That's your rule. You make repentance a precondition. God doesn't.
Repentance is not just turning from sin.
Anyone can turn from sin.
It's the turning to Christ that's the important part and that's where the repentance comes in
We are changing how we think about Christ
Repentance is not simply *God, I'm sorry for my sin and I promise not to do it again.*
It trusting in Christ to save us and not ourselves, which is what we are doing when we make the focus of repentance on our *repenting* from sin to save us.