Jesus did not give that option to the Apostles: "And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world." (Matthew 28:18-20)
He commanded His disciples to teach and to baptize.
And what were some of Jesus's teachings?
John 3:5 provides one: "Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
But the most telling thing comes from verse 33 of Acts 16: "And he, taking them the same hour of the night, washed their stripes, and himself was baptized, and all his house immediately."
Baptism is central to Christian belief; I don't know how anyone can rightly say otherwise.
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