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If you have to get water baptized to get saved, then how did the thief on the cross get saved in Luke 23:42? He never got water baptized.
Repent means to turn from unbelief to belief in Christ. Repent of sins is to avoid God's wrath, not to secure salvation. Once you truly believe in Jesus, then you have eternal life at that point, and you are saved forever.
However if you trust in your own works to get you saved, then you will go to hell for not being a believer. Saved Christians are under Grace, whereas unsaved nominal "Christians" are under the Law. If you break even one aspect of the Law, you have broken the entirety of it, and therefore you have condemned yourself for eternal damnation.
Water baptism is symbolic of burying the "old man" and being born again. To your point about the thief on the cross, it's repentance in the heart that matters. Symbols have utility, but if they're not matched by the heart...they're empty. I seem to recall the Pharisees being harshly criticized for going through the motions but not believing in their hearts.
In terms of believing in Jesus, it's important to draw a distinction between "belief" in some vague, cafeteria Christian manner and belief that results in following Him. Even the demons "believe" He exists, and yet they utterly oppose Him. Multitudes of cafeteria Christians claim to "believe" in Jesus yet live contrary to his teachings. That hand-wave belief is just meaningly repeating of "Lord, Lord". Jesus never knew them.
If someone believes in Jesus and follows His teachings...that's repentance in the heart. Eternal life? Well of course, at that point any straying from the path is accidental or at worst a quickly corrected error.
It's not about believing He exists, it's about accepting Him as Lord and Saviour. Salvation is a free gift that we receive from believing in Him.
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
The Bible is very clear on salvation, it's not based on how good you are. And once someone becomes a believer in Christ, that person is saved forever.
John 10:28
“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."
If you believe you can lose your salvation by committing a wicked sin and not repenting afterwards, then you are trusting in your own works, and hence not trusting in Jesus.
Jesus paid the debt for all of my sins, even the sins that I commit in the future. I repent of my sins to avoid being punished, not to secure my salvation.
Repent of sins to get saved = works-based salvation. You must only trust in your faith and nothing else, or else you are not saved.
For that to track, anyone would just claim Jesus as their lord and savior...then go back to degeneracy the next day. Hey, it's a cosmic cheat code for morality!
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