So water baptism only saves the believer in type. The Old Testament Jew was saved before he brought the offering. That offering was only his outward testimony that he was placing his faith in the Lamb of God of whom these sacrifices were a type. The moment he conceived in his heart that he would bring his offering to the Tabernacle, his faith leaped the centuries to the time when God would offer the Sacrifice that would pay for his sin. The act of bring-ing the sacrifice was his outward expression and testimony of his inward faith.
Water baptism is the outward testimony of the believer's inward faith.
The person is saved the moment he places his faith in the Lord Jesus. Water baptism is his vis-ible testimony to his faith and the salvation he was given in answer to that faith. Baptism, Peter explains, does not wash away the filth of the flesh, either in a literal sense as a bath for the body, nor in a metaphorical sense as a cleansing for the soul. No ceremonies really affect the conscience. If baptism is crucial to the new birth, it is indeed, strange that Paul would set it up in contrast to proclaiming the gospel.