The thing is, though, is that all of these passages exist in the same Bible--and even in the same books of the Bible--that speak of Baptism. Acts 2:38 says, "Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.", in Matthew 28 Jesus commissions His Church to "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit and instructing them on all that I have taught", in Galatians 3:27 St. Paul writes, "All of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ", in Romans 6 Paul writes, "All of us who were baptized into Christ were baptized into His death" and that we have been "buried with Him in baptism". In 1 Peter 3:21 it says, "this [the water of the deluge] prefigures baptism which now saves you, not by cleaning dirt off the body, but by the pledge of a new conscience toward God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ", in Ephesians 5:26 St. Paul writes, that Jesus has washed His bride, "by the washing of water by the word" and in Titus 3:5 says "it is not by works of righteousness that we have been saved, but by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit" and in John 3:5 concerning the new birth our Lord Himself teaches that the new birth is being "born of water and the Spirit".
Further, salvation comes because we are justified by grace through faith, as the Apostle writes, "For by one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by one Man's obedience the many were justified." That it is by the righteousness of Christ that we are righteous, and this is by grace through faith; and from whence comes faith? "It is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8) and also "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17).
Nobody can call on the name of the Lord unless they have received the word. It is impossible without faith, and faith comes not by human effort but rather by the gift of God, given to us by the word; the same word by which we are washed in baptism (again, "the washing of water by the word"). It is not by human effort that we by our own power, strength, and/or will can call on God to save us; it is on account of the faith given to us by God graciously through the Means He has instituted: "baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit and teaching them all I have said", "go out into the world and preach the Gospel to every living creature", "that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem"; "repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit", "All of us who were baptized into Christ have died with Christ ... buried with Him ... that we might walk in newness of life", "all of you baptized into Christ have put on Christ", "the word comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ", "all who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved", "for it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith, and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works lest any should boast", "May I boast in nothing except the cross of Jesus Christ", "while we were still yet sinners Christ died for us", "Not by works of righteousness were you saved, but by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit."
And so on and so forth.
We have from the Lord the Means by which we go out into the world, through which God appropriates the work of Christ, for this reason we preach and we baptized, to make disciples, that the Holy Spirit brings them in and makes them part of the one Body of Christ ("For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit."), having been born from above by the power of the Spirit, sealed with the Spirit, having received the Spirit by the promises of God which are given in Christ, again: "baptized...receive the Holy Spirit", and "born of water and the Spirit", and "washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit".
Our salvation does not come by us doing the right things, thinking the right things, or believing the right things. Our salvation is achieved by the death and resurrection of Jesus, which is ours by the grace of God, granted to us by faith, given to us by the Means Christ Himself gave His Church, namely Word and Sacrament.
Nobody comes to God by their own power.
Nobody comes to God apart from the working of the Holy Spirit through the Means of God's grace.
God makes this happen, by His own gracious working through the Means instituted by Christ for the Church.
You would not believe unless God had given you faith which He did through the Means He instituted for His Church--unless it had been declared to you that Christ had died for your sins, and God raised Him up from the dead, and that you are forgiven all your sins you would know nothing of Christ, and would not and could not confess Him as your Lord and Savior. For no one can say "Jesus Christ is Lord except by the Holy Spirit". Unless God granted to you faith by which to confess and trust upon Him, it could not be done, and He did this through the Means of Word and Sacrament. A person can believe they did it, they can think that they by their own initiative sought God out, but they did not, "For there is none who seeks God, no not one", for "the heart is wicked and desperately sick, who can understand it?" You, a degenerate and wretch of a sinner--like me, like everyone else--has hope solely on the grace of God in Jesus Christ, and He saved you by this very grace He has for you in Jesus--He did this without your permission, He did this without your consent, He did this because He loves you and desires to save you and to save the whole world--and for this very reason He established a Church, and told her to preach, to baptize, to be the instrument through which the Mystery of Salvation is communicated and distributed to all nations and that He Himself works through this for the salvation of the world.
-CryptoLutheran