1 Peter 3:21 - "Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you, ..."
If we stop here, it appears that baptism does save us - but the verse does not stop there. Let's go on:
"not the removal of the filth of the flesh (in the Greek) ..." some translate this: "not the removal of dirt from the flesh" but this is highly unlikely, because no one argued then or argues now that water baptism is done to physically wash your body.
So baptism does not remove the filth (that is the sin) of our flesh. So baptism does not literally save us, but it is a picture of what does save us: the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. And nowhere in scripture, not Romans 6 or any other verses, are we told that the blood of Jesus will only cleanse us in water baptism. That is a man-made idea from men who wish to do something "religious" in order to earn salvation. I Peter 1:18-19 says we have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, but NOT in baptism. Also 1 John 1:7 says we are cleansed from all sin by His blood. Cleansing of and forgiveness of sin does not occur in water baptism. That only happens through our faith in Jesus. Acts 10:43
You cannot separate salvation, being washed in Jesus' blood, and baptism. The three are inseparably linked, in this verse as well as others.
Corresponding to that baptism now saves you
"Corresponding to that (the water of the Flood), baptism (in water) now saves you... You cannot separate baptism from salvation
not the removal of dirt from the flesh, - "The Apostle is not cautioning his readers against the thought that baptism acted ex opere operato, as a charm, but he is telling them, on the contrary, that it is no external rite. He was writing to Jews, who were very familiar with ceremonial washings, or "baptisings," which, though they symbolised a cleansing from sin, really effected nothing but to make the skin less dirty."
but an appeal to God for a good conscience -
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ," - The blood of Christ is invoked here, just as you stated it must be, for the water is not capable of removing sin, but is the vehicle of faith that God ordained as the point at which the Spirit takes action to remove our sin.
But let's continue the verse: "but answer of a good conscience toward God (Greek translation)"
So getting baptized is the proper response of someone who has been given a good conscience toward God - again, by the blood of Jesus. (Hebrews 9:14) and assurance of salvation because Jesus rose from the dead.
Not, "has been given", but "is a request to be given".
A ritual that "pictures" salvation cannot save anyone. Jesus Himself saves us.
Of course Jesus Himself saves us. But He saves us through the ordinances He established, like repentance, confession of Jesus as Lord, and baptism; in the same way that He delivered Jericho into the hands of the nation through marching around the city, He delivered healing to Naaman through dipping in Jordan (baptism) seven times, He delivered wealth to the widow through the borrowing of jars and the pouring of oil, etc.
We know that marriage is very much like salvation. We are the Bride of Christ. Paul said "I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin." 1 Corinthians 11:2 Also God said more than once that He had married Israel. Today, we are the Israel of God. When they rebelled, He accused them of adultery. To say that marriage is not like salvation is to ignore scripture.
Salvation is very much like marriage. But we are not married when we decide to marry. We are not married when we promise to marry. We are not married when we get engaged. Marriage happens when we make vows to God and to each other in front of the minister/judge and are pronounced husband and wife. The wedding ceremony is the same as baptism. Just making a promise while sitting in a seat during a sermon is like making a vow while in the back seat of a car, it doesn't mean you are married and it doesn't mean you are saved.
So if we were not baptized on the same day as we were saved, are we lost? What scripture tells us that?
We are ALWAYS baptized on the same day as we are saved, because salvation (death to sin, resurrection in Christ) occurs during baptism, not before.
The story of Joseph and Mary is not irrelevant. There is a parallel in that we see that the consummation of marriage may not occur on the same day as the marriage, just as water baptism may not occur on the day we were saved. No one here is saying that we want there to be a gap of time between salvation and baptism - but to suggest that someone's salvation is invalid because there was such a gap - again, that goes beyond what the scripture says.
There is never a gap between salvation and baptism, because salvation occurs during baptism (baptism now saves you, he who is believes
and is baptized will be saved). Salvation does not occur unless and until one dies to sin. Death to sin occurs DURING water baptism.
Actually there are NO scriptures that tell us that baptism must occur before salvation.
Baptism does not occur BEFORE salvation, either. Salvation occurs DURING salvation, not before and not after.
On the contrary, there are many that tell us just the opposite. None of your go-to verses show that, except in your imagination. But in your own words, even if there were 100,000 verses that say that baptism must precede salvation, and only one or two say the opposite - we still cannot deny the truth of the one or two.
There is no verse in all of Scripture that says that salvation occurs before salvation. Just stating that we must believe to be saved does not negate other passages, like Acts 2:38, 1 Pet 3:21, Rom 6:1-7, Col 2:11-14 and others that state that we receive salvation during baptism.