In Acts 22:16, Paul recounts the words of Ananias to him after his the Damascus road experience with the Lord: “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.”

We would be wrong to connect it with “be baptized,” the Greek participle epikalesamenos (“calling”) would have no antecedent. Paul's sins were washed away not by baptism, but by calling on the name of the Lord, the name above all other names. It is best to connect the phrase “wash away your sins” with “calling on His name.”

Paul’s spiritual birth took place on the Damascus road NOT by Ananias through baptism

Saul is not told how to be saved. There is no mention of Ananias being sent to preach the Gospel to Saul. When Ananias entered the room he placed his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul,” something he would never say unless Paul was already converted, “brother” means he is a “believer.” If Saul needed to be baptized in order to be saved, then he was not yet “Brother Saul.”

Paul recollected this encounter on the Damascus road in 1 Cor. 15:8, saying he was born out of due time and pointed to this event as the time of his regeneration. “Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”

In Gal. 1:12 Paul related that the Gospel he heard, “I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.” When did this take place? When Paul first saw the glory and heard Jesus speak to him as he was traveling on the Damascus road. Acts 9:6, Saul, after falling to the ground and hearing the Lord's voice, responded to Jesus, “Lord, what will you have me do?” He repented of his unbelief, and surrendered calling Jesus his Lord (Acts 9:6).

The parallel passage of this is in Acts 26:16-18 gives us more details. “Now get up and stand on your feet. I [Jesus] have appeared to you [Saul] to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them, to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:16-18).

This confirms he was saved and commissioned at the same time.

This shows that baptism is not considered part of the Gospel because the Gospel he received was directly from God and not from man. Paul received his baptism by man afterwards.

This is why Paul said in 1 Cor. 1:17-18 “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

He was sent to give the gospel, not to baptize which means they are two different activities.

V 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”