. No, not one. But in Christ. Because of Christ. Holy, unblamed, unrighteous, no stinker, no stink, no smell, like those Hebrews in the furnace, came out with no smell on them. All right, look at verse 14. Make an art, verse 15, 14. I cannot go by this. Pitch it. Noah, go out there and cut a tree. A tree, and it's, I forgot the name of it, a tree, the balm of Gilead, and it's cut from that tree. But anyway, he wound a tree, and it's like a pine tree because it's sap in it. It is, there's a sap in it. You've got to wound that tree to get that sap out of it. Okay. That's pitch. Christ was crucified on the tree and by his strife, by his blood. Christ is the tree of blood. Was wounded for our transgression by his blood. And it took this pitch to cover that arc all over. All over. Took that pitch. Who did it? Noah did it. We don't put the pitch on our soul. We don't put the blood on our soul. Christ did. Spirit of God. Oh, without? And he went in on the inside. Heart. Oh, pitch. What's that mean? Every single person that God saves is in Christ. They all know it's one thing that saves them. It is the blood. It's the blood that makes the tomb of the soul. God said, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. And you don't put it there. He does. And what God does is forever. It's on the outside. It's on the inside. And I love the fact that it said the Lord shut him in. And I really believe this. You can't prove me wrong. that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself came down that day and shut that big door, and everybody was in that ark. And the Lord Jesus Christ took that very pitch and pitched the opening of that door, sealed it perfectly. No rain, no water is going to get in that ark, and they're not going to get out. See, salvation is up to the Lord. Do you believe that? There's a window. Christ is the light. There's one door. Christ is the door. Three rooms. Top, middle, bottom row. These three are one. On and on it goes. On and on it goes. And look at this. Chapter 7. And it says, You shall bring them all into the ark. In chapter 7. Now just read this with me in closing. Verse 7. So Noah went in, his sons and his wife, his sons' wives with him. His family. Into the ark. because of the waters of the flood. Clean beasts, beasts are not clean, foul, everything that creepeth upon the earth. Verse 9, there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. The 600th year, exact moment in time of Noah's life. The second month, 17th day of the month, same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up. The windows of heaven were opened. The rain was upon the earth 40 days and 49. In the selfsame day entered Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them into the ark. They, every beast after his kind, all the cattle after their kind, every creeping thing creeping upon the earth after his kind, every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort, they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in, went in, male and female, of all flesh, as God hath commanded them, and the Lord shut him in." Shut the door. And the flood was forty days. Keep reading. Forty days upon the earth. The waters increased and bear up the ark. And it was lifted up above the earth until nothing on earth could be seen. It was all covered by the wrath of God because of sin. But one thing stood above it all. Lifted up above it all. The ark. What is that? Christ said, if I be lifted up, I'll draw all men, all that God gave me in that covenant, to myself. And when it's all said and done, when this world is destroyed by the wrath of God, fire from heaven is down. All God's people forever are going to be lifted up. Christ crucified for all eternity unto Him that loved us and washed us from our sin in His own blood. That is what baptism is all about. See, that ark took all the rain, all the wrath, all the judgment of God against the world. Those outside the ark were destroyed. They were killed. God didn't love them. He killed them. But everyone in the ark, not one drop of rain fell on them. Not one. Why? Pitch. They were with Noah in the ark. Is that what you believe? Chance, is that what you believe? Who? It's not a what, it's a who. Do you? What if Noah's son said, I believe it, but I'm not going to get in that ark. You know, seven days after the ark was finished, they sat in that ark for seven days. You know that? You read it with me. When the ark was finished, and Christ's work is finished, and we're in the last days. These are the very last days. And the door of the ark, the gospel is still being preached. Come. What if they said, I'm not going to sit in there? Nobody believes like that. Well, you're going to perish. If you don't get in that ark and become a reproach to everybody that goes by, everybody going by, there's nothing to this. Noah, come on, rain. And they're sitting in that ark waiting. What are they waiting on? Judgment. What's their hope? Ark. They don't want to leave that ark. Do you believe? You not only must be found in Christ, but you must confess Him. You must. Or He'll deny you. That's what Brother Chance said to me. He said, I believe Christ. He said, I believe what you're preaching. I believe. He said, I don't want Christ to deny me. So he said, I'm going to confess Him. Is that good enough? That's all I'm saying. I've been preaching for all these years. All my hope is that I don't want him to deny me. I believe him. So, no cap. All right, John, you come lead us