Where do you read that baptism is the “first step toward obedience”? I have several issues with this argument…
1. We don’t read anywhere in the NT where baptism is described as such.
2. If baptism is “obedience,” what happens if someone is “disobedient” with this regard? I imagine your claim would be “nothing” if your belief is that baptism is not required. So, by this rationale, baptism ultimately accomplishes nothing and there is no consequence for being disobedient to this command.
3. There is zero reason for the NT authors to link baptism to forgiveness, receiving the Holy Spirit, washing away sins, being buried with Christ, being raised with Christ, or the moment of salvation if it is to be viewed as an act of obedience that happens after the fact. Yet we see ALL of these links made in the NT (I can provide references if you wish). Why would the authors attribute these events to the moment of baptism if they are wholly unrelated, or that it could be actually dangerous to consider baptism as part of the process for entering the New Covenant?
The NT links baptism with the entering of the New Covenant in a similar fashion to circumcision and the Old Covenant. We enter the New Covenant by calling out to God for forgiveness, professing Christ as Lord, repenting and identifying with his death and resurrection in baptism. This is how the NT describes how all believers entered this covenant and became part of the Church. It is never spoken of as a symbol, outward sign or act of obedience. Nor do we see anything in the NT resembling a “sinner’s prayer” or altar call for salvation. These had a lot more to do with modern Christianity’s tent revivals and evangelism crusades to quantify how many were getting “saved.”