To repent is to feel sad because of your own sin and to make a firm decision to change. When someone repents, they reject sin and recognize that they need Jesus to be saved. True repentance comes from the conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit that leads the person to change his life with the help of Jesus.
Repentance comes from the heart, but it reveals itself in all areas of life. The person who repents has a different attitude: he is humble and tries to do what is right to please God. Repentance is the essential condition for salvation.
What the Bible says about repentance
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1 John 1:9
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Acts 3:19-20
Therefore, in order for your sins to be erased, repent and turn to God, so that times of rest may come from the Lord, sending you the Messiah that had already been prepared for you, which is Jesus.
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2 Corinthians 7:9-10
However, now I am glad, not because they were sad, but because their sadness led them to repentance. You were sad as God wants, so we have in no way harmed you. The sadness that comes from God produces repentance that leads to salvation, of which there is no need to repent, while the sadness of the world produces death.
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Matthew 4:17
From then on Jesus began to preach: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
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Luke 5:31-32
It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick,” Jesus replied. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repent.
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Luke 15:7
I tell you that it is also in heaven: there will be more joy over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent.
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what is true repentance according to the bible
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Luke 15:8-10
Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not she lights a lamp, sweeps the house and searches carefully until she finds it? And, when she finds it, she gathers her friends and neighbors, and tells them: “Rejoice with me; I already found the coin that I had lost”. I tell you that in the same way God rejoices with his angels for a sinner who repents.
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Acts 17:30-31
Well, God passed over those times of such ignorance, but now He commands everyone, everywhere, to repent. He has set a day when he will judge the world with justice, through the man he has appointed. Of this he has given proof to all by raising him from the dead.
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Luke 13:2-3
Jesus answered them: “Do you think that those Galileans, because they suffered like this, were more sinful than all the rest? I tell them no! In the same way, all of you will perish, unless you repent.
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Luke 24:46-47
“This is what is written,” he explained to them, “that the Christ will suffer and rise again on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
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2 Timothy 2:24-26
And a servant of the Lord should not go around fighting; rather, he should be kind to everyone, capable of teaching, and not prone to irritation. Thus, humbly, he must correct the adversaries, hoping that God will grant them repentance to know the truth, so that they wake up and escape from the trap in which the devil has them captive, submissive to his will. .
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Ezekiel 18:30-32
Therefore I will judge each one of you Israelites according to your conduct. The Almighty Lord affirms it. Repent and turn away from all your wickedness, so that sin does not bring you ruin. Throw away once and for all the evil that you have committed against me, and get a new heart and spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? I don’t want anyone’s death. Convert, and you will live! The Almighty Lord affirms it.
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Psalm 51:1-4
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great love; according to your great goodness, blot out my transgressions. Wash me from all my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin. I acknowledge my transgressions; I am always aware of my sin. Against you I have sinned, only against you, and I have done what is evil in your eyes; therefore your sentence is just, and your judgment irreproachable.
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Acts 26:20
On the contrary, beginning with those in Damascus, continuing with those in Jerusalem and throughout Judea, and then with the Gentiles, I preached to all of them to repent and turn to God, and to show their repentance by their good faith. plays.
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Matthew 3:8
Produce fruit that shows repentance.
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2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people, who bear my name, humble themselves and pray, and seek me out and abandon their misdeeds, I will hear them from heaven, forgive their sin, and restore their land.
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2 Peter 3:9
The Lord does not take long to fulfill his promise, as some understand delay. Rather, he is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to perish, but that everyone should repent.
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Revelation 3:19
I rebuke and discipline everyone I love. Therefore, be earnest and repent.
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Matthew 3:2
He said: “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near.”
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Mark 1:15
The time is up, he said. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!
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James 4:8
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Sinners, clean your hands! You the unstable, purify your heart!
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Acts 2:38
Repent and be baptized each of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins – answered Peter -, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
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Psalm 32:5
But I confessed my sin to you, and did not hide my wickedness from you. I said to myself, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave my wickedness and my sin. selah
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Proverbs 28:13
Whoever hides his sin never prospers; whoever confesses and leaves him finds forgiveness.
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Isaiah 30:15
Because thus says the Almighty Lord, the Holy One of Israel: In repentance and calm is your salvation, in serenity and trust is your strength, but you do not want to admit it!
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Jeremiah 25:4-5
Also, time and time again the Lord has sent his servants the prophets to you, but you have not listened to them or paid attention to them. They exhorted them: “Leave your bad ways and your bad deeds. In this way you will be able to live in the land that the Lord has given you and your ancestors forever and ever.
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Matthew 11:20
Then Jesus began to denounce the cities where he had performed most of his miracles, because they had not repented.
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Luke 17:3-4
So take care! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and, if he repents, forgive him. Even if he sins against you seven times in one day, and seven times he comes back to tell you “I’m sorry”, forgive him.
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Luke 3:8
Produce fruit that shows repentance. And do not think: “We have Abraham for a father.” Because I tell you that even from these stones God is able to give children to Abraham.
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Job 42:4-6
You said: “Now listen to me, I am going to speak; I will question you, and you will answer me.” I had heard about you by hearsay, but now I see you with my own eyes. Therefore, I take back what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes.