Ok... John 3:22 [ John's Last Testimony ] After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing. Hmmm... Jesus was baptizing. Was He wasting His time?
John 3:26 And they came to John and said to him, " Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him." Clearly, He does this a lot! Maybe not as much as John...
John 4:1 [ Jesus Goes to Galilee ] Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John... Ok... He baptized more than John. But that's it, right?
Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit... Oh. We're supposed to continue baptizing...
Don't get me wrong, I saw where you noted "apart from faith"... I merely point out to you that Scripture records Jesus doing more baptizing than anything else! You'll have to forgive us RCCers if we think there's something to that.
Next, I'm sure you will harp on infant baptism... I'll leave that to the 1,001 other discussions... you can read the answers to your heart's content. The bottom line is that Jesus told us to be baptized and to baptize. Why? Because baptism is the restoration of our family place in the Family of God. It is not the end unto itself, it is the beginning of our life in Grace.
Don't worry. You were baptized into the Family of God... God is working on you and will bring you home.
John 4:1 ¶When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,
2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)
Yes, Jesus baptizes, but not with water (as did/do His disciples in His name), He baptizes with the Holy Spirit.
And he always does this AFTER salvation, but sometimes before WATER baptism — hence the contention that the Bible doesn’t teach salvation by baptism, but baptism as an outward symbol and public testimony of the inward work that has already taken place.