Yes.
Per the Bible...water baptism, as accompanied by God's Word -- which IS the empowering agent involved (Eph. 5:25) alongside the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5; John 3:5)...
...Establishes you as Christ's disciple -- as you enter the Name of the Trinity (Matthew 28:19)
...are rebirthed from above (John 3:5)
...regenerated by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5)
...justifies us when linked to Name of Christ and enacted by Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:11; Gal. 3:27)
...are saved (1 Peter 3:21; Titus 3:5)
...is the entry way for the Holy Spirit (John 3:5; Acts 2:38, etc)
...you become buried in Christ's death and raised with Him in resurrection (Romans 6:3-4; Col. 2:12)
...are forgiven (Acts 2:38; 22:16) -- certainly an infant's original sin -- there from birth per Ps. 51:5; 58:3 is forgiven...and we ALL know that repentance for ANY of us -- child or adult -- is NOT a one-time thing! It's ongoing in our lifestyle
...clothes us in Christ (Gal. 3:26-27)
Now, tell me:
Does a person's "intellect" accomplish any of these things?
Is baptism primarily something man does -- instead of something that God does (thru man)?
Since the above references supernatural DIVINE power undertakings...no mere man has the capacity to make these realities come into fruition.
IF the emphasis remains that baptism is what WE do...and we have to be "XYZ" developed to accomplish it...I would say NONE of us are able to do these things...such as...
* Rebirth/Regenerate/save/justify ourselves (John specifically says our adoption as sons is NOT of ANY human decision!!! see John 1:12-13)
* Be buried in Christ's death by being baptized into Him
* Forgive ourselves
* Cleanse ourselves (Eph. 5:25-26)
* Sprinkle our hearts clean from an evil conscience (Heb. 10:22)
* Be given a new heart sprinkled upon us (Eze. 36:25-27)
* Initiate spiritual adoption proceedings (Gal. 3:26; John 1:12-13)
These are ALL ONLY things God can accomplish!!!
The MAJOR problem with credobaptism is that it reduces baptism to what men do -- and tends to leave God out of it other than God "decreed" it (the meaning of "ordinance"). It's almost like a version of deism...where, yeah, God created all things...but now just sits back & lets men have it without an active participatory involvement.
Yet...what does the Bible say? Even...
* ...repentance in the book of Acts is described as something ONLY God can grant!
* ...saying Jesus is Lord can ONLY done by the Holy Spirit leading us to say that! (1 Cor. 12:3)
It's PAST time for the churches to de-ritualize credobaptism!
For it makes what is clearly divine power subjugated to the rational & reason of men performing what they deem as mere religious rites.
Now, tell me:
Does a person's "intellect" accomplish any of these things?
Yes.
1 John 1:9
One has to make rational choices.
I have to tell you that your position puts you in the dark, FRiend. You might want to look over a previous article with the title:
"The Baptism and The Filling: The Baptism in the Spirit and The Filling" which was posted earlier today. In it you'll find a discussion of Acts 2:38, the interpretation of which you have wrong, grammatically and doctrinally. That may help you, as will the chart at the beginning.
Ta da!