TCR 511 - start with repentance

TCR 511 [2]

The Word establishes plainly
that repentance is the first stage
in the development of the church.
John the Baptist,
who was sent beforehand 
to prepare people for the church 
the Lord was to found,
preached repentance
at the same time as he was baptizing.
His baptism was therefore called 
a baptism of repentance,
because baptism means spiritual washing,
or being cleansed from sins.
He did this in the Jordan,
because the Jordan meant being brought into the church,
since it was the first boundary of the land of Canaan,
which was where the church was.
The Lord Himself too preached repentance
for the forgiveness of sins.
By this He taught
that repentance is the first stage
in the development of the church,
and that to the extent that a person repents,
his sins are distanced from him;
and to the extent they are distanced,
they are forgiven.
Moreover, the Lord laid upon the twelve Apostles,
as well as the seventy He sent out,
the duty of preaching repentance.
These facts clearly show that repentance
is the first stage in the development of the church.