I like what RoboOp had to say. You know, back in the early church, there was no argument over whether baptism saves. They just baptised people as soon as they believed, or close enough to. It's just something that they did. If you did say baptism is not necessary, you most likely would have been excommunicated as a heretic. Seriously, how far Christianity has slipped away from the truths. As it is the last days and the falling away into un-sound doctrine, if there are 100 doctrines around today about this issue on baptism, you can guarantee that 99 of them are false and only 1 is true.
We know from scripture that it is the faith which justifies, not the corresponding actions which show that faith in obedience. God who knows the heart, really saves a person at that moment of belief. Yet, faith without works, i.e. a christian who does not want to get baptised, their faith is dead, and they have a problem.
In a way, baptism is necessary to show faith, which then leads to salvation. But if a believer dies who has not been baptised, due to their own innocence not purposefully, they certainly are not going to hell IMO. Is baptism really "necessary", to that I'd say no. But is it required...i.e. something we should do, that I'd say yes.
But why is everything about the issue of baptism only about "getting saved". In a selfish way, that's all we really care about. Just doing enough to get ourself in the door, so we can live a happy life on earth ever-after. Save ourself the trouble of getting immersed in water. What about obedience, what about following in the footsteps of the apostles and early church, what about being baptised because we love Jesus and want to do what He says we should do. Have you ever thought that there's more to baptism than just your selfish reasons of "getting saved". If you get baptised, and next week start stealing , don't suppose that the baptism has saved you. Like this one bible college from a certain denomination I will not name, they all believed that it is baptism which saves you, and if you are baptised you are on your way to heaven. But they were having sex with each other, unmarried fornicators , so called "bible believers", hypocrites. Are they on their way to heaven? I think not.The sadder thing is, that these will one day become pastors.