Many will take three New Testament verses and glean that it specifically means that water baptism is an act of salvation. People that believe this view are called baptism regenerationist.
  J
3 verses of controversy.  
J
1 Peter 3:21 “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,”  
J
Acts 2:38 “And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
J
Mark 16:16 “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”  
J
Baptism- means to immerse. Peter’s reference to baptism here is to immerse into Christ, not just the act of immersing into water. As Noah and his family found salvation in the immersion (going inside) the ark, we find salvation in immersion into a saving relationship with Christ. How do we know this is not talking about water baptism only? Look at this phrase that Peter writes, “not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”  
J
The only baptism that saves you is the immersion into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, in which you die to yourself and are resurrected with Christ. That’s why Romans 6:4 becomes clear. “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”  
J
It’s based on belief not on an act of works.  
J
Baptism in Christ saves, Not baptism of water. 
J
Romans 10:9-10 “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” It’s the act of belief that saves, not the action of baptism. We know this by Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  
J
Baptism doesn’t accomplish or seal your salvation; it’s a public declaration of the work the Lord has already accomplished within. – John MacArthur  
J
Why water baptism?
  1. It is an outward expression of an inward commitment. A symbol (Romans 6:4)
  2. Out of obedience to Christ. (Matthew 28:19-20)
  3. As a public declaration (Matthew 10:32-33) “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
  4. An expression of unity (Galatians 3:27-28) “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
J

  -Unity in Christ     -Unity with other Christians   Application  J You can take part in rituals and traditions, but if your heart has not been changed by a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, it doesn’t matter. (The thief on the cross was not baptized by water, but was immersed by a relationship with Christ.) It comes down to a works vs. faith argument. Works is the offspring of faith, faith is the parents of works.