Without admission of one's sinfulness as one remains hidden from God, one will have a guilty conscience. The individual's choice made all right. This infers Jesus Christ's authority. It is accepting the lordship of Jesus Christ in exchange for the dominion of self over one's life. It is casting away the old name of Adam and having God clothe one with the name of Jesus Christ.
Authority is the point of concern in the issue of baptism.
As a believer in Jesus' name baptism I am not my own any longer. When I was under the name of Adam, I was in the independence Adam chose to enter. Adam became independent of God. Self ruled my life, as Adam chose to rule his life. When a minister baptized me in Jesus' name I left a self-ruled life and submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ.