The Required Response

Repentance in Scripture is not a performance or a ritual. It is a change of allegiance — turning from self‑rule to God’s rule, from trusting your own goodness to trusting Christ alone. It is a reorientation of the heart, not a checklist of behaviors.

Faith is not vague optimism or religious effort. It is personal trust in Christ’s finished work: His death in your place, His resurrection for your life, His righteousness credited to you. Faith rests in what He has done, not in what you can do.

The New Testament consistently presents salvation as something received, not achieved. Jesus calls people to come, not to qualify. Paul describes salvation as a gift, not a wage. The gospel does not ask you to climb a ladder; it asks you to surrender your ladder entirely.

Scripture reinforces this again and again:

• Acts 3:19 — repentance brings forgiveness and renewal

• Acts 16:31 — “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved”

• Romans 10:9–10 — salvation comes through confessing Christ and believing God raised Him

• John 1:12 — those who receive Him are given the right to become children of God

• Galatians 2:16 — a person is justified by faith in Christ, not by works of the law

The gospel does not offer a system to follow, a ritual to perform, or a standard to meet. It offers a Savior to trust.

The question is simple: Will you keep trying to qualify yourself — or will you receive what Christ has already accomplished?