Bible says believe and be baptized. I'm not attempting to sway you into denominational doctrinal mumbo jumbo.
Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Acts of the Apostles 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
1 Peter 3:21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
So baptism is not necessary for salvation in the sense that only Jesus can save us. He is our only Savior. And the act of baptism, itself, does not save us. But this does not mean that baptism is not important. It does not mean that we can be baptized or not as we choose—once we have believed on Jesus and accepted Him as our Savior. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15, NKJV). And He has commanded us to be baptized (see Matthew 28:18-20). A person who loves Jesus and accepts Him as his or her Savior, will want to follow Him in baptism.
Baptism is important, because it is a public declaration that we have accepted Jesus and are turning our back on the old life of sin and are now trusting Jesus to live a new life as a Christian. When we are placed under the water and raised back out of it, we are symbolically stating that we have died to sin, that our old life of sin has been buried, and that we have been raised to new life in Jesus—just as He died for our sins, was buried, and was raised to life again (see Romans 6:3-5).
It could also be said that baptism is a work that we do in faith. Else if you just say you have faith and have no works to show you have changed, is your faith not dead? Would it just be a glass house?