Even noted 3-stepper and UPCI theologian/apologist, David Bernard recognizes the fallacy of those who seek to separate these to terms.
In his book, The New Birth, the following statements are made:
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Forgiveness and Remission
Some people teach that forgiveness and remission are two distinct events, the former occurring at repentance and the latter at water baptism. According to this teaching, at repentance God accepts man's apology and restores him to a personal relationship, and at baptism God removes the record and penalty of past sins. This distinction has some basis in the definitions and KJV usage of the English words. For example, Webster's Dictionary defines forgive as "to cease to feel resentment against (an offender): Pardon" and it defines remit as "to release from the guilt or penalty of… to refrain from exacting… to cancel or refrain from inflicting." Forgiveness conveys the idea of personal reconciliation, while remission connotes a legal settlement.
However, even in English, forgive and remit are often used interchangeably. Webster's Dictionary defines pardon as "to free from penalty… to remit the penalty or forgive." More importantly, there is no distinction between forgiveness and remission in the Greek. There is only one Greek word, aphesis, which the KJV sometimes translates as "forgiveness" (Acts 5:31) and sometimes as "remission" (Acts 2:38). Most later translations, such as the RSV and NIV, use only forgiveness and not remission. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance defines aphesis as "freedom; (fig.) pardon." Vine's Expository Dictionary says it "denotes a dismissal, release" and defines the verb form, aphiemi, as "primarily, to send forth, send away… denotes besides its other meanings, to remit or forgive."
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He even offers the following chart in an attempt to prove this statement:
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The table demonstrates that the following elements are part of New Testament forgiveness: the blood of Jesus, faith, repentance, the name of Jesus, and water baptism. In the New Testament church we receive forgiveness by repentance and water baptism in the name of Jesus, both of which are made possible and effective by the blood of Jesus.
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One glaring thing, however, is lacking in Brother Benard's fairly sound reasonings about the idea of aphesis ...
He cannot link aphesis/forgiveness/ to a properly administered water baptism ... unless we accept his interpretation of forgiveness is linked to water baptism based on his selective determination of the Greek preposition "eis" or "for".
In 16 of the 17 examples he cites ... repentance ... turning to Jesus and, ultimately, what He did at the Cross through faith results in remission/forgiveness ....
I include the two citations of regarding John's baptism because it was one unto repentance ...
and surely most 3 steppers would say this baptism was not regenerative, not done in His name, or even part of the New Covenant - if one subscribes to dispensationalism.
Also, those who were baptized under John did so in response and as a witness of heeding his call to repent. Keep in mind also, JB was the son of high priest and well versed in the practice of mikveh ritual washings.
It's pretty well agreed that Christian baptism is just an incorporation of the Jewish mikveh.
John the Baptist probably belonged to (or at least was greatly influenced by) the Essenes who practiced mikveh rituals. A couple of centuries before the birth of Jesus, the Jewish teaching incorporated mikveh/batpism into the process by which a gentile converted and became a Jew. When John the Baptist came upon the scene he just had folks immerse themselves to prepare for the Messiah's coming and the Messiah's reign.
Furthermore, JB never told his listeners that their sins would be washed away if they were baptized.