The action of the Church in Baptism is the application of Christ's Salvific work on the cross to the individual. It is a case of Subjective Redemption. Christ died for ALL men, Objective Redemption. But not all men are saved. Thus, Christ's Work must be applied to the individual. Subjective Redemption. The Spirit works through Baptism to bring the Redemption won by Christ to the individual - the remission of sins.
When Scriptures "duel", you can't just ignore one of them...
The bottom line is that consistent with the Reformed position, if Paul accepted Christ in His presence, then he already had the Spirit then, and his sins were remitted then
No, the Spirit can work within a person WITHOUT the remission of sin! Christ's Spirit has been written on the hearts of ALL men, according to Paul in Romans. But does this mean that the Spirit's work "SAVES" that man? Hardly. The Spirit works where He will, but it doesn't mean that this person is saved - sins are remitted. This requires something more. It is by Baptism, when the believer takes on, in faith, the works of Christ into his heart. This is an additional gift of the Spirit. Thus, the Spirit works in different degrees in people. The Spirit worked within Paul, prompting him to believe in Christ and to accept Baptism. It is only with his Baptism does Paul's sins become remitted. Thus, we personally are saved through Baptism, normally.
Regards
Every once and awhile it's helpful to see just how different the RC approach to salvation is from the Protestant understanding of salvation.
The work of the Holy Spirit is faith being made visible in our hearts and minds. But the only thing that saves is God's grace by the shed blood of Christ, who put Himself on the cross to pay for our sins so we can be judged innocent before God. Nothing more is "required."
"The necessity of Christ's satisfaction to divine justice is, as it were, the center and hinge of all doctrines of pure revelation. Other doctrines are of little importance comparatively except as they have respect to this." -- JONATHAN EDWARDS
Q29: How are we made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ?
A: We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, by the effectual application of it to us (1), by his Holy Spirit (2).
~~1. "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" (John 1:12).
~~2. "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour." (Titus 3:5, 6).
The Bible teaches that God accepts men solely on the merits of Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:21-4:8; Phil. 3:8-9). Men are declared righteous because their guilt is imputed to Christ on the cross, and Christ's perfect righteousness is imputed to the believer's account. Romanism teaches that grace is infused into man and that people are justified only after becoming righteous. Justification is subjective; it is the internal renovation and renewing of man. Men are justified because of what the Holy Spirit does in them. "Justification means that man himself is made just—made pleasing to God in his own person.... A devout Catholic may say: 'Righteousness by faith means that I cannot save myself, but by faith I can receive God's transforming grace. His grace can change my heart, and by His grace in my heart I can be acceptable in His sight....' The focal point of Catholic theology is God's work of grace within human experience." The Scriptures teach that justification is an instantaneous act of God. It is whole, never repeated, eternal and perfect, not piecemeal or gradual (Jn. 5:25; Lk. 18:13, 14; 23:43; Rom. 4:5; 5:1; 8:3-8). Romanism teaches that justification is a gradual process which may not even be completed in this life. It usually is completed by the tortures of purgatory. The Bible teaches that sinners are saved solely because of what God has done in Jesus Christ. Papal doctrine affirms that justification is a cooperative effort between God and man. Man must cooperate with inward grace until he achieves justification. The Roman Catholic believes that good works contribute to his salvation..." -- Justification by Faith - Part II: The Roman Catholic Doctrine of Justification by Brian Schwertley "The Bible teaches that justification is a legal declaration of God in heaven regarding the sinner who believes on earth. Justification is objective. The Romanist confounds the doctrine of justification with sanctification. "The Tridentine theory makes inward holiness in conjunction with the merits of Christ the ground of justification. It founds human salvation upon two corner-stones.... The unintentional confounding of the distinction between justification and sanctification, which appears occasionally in the Patristic writers, becomes a deliberate and unemphatic identification, in the scheme of the Papal church."
"There is no such thing as merit; but all who are justified are justified for nothing (gratis), and this is credited to no one but to the grace of God..." -- Martin Luther
"One of the great truths of salvation is that of justification. But what is justification? The heart of the Reformation controversy was over the meaning of this word and despite the impression given by ECT, the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches are still very much at odds with one another on this issue.
"The Reformers claimed that the Roman Catholic Church had perverted the true biblical meaning of the term by insisting on the necessity of works and sacraments as the basis for justification. And the Roman Church charged that the Reformer's teaching of faith alone (sola fide) and imputed righteousness was unbiblical and itself a perversion of the gospel message. In order to properly evaluate these two positions it is essential that we understand correctly what the bible teaches on this subject. And this begins with a biblical understanding of the nature of God. Why? Because all biblical teaching on salvation is rooted in the character of God himself..."
And finally, that most excellent essay by Charles Hodge...
In opposition to this doctrine, the Reformers maintained that by justification the Scriptures mean something different from sanctification. That the two gifts, although inseparable, are distinct, and that justification, instead of being an efficient act changing the inward character of the sinner, is a declarative act, announcing and determining his relation to the Law and justice of God. In the second place, the Symbols of the Reformation no less explicitly teach that justification is not simply pardon and restoration. It includes pardon, but it also includes a declaration that the believer is just or righteous in the sight of the Law. He has a right to plead a righteousness which completely satisfies its demands. And, therefore, in the third place, affirmatively, those Symbols teach that justification is a judicial or forensic act, i.e., an act of God as Judge proceeding according to Law, declaring that the sinner is just, i.e., that the Law no longer condemns him, but acquits and pronounces him to be entitled to eternal life...""By this the Reformers intended, in the first place, to deny the Romish doctrine of subjective justification. That is, that justification consists in an act of God making the sinner subjectively holy. Romanists confound or unite justification and sanctification. They define justification as "the remission of sin and infusion of new habits of grace." By remission of sin they mean not simply pardon, but the removal of everything of the nature of sin from the soul. Justification, therefore, with them, is purely subjective, consisting in the destruction of sin and the infusion of holiness.
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." -- Romans 3:23-26
Saved by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Well, if redemption is a two-step process, and neither step involves belief, then how does a believer who is never baptized in his entire life go to heaven? I know there are special dispensations for such things as the pygmy problem, but there are tons of Christians out there who do not believe baptism is salvational, and are never baptized. Do you think God makes that many exceptions, or are most of them lost BECAUSE their sins were never remitted through a proxy baptism?
BTW, what church was John the Baptist a part of when he did his baptisms? How does the Church now get credit for effecting the work of Jesus on the cross? How could JTB effect work that hadn't been done yet?
It is by Baptism, when the believer takes on, in faith, the works of Christ into his heart.
Except this rarely happens in practice, right? In normal practice there is no believer, there is no faith, and there is no "taking" into the heart. These are supplied on the side, and are wholly apart from the baptizee. It seems an odd situation for something so important to take place.
The Spirit worked within Paul, prompting him to believe in Christ and to accept Baptism. It is only with his Baptism does Paul's sins become remitted. Thus, we personally are saved through Baptism, normally.
And by "personally saved", you mean unto that person is no longer saved.