"Repent and be baptized" is what Peter told the people to do. Repent basically means to turn, to from, or to change your mind. In the Biblically sense, it means to be sorry for our sins and to want to change our course and not continue to sin. Peter used the word to describe the purpose of salvation - to turn from our lifestyle of sin in rebellion to God and to receive Christ as Lord (director of our life in the future and God) and Savior (forgiver of the penalty of our sin through sacrificial atonement - paying the penalty in our place).
The church in general acts too much like the rest of the world because people want the forgiveness of their sins, but have never changed their mind or turned from (repented) their sin. When they "said the prayer," they wanted the "fire insurance" (free gift of heaven), but never really wanted to turn from their present life of sin to godly living.
Repentance is not an additional requirement of salvation, it is the overarching want for salvation.
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