You also skipped Acts 8, 10 and 19 where folks were very specifically commanded to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ...
New converts are commanded to be water baptized BECAUSE they are saved and not in order to become saved. (Acts 10:47)
....all stemming from Peter saying baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins in 2:38.
You skipped it all and offered an alternative view by cherry picking.
Go back to Acts 2:38 (the original instruction) and build on that.
Acts 2:38 is grace,
It's you who cherry picks and fails to properly harmonize scripture with scripture before reaching your conclusion on doctrine. Instead you isolate pet verses, build doctrine on them and ignore the rest.
In Acts 2:38, "for the remission of sins" does not refer back to both clauses, "you all repent" and "each one of you be baptized," but refers only to the first. Peter is saying "repent unto the remission of your sins," the same as in Acts 3:19. The clause "each one of you be baptized" is parenthetical. This is exactly what Acts 3:19 teaches except that Peter omits the parenthesis.
*Also compare the fact that these Gentiles in Acts 10:45 received
the gift of the Holy Spirit (compare with Acts 2:38 -
the gift of the Holy Spirit) and this was
BEFORE water baptism (Acts 10:47).
In Acts 10:43 we read
..whoever believes in Him receives remission of sins. Again, these Gentiles received
the gift of the Holy Spirit - Acts 10:45 -
when they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ - Acts 11:17 - (compare with Acts 16:31 -
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved)
BEFORE water baptism - Acts 10:47. This is referred to as
repentance unto life - Acts 11:18.
*So the only logical conclusion
when properly harmonizing scripture with scripture is that faith in Jesus Christ "implied in genuine repentance" (rather than water baptism) brings the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 10:43-47; 11:17,18; 15:8,9; 16:31; 26:18). *Perfect Harmony*
Acts 2:38 does not negate Acts 10:43-47. Build on that.
Jesus said He who believes and is baptized will be saved (Mk 16:16)
Mark 16:16 - He who believes and is baptized will be saved
(general cases without making a qualification for the unusual case of someone who believes but is not baptized) but he who does not believe will be condemned. The omission of baptized with "does not believe" shows that Jesus does not make baptism absolutely essential to salvation. Condemnation is the result of unbelief and not on the lack of baptism. So salvation rests on belief. *NOWHERE does the Bible say "baptized or condemned."
If water baptism is absolutely required for salvation, then why did Jesus
not mention it in the following verses? (3:15,16,18; 5:24; 6:29,40,47; 11:25,26). What is the one requirement that Jesus mentions 9 different times in each of these complete statements?
*BELIEVES. *What happened to baptism? *Hermeneutics.
John 3:18 - He who
believes in Him is not condemned; but he who (is not water baptized? - NO)
does not believe is condemned already, because he has not (been water baptized? - NO)
because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Peter wrote Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (1Pet 3:21)
Peter tells us that baptism now saves you, yet when Peter uses this phrase
he continues in the same sentence to explain exactly what he means by it. He said that baptism now saves you-
not the removal of dirt from the flesh (that is, not as an outward, physical act which washes dirt from the body--that is not what saves you),
"but an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (that is, as an inward, spiritual transaction between God and the individual, a transaction that is
symbolized by the outward ceremony of water baptism).
Just as the eight people in the ark were "saved
THROUGH water" as they were
IN THE ARK. (NKJV, NASB, NIV). The ESV reads ..eight persons, were
brought safely through water. Noah and his family saved "through" water does not mean that the water is what literally saved them, rather,
the ARK is what literally saved them from the destructive flood waters. So they were not literally saved "by" the water. Hebrews 11:7 is clear on this point (..built an
ARK for the
SAVING of his household). The context reveals that ONLY the righteous (Noah and his family) were DRY and therefore SAFE.
In contrast, ONLY the wicked came in contact with the water and they all perished.