Wait a minute here, what are you saying? You folks constantly tell us that we need not do anything, that all be need to do is believe and we are saved. Now you are saying we have to repent AND be baptized? Oops, sounds like some "works" are coming into the picture from you assessment here.
As for repentance, hah, you are not the first to believe in repentance. We believe in it so much we call it a sacrament, a sacred thing, and if we fall (as humans always seem to do) we can become reconciled to Christ once again. Can I hear an AMEN?
It does not matter what I, or anyone else says about how a sinner is saved and gets to heaven. What really matters is what God in His Word, the Holy Bible says. Jesus Who was God Incarnate while on earth, says in Mark 1:15, at the very beginning of His ministry, "REPENT and BELIEVE in the Gospel". REPENTANCE and FAITH is what saves the lost sinner, and NOT water baptism, which is a requirement for those who are already saved. If water baptism can save anyone, then surely the Lord would have used this, instead of coming and suffering and dying? The Bible clearly says, " without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" (Hebrews 9:22). It is the "blood" that Jesus shed on the cross, and FAITH in this, that can save a person upon confession of their sins.
And, YES, the sinner has to "work", but NOT in the sense of earning their salvation, but they need to DO. This is very clear from Scriptures like Jonah 3:10, "When God saw
their deeds,
that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do
it."
God, "saw their DEEDS (work, KJV), "that they turned (REPENTED) from their SINS. This is the "work", the REPENTING of sins, and TURNING from them.
Likewise in Acts chapter 2, after Peter had preached to 1000's, those who were convicted by the Gospel Message, said, "Brothers, what shall we DO?" (verse 37), to which Peter replies, "REPENT and be baptized" (38). It is the REPENTANCE that saves and NOT water baptism, as Jesus Himself says, "REPENTANCE for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47), with no requirement to be baptized for salvation. Just in case some suppose that FAITH is not required, again Jesus says, "Whoever believes (FAITH) and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:16). Note, if the sinner does not BELIEVE, they will be damned, no mention that if they did not get baptized. The thief on the cross both REPENTED and BELIEVED, but was never baptized, and yet Jesus promised him eternal life.
The lost sinner must DO, that is, "REPENT and BELIEVE"