Remember James' words? "Faith without works is dead, being alone"! One cannot just sit there and say "I believe" without any passion and response. Repentence is a response of faith; confession is a verbal response of faith; and like it or not baptism by immersion is also ones faith being put into action...a faith that responds to the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord. (Scrap the practice of infant sprinkling...that's not baptism). And though these responses of obedience have no actual meritorious value (Jesus has always been our Saviour) they're not just written in Scripture to take up space.
Remember James' words? "Faith without works is dead, being alone"! One cannot just sit there and say "I believe" without any passion and response. Repentence is a response of faith; confession is a verbal response of faith; and like it or not baptism by immersion is also ones faith being put into action...a faith that responds to the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord. (Scrap the practice of infant sprinkling...that's not baptism). And though these responses of obedience have no actual meritorious value (Jesus has always been our Saviour) they're not just written in Scripture to take up space.