Baptism, Not the Removal of Filth From the Flesh, but the Answer of a Good Conscience

Baptism is not the removal of filth from the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward god. The same water that is judging and destroying the unbelieving world is now the very instrument of salvation by which the ark is kept afloat. And i have a hard time seeing that that connection really would fit if he doesn't mean that there is a literal saving that is occurring in and through baptism.