Acts 2:38 & Water Baptism Save You? James White Shows How Water Baptism Has No Power

James White's starts out his argument against baptismal regeneration by bringing up Romans 3:11, "There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God;" or Ephesians 2:1, "And you were dead in your transgressions and sins," meaning the spiritually dead cannot make themselves spiritually alive by the physical act of the flesh by water baptism.

Time marker 03:54 - Romans 8:5-9, "5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is at enmity toward God, for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh are not able to please God.
9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him."

Therefore a person who has never been supernaturally "born again" by the power of the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-8, 1 Corinthians 6:11,19, Titus 3:5-8, Romans 8:16) cannot "please God" even if they are trying to get water baptized because they are still in the flesh & not the Spirit. Thus their water baptism is completely worthless in this case & means nothing.

God must do the work of spiritual regeneration first in a person before they can do anything authentic in the service of the True God of the Bible. The Spirit regenerates. How often have the clear words of Jesus been misunderstood! People universally re-write 'You must be born again.'