You absolutely have to repent to be saved, as clearly discussed so far, Jesus says so. To say repentance isn't necessary is to completely contradict what Jesus says about the matter. Besides that iron clad case for repentance, could you even picture anyone who wasn't repentant for the things they've done even coming to Jesus in the first place? I honestly can't picture in my head how that could ever work in the first place. I testify by what He's graced me with, and opened my eye's to, the truth that salvation couldn't happen without repentance logically or rationally. I want to be clear that I do NOT believe this happens the same way in all of us as far as "exact words or thoughts", I mean that in the way that I came to repentance, at a time when I thought I knew what being a Christian was. I repeated the prayer, I went and got baptized, I was declared to be saved by a pastor, I even attended church and all that. I was not saved.
God brought me to my knees while I'd already thought I'd "done that" and found that it didn't help when things got real tough. After trying to shoulder the world myself, I wanted to kill myself for 2 solid years everyday. I lost the use of my right arm in a motorcycle accident and couldn't handle it. 1 thing kept me from killing myself. I had 2 sons that I couldn't leave with "my dad killed himself". I knew that no one that tried to step up in my place could ever love my boys like their father. Sounds noble now, but to me then I was just stuck in life. It sucked. After 2 years of this nonstop it all came to a head. If I had ever believed in God before, when I hit my knees I did not. I didn't cry out Jesus, or God I need you. When I hit my knees I said, "I can't do this anymore, I can't do this anymore, I can't do this anymore, world you win, I lose and I quit". I picked myself up off the floor and went to bed. The next day I woke up brand new. I'd love to share more, but wasn't trying to make a super long post, or make it about "me", my point was made with this one part. I just wanted to make it clear that I believe YES repentance is a necessity, however how that repentance happens can look many ways and is between that person and God.