Greetings, GraceSeeker.
Baptism probably existed previously, but John (Yahya) the Baptist was known for baptizing penitent people for the remission (forgiveness) of sins
Mark1:4 John came, who baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins. and Luke 3:3 And he came into all the region round about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins;
If sins were remitted by repentence and baptism by John prior to Jesus' (as) alleged death on the cross, why was his crucifixion neccessary?
If one reads the Tanakh, one sees that there were other rituals that God asked the people to do as well, and many of these were also for the forgiveness of sins. So, the same question that you asked of baptism could be asked of the various sacrifices and offerings that God commanded. I think that the letter to the Hebrews probably best addresses why the cross was still necessary:
Hebrews 8
6But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.
7For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8But God found fault with the people and said:
"The time is coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
9It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.
10This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
11No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,'
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
12For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more."
13By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
Hebrews 9
11When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
15For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
Hebrews 10
1The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, 4because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
6with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.
7Then I said, 'Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, O God.' "[a] 8First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). 9Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. 13Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, 14because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
(I know that's a pretty long section to read, but believe it or not I did try to edit it down to the essentials.)
Yes, there are other rituals by which the people could find remission of their sins. But not one of these would have the permanent effect of the Cross. Perhaps you have noticed how children will play. They fight and get mad at each other, as a parent you put a stop to it and tell them to make up. Surprisingly, they actually do, and can return to playing with each other. But sooner or later, that same self-interest in wanting to play a certain way or with a certain toy will exert itself again and another fight will ensue. And then you will repeat the whole process all over again. So, the question is did they really "kiss and make-up" and learn to "play nice" or not? I think the answer to that question depends on whether one is looking at the short-term exeperience of the moment or at the long-term character and nature of the children. Yes, I do think that children who learn to "kiss and make-up" probably experience genuine forgivenss. But I also know that unless you change the underlying nature that is part of a child's pyschology, that nothing has changed at all. So too with this concept of the forgiveness of sins among us adults. We might respond to the call of John that we should live different and better lives. We might even make an honest committment to live that way both with God and other people, but unless our basic nature is changed, then that which produced the sin behaviors in the past still exists within and these sins are likely return, despite our best efforts.
As a Christian, I believe that in going to the cross, Jesus atoned for all of my sins -- past, present, and future.
And, more than that, I believe that he created a new way for me to relate to God, no longer in my own power or ability, but in God's own power that could come and live in me in the person of his Holy Spirit. Not on my own will I ever be perfect, but God living in me can change my very will to be replaced by the will of God and that Will will change everything about how I ultimately live my life.
So, when does this change take place? That is actually the question behind this discussion of the importance and place of baptism. And there are several different answers to it. In one sense, that change took place 2000 years ago when Christ died for my sins. Yet, clearly I am still a sinner. So, did Christ's work on the cross prove ineffectual? Not at all. Christ has done the work, but I need to appropriate it in my life. And that happens when I make a personal commitment to Jesus.
So, if it is Christ's work and my acceptance of it that brings about salvation, then what purpose is baptism? Is it not redundant?
I cannot answer that second question. But I know that baptism is something commanded by Christ. We do it for obedience, if for no other reason. But I also believe that it does indeed have some other purposes. I believe that it is first a symbol signifying a inner working of God's grace. Second, I believe it is testimony of one's purposeful connection to Christ, an identification with him and his work as having significance in MY OWN life. Third, I believe it is actually a means of grace, a sharing of God's grace that becomes active in my life. Baptism is not the only means of grace. Communion, prayer, reading the scriptures -- these are other means of grace. But in baptism I believe we have an expression of God's unique prevenient grace.
Because of our very nature, it appears that human kind is predisposed to sin. (Yes, I know that Islam might argue that point, but I'm assuming you're wanting a Christian answer, not a refutation of Islamic theology.) We see this in the self-interest that we have even as young children, demand our way and our will. Humans, by nature, seem to be more ego-centered than God-centered. This nature is, in and of itself, understood to be a sinful condition, even when one has not been involved in any explicitly sinful acts. So sinful, so predisposed to the self rather than God's agency in our lives, that without divine intervention we would not even recognize the presence of God and are impotent in our own ability to reach out to God or positively respond to God's grace. But God in his grace does not leave us in this fallen condition, he reaches out to us and pricks our conscience to make us aware of his presence. He comes to us and shares enough of himself with us that he enables us to respond. I believe that God moves thusly in our lives even among those of us who are not aware of it.
In my understanding (shared largely among Methodists, Catholics, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and Anglicans), infant baptism is an expression of this grace of God that comes to us that calls us to himself out of our sin and into his presence where we might find our salvation. In this line of thinking, adult baptism is really an expression that one has made this journey with God's help. Others (Baptists, Mennonites, Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ, Reformed) would suggest that infant baptism has no place, and tie baptism to a confession of faith on the believer's part. But in both we see baptism as a declaration of the person being incorporated into the family of God. It is more than just a person acknowledging God, but of God making a claim on that person's life. Those who believe in mankind possessing free will, allow for a person so claimed to nonethelss turn their back on God and walk away. Those who prefer to emphasize God's sovereignty would hold that once so claimed by God that one will not, indeed cannot, walk away and will always belong to God. (What they do with folks who later give no evidence of acting like they belong to God is suggest that they must have been wrong in their human understanding and that these persons never truly gave their life over to God and thus were never actually saved in the first place. Obviously, I have problems with that understanding, but that is too much to include in this thread.)
Another way to describe all of this, from a slightly different theological angle than I have is that of the Evangelical Free Church of American (to which abu_hurriya belongs):
WE BELIEVE:
That man was created in the image of God but fell into sin and is, therefore, lost, and only through regeneration by the Holy Spirit can salvation and spiritual life be obtained.
That the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection provide the only ground for justification and salvation for all who believe, and only such as receive Jesus Christ are born of the Holy Spirit and, thus become children of God.
That water baptism and the Lord's Supper are ordinances to be observed by the Church during the present age. They are, however, not to be regarded as means of salvation.
That the true Church is composed of all such persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and are united together in the Body of Christ of which He is the Head.
After Jesus' accension, baptism became an integral part of Christianity. Acts 2:38 And Peter [said] unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Yes, that is when we see it becoming an integral part of Christianity. Jesus himself had ordained that the disciples/apostles practice it in his final words to them, as recorded by Matthew:
Matthew 28
16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Interesting that is says that even at this point in time, some of Jesus disciples doubted. I wish Matthew would have told us more on that point, but he didn't and it really doesn't have anything to do with this thread. The key point for us is that Jesus commanded his disciples to baptize as part of the process of discipling others. Jesus doesn't say that it is for the remission of sins. He just says, "DO IT." I think we can assume that Peter understands from having been one of Jesus' disciples and participating in baptizing people during Jesus ministry, that this concept of the washing of away of sins is retained. But ultimately what is also understood, is that by being baptized in Jesus' name they were declaring their intent to belong to Jesus, that is they were committing to become disciples (students, followers) of Jesus Christ. So the baptism not only washing away sins, but because it was in Jesus' name, it was an acknowledgement of their new relationship with God now in Jesus's righteousness (gained on the cross), not just in their own righteousness by an act of their own impotent will or fallen nature.
