When do people truly repent of their sins, before or after truly believing in Jesus?

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
Jul 7, 2022
10,558
4,487
113
Almost Heaven West Virginia
#41
repenting of sins and not sinning are not the same a repentant heart may still sin as we are still subject to human nature but to obey the law is boiled down to one thing love.
A loving heart obeys the law simply by having love in their heart and you have to take his grace into account as well we fall short everyday not one person can say they are without sin but his love and grace for us covers our failings

How many sins must I repent of?

If I understand repentance of sins, that's works.
How much work do i have to do?
 

Blain

The Word Weaver
Aug 28, 2012
19,491
2,697
113
#42
How many sins must I repent of?

If I understand repentance of sins, that's works.
How much work do i have to do?
it is not works it is a matter of the heart between God and the person how many sins must you repent of? that is the wrong wuestion rather you sohlud ask who is it that saves me from my sins and that is Jesus
he died so that you would not have to repent of every sin you have made you have a repentant heart and you are washed by the blood of the lamb so though you may sin at times in his eyes you are sinless.
 

glf

Active member
Mar 18, 2023
306
130
43
70
#43
Heb 11: 6:
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

The Holy Spirit working with a minister of the gospel who shares the word of God to a lost person, calls that person to God and reproves him of his sins. If he believes in Jesus' saving power and responds to the Holy Spirit's call to the Lord and conviction for his sins, with a godly sorrow, calling upon the Lord to save him. Then Jesus puts a mustard seed of faith into his soul. That seed, is faith in Jesus as his savior. The Holy Spirit then baptizes him with the into the body of Christ.

Mt 22: 14: For many are called, but few are chosen.
Jn 16: 8-9: And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me;
2 Cor 7: 10: For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
Heb 12: 2: Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
1 Cor 12: 13: For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
Eph 4: 5: One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

Which do you think is the one baptism; when we are all baptized into one body by one Spirit and then indwelt by the Holy Spirit, or when we were baptized by water imersion?
Mt 3: 11: I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire:
Is there anyone who can say that water baptism is a baptism with the Holy Spirit and with fire?

The elect who are chosen by the Lord are those who turn to the Lord in repentance when called.
Faith is that form of believing that is authored by Jesus, based upon Spirit illuminated scripture, and always produces works appropriate to repentance in those who have it.
So, we must believe that Jesus is and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him before obtaining faith from the Lord Jesus.
 
#44
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Baptism is an act of faith it's confessing you sin and needing a savior, after baptism your sin is blotted out through faith in Jesus Christ and the Father.

As you get to know Them through His word it's cleanses your heart and you begin cutting sinful things out of your life but until we're in paradise will still have to deal with temptation to sin and repent daily read the Lord's prayer regarding this.

Two very important things also are forgiving others so you can be forgiven by the Father, and confessing Jesus Christ not denying Him before others because if you deny Him, He will deny you.

*******

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’ ” a
4John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

11“I baptize you with b water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with c the Holy Spirit and fire. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

The Baptism of Jesus

13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

15Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

******

Adulterous women

No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more. John 8:11

******

Sin = Satan in nature in other words, Jesus Christ was saying to the women stop following Satan and follow Me and your sin will be no more.
 

montana123

Well-known member
Oct 9, 2021
878
290
63
#45
Now your getting into the area of knowing the operation of one's mind, you don't know it. The thief was convinced that what he did was wrong and he deserved the punishment he was given.

I doubt very much he had some sort of benefit in mind. I base that assumption on the fact that Jesus knew all men and Jesus was convinced the thief repented in his heart.

IN GOD THE SON,
bluto
Luk 23:39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
Luk 23:40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
Luk 23:41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
Luk 23:42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
Luk 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

I believe the thief was looking for a reward and admitted he deserved punishment, and Jesus was innocent as a way of repenting and believing Jesus is the Savior.

For if he did not believe Jesus was the Savior why did he say anything, and he called Him, Lord, and said to the first thief do you not fear God knowing that with God comes repentance.

He asked Jesus for access to His kingdom so he wanted a reward so I am sure he repented first, and believed Jesus was Savior and knew He required repentance.
 
Aug 22, 2014
3,045
1,003
113
45
#49
For me personally it happen before I truly believed. However I thought I was a believer before that and did like "the idea" of Jesus, but did not know Him. I heard the "pop gospel", the come to Jesus if you want to go to heaven pitch, and I went up front and repeated the prayer and was told to write down the date, I was saved that day. Went a few weeks later to seal it with a baptism. I was told I was saved and had no reason to doubt it. I now know I was not saved at this time, but it played its part in Gods plan.

However when God actually granted me repentance, after 2 years of dealing with my hardest life trial yet all on my own, that was when God open my eyes and showed me exactly how great and wonderful 33 years of "my way" was. It was me on the floor broken and crying like a baby with no hope at all in anything. He showed me how great mans way really was and I turned from it, I didn't even know what I was doing or what was happening at that moment, but I saw my way for what it was in truth and I quit. Didn't even know what I was quitting, but I quit it.

The next day at lunch time was when God did show me what was going on. It was at lunch that it hit me, and hit me hard. I realized that after two solid years of suicidal thoughts that I couldn't help or stop, at least once every 5 minutes like clockwork. After two years of this nonstop I realized "I HAVEN'T THOUGHT ABOUT KILLING MYSELF ALL DAY!!!!!!"

I KNEW two things right then and there-
1. Whatever this was, it was God.
2. Jesus was His Son.

So without a doubt my repentance came before me actually believing in Him.

All that said I do understand that salvation is between us and God, so it may not happen the exact same way for everyone.
 
Nov 3, 2024
32
22
8
#50
Ok, let's do this by the numbers. First, were only dealing with the thief who said he deserved his punishment. Forget the other thief. He was the one who "mocked" Jesus while the first thief rebuked him. Now, let's go to Acts 2:37-38 and at vs37 the crowed out to Peter and the other Apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"

Vs38, "And Peter said to them, "REPENT" and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ; for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." What's the very first word Peter said to them? "REPENT." that is, to change their minds and fundamental attitudes by accepting the change required. This would produce a renewing of their minds as well as a change in attitude toward sin and self.

The repentant ones could show that change of mind and heart by being baptized in the name of Jesus. Peter is "NOT" teaching that water baptism saves you. The thief was not water baptized but he did repent and that's why Jesus said, "you shall be with Me in Paradise this day." Btw, water baptism does not save you as some churches teach.

IN GOD THE SON,
james
What I see is the evidence that Jesus when he said that all authority was given to him displayed.
Some believe that not being baptized you cannot enter.
Some say unless you do good works
Some say you must be born again.
Some believe to keep the commandments.

I think reading into the scriptures sometimes makes it harder to understand a simply truth.

I am the way the truth the life, no man comes to the father except through me ......(Jesus) it's just that simple.
 
Jun 30, 2015
25,587
13,857
113
#52
we kind of have to assume that when the bible says to repent, it means within your ability to do so.
I'm curious why you wrote this in response to my post as it doesn't seem relevant.

Also, Scripture suggests that the ability to repent is actually God-given:

Acts 11:18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

2 Timothy 2:25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth.
 
Oct 15, 2024
151
66
28
#53
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Well according to scripture, it seems the Holy Spirit creates an awareness in people of their need for salvation . With that in mind, I understand that as we continue to follow Jesus, we become more aware of all that He has done for us when He took upon Himself our sins so that if we accept Him, God sees us as 'sinless'. Not that we become perfect in this world or never sin again, but rather that the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf is what is acceptable to God on our behalf.

We identify with Jesus in His death through the act of baptism. Our salvation is both immediate and ongoing as we are still living our lives on this earth. Sanctification is on ongoing process in our lives as we apply ourselves to Bible study, prayer and the desire to follow Jesus. The Holy Spirit continues to work in our lives as He did at salvation.

So, the answer to your op question,
When do people truly repent of their sins, before or after truly believing in Jesus?
would be our deeper understanding of sin and salvation would be after our salvation, notwithstanding that we are not created on an assembly line and experience can vary.
 

HeIsHere

Well-known member
May 21, 2022
6,326
2,459
113
#54
This is an important issue, so please read the King James Bible from cover to cover and underline the phrase "repent of your sins" to the unbeliever to be saved from hell.

Repenting of sins is hard work.
Repenting of all of your sins is obedience to the laws.
Have you repented of all of your sins?
I haven't. I still sin.
Maybe someone can tell me the secret of obeying all of the laws.
Can someone tell me what I must do to be saved, to keep all of the laws, to repent of all those violations of God's laws?
I want to be saved.
tis a false Gospel repent of your sins, agree, it has no end.
 

Mem

Senior Member
Sep 23, 2014
7,227
2,205
113
#55
Like the serpent on the pole, so must the Son of Man be lifted up...and when I am lifted up, I will draw all... (to take a look)
The pole is up, it's not going anywhere. Who hasn't heard? Look at Him! and live! or avert your eyes and die.
 
Jul 13, 2023
458
204
43
#56
I'm curious why you wrote this in response to my post as it doesn't seem relevant.

Also, Scripture suggests that the ability to repent is actually God-given:

Acts 11:18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

2 Timothy 2:25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth.
no special reason, the thief on the cross reference got me thinking, he had no physical way or opportunity to pay back for this thefts.
 

jacko

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2024
1,111
609
113
#57
This is an important issue, so please read the King James Bible from cover to cover and underline the phrase "repent of your sins" to the unbeliever to be saved from hell.

Repenting of sins is hard work.
Repenting of all of your sins is obedience to the laws.
Have you repented of all of your sins?
I haven't. I still sin.
Maybe someone can tell me the secret of obeying all of the laws.
Can someone tell me what I must do to be saved, to keep all of the laws, to repent of all those violations of God's laws?
I want to be saved.
Hebrews 10:14

"For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."
KJV gets it right... key word here is ARE , other fake translations have as are being.

it is finished. your efforts and works wont save you
 
Jul 7, 2022
10,558
4,487
113
Almost Heaven West Virginia
#59
Hebrews 10:14

"For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."
KJV gets it right... key word here is ARE , other fake translations have as are being.

it is finished. your efforts and works wont save you
Yes Jacko,

I agree that He did it all and we cannot add to His sacrifice through efforts of self sanctification.
The context makes that clear too.

10By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

The offering is what people take glory from when they do things like say, "I gave MY LIFE to Christ.....I rededicated my life to Him.....I turned from all my sins to Jesus.

The fact of the matter we know is that He gave His own life for ours. It sounds sentimental and pious to say, No, I Gave MY LIFE/ heart to Christ. However the fact is that every other human being is sinful and unqualified to be a sacrifice that pleases the Father.

Likewise we look at sin. Do I somehow atone for my own sins by turning from them? The Mormons, the Jews, the Muslims, the Catholics teach this.
But Hebrews chapter 10 tells us the truth, doesn't it?
 
Jul 7, 2022
10,558
4,487
113
Almost Heaven West Virginia
#60
sins are forgiven, past, present and future tense.
Thanks... I didn't see anything other than that verse when I first went to respond. I see what you mean. Good observation.

There's a good reason to trust the KJ Bible.
If we used the Mormon bible it would say "repent of your sins" quite a lot.
The same is true of the Quran.
This is a work that many preachers confused me about as a teenager.