Established-
Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: "The man who does these things will live by them." But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' " (that is, to bring Christ down) "or 'Who will descend into the deep?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile - the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:5-13,NIV)
That is what is necessary for salvation. Everything that follows, including baptism, is merely the outward exhibiting of the saving faith already within us.
As a word of caution, I have dealt with denominations which stated categorically that if a person weren't baptized by immersion after accepting the salvation that God offers us freely, that person was still a lost soul. What the denominations deliberately held back was that even after being baptized by immersion, salvation was always just out of reach (I call their teaching 'salvation on a stick'). There was always one more thing that needed to be done, and more importantly an agenda of their own that needed to be clung to more-and-more fanatically.
Salvation is obtained one way, and one way only. We accept it as a free gift, unearned, undeserved, and incapable of being repaid by any action we might perform:
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished - he did it to demonstrate his justice at the prsent time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:19-26,NIV)
The righteousness that God demands of all who would enter his presence is a righteousness equal to his own. That cannot be obtained through obeying any laws, or be observing any rituals. Our only means of successfully obtaining that righteousness is to admit that we can never earn it, accept that Jesus Christ did indeed close the chasm between ourselves and God, and acept the righteousness that God offers freely to any and all who ask for it. The righteousness we can never earn nor augment, we can receive through God's having earned it for us, and then giving it to us out of his infinite mercy.
