John Chapter 3 starts at 1, and then in verse 5 touches on the fact that one must be born of water and Spirit if they wish to ENTER the kingdom and continues to your quote of verse 16. Immediately after telling Nicodemus how to be reborn Jesus attends water baptisms in verses 22-26:
"After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.
And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.
For John was not yet cast into prison.
Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying.
And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.
John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven."
In regards to water baptism in John 3:22, by this time
Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus is over with and He has moved on. John 3:22 -
After these things Jesus and His disciples
came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing... Verse 25 - An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of
ceremonial washing. Baptism is the emblem of the washing away of sins by the death of Christ. Every time a believer is immersed he does not wash away his sins literally, but
ceremonially, pointing to the death of Christ by which sins are actually washed away.
In John 3:5, Jesus said, "born of water and the Spirit" He
did not say born of baptism and the Spirit. To automatically read baptism into this verse simply because it mentions "water" is unwarranted. Scripture interprets itself. Notice in John 7:38-39, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said,
out of his heart will flow rivers of LIVING WATER. But this He spoke
concerning the SPIRIT. *Did you see that? The Holy Spirit (and not H20) is the source of living water and spiritual cleansing. If "water" is arbitrarily defined as baptism, then we could just as justifiably say, "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living baptism" in John 7:38. If this sounds ridiculous, it is no more so than the idea that water baptism is the source or the means of becoming born again.
In John 4:10, Jesus said, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a
drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you
living water." In John 4:14, Jesus said, "but whoever
drinks of the
water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the
water that I shall give him will become in him a
fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. *Jesus connects this living water here with everlasting life. *Living water is not water baptism. In 1 Corinthians 12:13, we also read -
..drink into one Spirit. Water baptism is the picture or symbol of the new birth, but not the means of securing it.
*You need to properly harmonize scripture with scripture in order to reach the proper conclusion on doctrine.*
If one believes in Jesus they will be obedient to His commands and therefore receive everlasting life.
Those who
believe in Jesus (John 3:15,16,18; Acts 10:43; 13:39; 16:31 etc..)
trust in Him as the ALL-sufficient means of their salvation and therefore receive everlasting life. Being obedient to His commands AFTER we have been saved through faith is WORKS and we are
NOT saved by works, but through faith in Christ. (Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5; 2 Timothy 1:9) Your faith is in works for salvation and not in Christ alone. You cannot distinguish between obeying a command in order to become saved and obeying a command after we have been saved.
"Go ye therefore, and teach 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, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Matt 28:19-20
We have here a command from Jesus to go and make disciples of all nations
FIRST, then "afterwards,"
baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Oneness Pentecostals have
rejected this command and instead, baptize their members "in Jesus name only" and teach only that formula saves. Jesus mentioned nothing in Matthew 28:18,19 about baptism being absolutely necessary for salvation (or in John 3:15,16,18; 5:24; 6:29,40,47; 11:25,26). The same command also includes the clause "teaching them (disciples/new converts) to observe all things" that Christ has commanded them
BECAUSE they are saved and not to become saved.
*So go and make disciples FIRST, then baptize converts and teach them to observe all that the Lord has commanded. *Nothing here about salvation by water and works.
"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." Mark 16:16
Mark 16:16 - He who believes and is baptized will be saved
(general cases without making a qualification for the unusual case of someone who believes but is not baptized) but he who
does not believe will be condemned. The omission of baptized with "does not believe" shows that Jesus does not make baptism absolutely necessary for salvation. Condemnation rests on unbelief, not on a lack of baptism. So salvation rests on belief. *NOWHERE does the Bible say "baptized or condemned."
If water baptism is absolutely required for salvation, then why did Jesus not mention it in the following verses? (3:15,16,18; 5:24; 6:29,40,47; 11:25,26). What is the ONE requirement that Jesus mentions 9 different times in each of these complete statements?
BELIEVES. *What happened to baptism? *Hermeneutics.
Do you believe Jesus commands are optional? I for one, do not. I believe Jesus meant exactly what He said.
I believe Jesus meant exactly what He said. John 3:18 - He who
believes in Him is not condemned; but he who (is not water baptized? - NO)
does not believe is condemned already, because he has not (been water baptized? - NO)
because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Did Jesus not say: he who believes and is baptized shall be saved?
Yes -
general cases without making a qualification for the unusual case of someone who believes but is not baptized, but he who
does not believe will be condemned.
He goes on to say that if one doesn't believe they are damned already. This statement doesn't take away from the necessity to be water baptized as some state. It shows that if one believes they will get water baptized and be saved. If they don't believe in Jesus' command they will not get baptized and thus they are damned already.
While Mark 16:16 tells us something about believers who have been baptized (they will be saved) it does not say anything about believers who have
not been baptized. In order for this verse to teach that baptism is absolutely necessary for salvation, a third statement would be necessary -
“He who believes and is not baptized will be condemned” or “He who is not baptized will be condemned.” But, of course, neither of these statements is found in the verse.
Did Jesus say he who is not baptized will be condemned in Mark 16:16? NO. If he who believes will be saved (John 3:15,16,18) then he who believes and is baptized will be saved as well, yet NOWHERE did Jesus say that whoever is not baptized will be condemned. Now there are many unbelievers who attend various false religions and cults who have been water baptized and such people may believe "mental assent" in the existence and in certain historical facts about Jesus, but they
do not believe/have faith in/trust in/reliance in Jesus Christ as the ALL-sufficient means of their salvation so your argument does not hold water.
Those who submit to instructions which include water baptism are placing their trust in Our Savior.
Those who submit to instructions
for the wrong purpose and with the wrong motivation are placing their trust in water baptism and other works for salvation and not in Our Savior. 
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