Where in scripture does it say to repent of your sins to get saved?

DM25

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I agree with you that repent means to change one's mind and believe the Gospel. Part of the changing of the mind is acknowledging that you are a sinner in need of a Savior, that is the Gospel message.
Of course. I agree with that. But when preachers say "repent of your sins", that's not what they are saying but they are saying to turn away from them. How can they turn away without the holy spirit indwelling in them?
 
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timewerx

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Still didn't answer my question. Where does it say "repent of your sins" in that verse? It's nowhere in the bible! Are you adding your own definition to the word repent to make it about sin? If so, why did God repent in scripture?

Repent means to change, to turn away from the old ways.

What else we would be turning away from??

Do you even know what "sin" means from the original Greek word??
 
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timewerx

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How can they turn away without the holy spirit indwelling in them?

Because someone told them the Truth of their deeds which is evil.

And they felt remorseful about it and changed for good. Not everyone will feel this way. That is why we have the "sheep" and the "goats" not everyone who hears the Truth will repent.

The Holy Spirit will ONLY make you aware of you mistakes but it will not manipulate you in any way or form to repent. The Lord doesn't use mind control.

It's our job not to be annoyingly persuasive about it- Matthew 10:14
 
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DM25

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Repent means to change, to turn away from the old ways.

What else we would be turning away from??

Do you even know what "sin" means from the original Greek word??
But why are you making up your own definition of the word repent? When in Greek it doesn't mean to turn away like you say, but it is a statement to change your mind. Jesus never says change your mind from sins... Man added that later on. Just read the bible and you will see nowhere does it say "repent of your sins" but one time it says repent from dead works of the law.... And what makes you think repent means of sins when it doesn't say it? It could mean generally, change your mind, and believe on Jesus.
 
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DM25

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Because someone told them the Truth of their deeds which is evil.

And they felt remorseful about it and changed for good. Not everyone will feel this way. That is why we have the "sheep" and the "goats" not everyone who hears the Truth will repent.

The Holy Spirit will ONLY make you aware of you mistakes but it will not manipulate you in any way or form to repent. The Lord doesn't use mind control.

It's our job not to be annoyingly persuasive about it- Matthew 10:14
Turning away from sin is useless without the holy spirit.… You can't mix turning from sins (which is a work, for example, a drug addict has to do the work to try to not take anymore drugs or go to rehab, etc. and in Jonah turning from wicked ways is described as a good work) with grace. You can't mix that with the gospel of grace. Especially during evangelizing. You may as well preach other good works like love your neighbour, etc. too when preaching the gospel. You don't want to preach a false gospel and make someone unsaved. And make up your own definition of repent or add to the gospel in some way when scripture doesn't say it.
 
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DM25

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May I ask why is man making up their own definition of the word repent? Why are people making a new theology of it when Jesus was saying the word not as "change your mind". Just like any other word can be used. Could using this in the wrong context keep people unsaved?
 
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timewerx

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But why are you making up your own definition of the word repent? When in Greek it doesn't mean to turn away like you say, but it is a statement to change your mind. Jesus never says change your mind from sins... Man added that later on. Just read the bible and you will see nowhere does it say "repent of your sins" but one time it says repent from dead works of the law.... And what makes you think repent means of sins when it doesn't say it? It could mean generally, change your mind, and believe on Jesus.

If you change your mind (repent), you're supposed to not want to sin anymore, no?
 
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DM25

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If you change your mind (repent), you're supposed to not want to sin anymore, no?
This afternoon I repented of what I wanted to eat for lunch. I also repented of what course I want to take in university in the fall. What does that have to do with sin? It literally means to change your mind in Greek... Just as when Jesus was preaching, what does changing your mind from dead works of the law (as mentioned in Hebrews) have to do with sin? What does changing your mind from unbelief to belief have to do with sin? If it was about sin, why did God repent multiple times in scripture if he has no sin? Do you see you are adding on to the definition?

If you wanna say to turn from your sins, you must not only preach that, but also preach to love your neighbours, confess sins to God, pray to him, and all other commands God gives in the bible. As these are all good works we are accepted to do once we are saved. Do you see how turning from your sins happens after you are saved, not before it? So why is this catch phrase used when evangelizing when it isn't biblical? We should evangelize with the gospel message, not added messages that aren't found in the bible like "repent of your sins".
 
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DM25

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The Holy Spirit will ONLY make you aware of you mistakes but it will not manipulate you in any way or form to repent. The Lord doesn't use mind control.
Incorrect. You are not giving the holy spirit credit. God can work on us and change us after we get saved. But if you think you must clean up your life before getting saved, so a drug addict turning from drugs before they obtain salvation, that would works salvation. We are not saved by works, we are saved to do good works, and the good works include turning from sins.
 
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timewerx

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Incorrect. You are not giving the holy spirit credit. God can work on us and change us after we get saved. But if you think you must clean up your life before getting saved, so a drug addict turning from drugs before they obtain salvation, that would works salvation. We are not saved by works, we are saved to do good works, and the good works include turning from sins.

I think you only like to disagree even if there's nothing to disagree with.

I didn't say the Holy Spirit does nothing. It will make you aware of things as I've said earlier which is also work.
 
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timewerx

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What does that have to do with sin? It literally means to change your mind in Greek...

Context. Look at Luke 13:3. What is something that if you do not repent from, you will perish?

What is something you do where the wage is death / perish?

Now I expect your face to be like this:
giphy.gif
 
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hedrick

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I see repenting as much deeper than simply a change of mind.
The word has a range of possible meanings. But from context I believe the usual meaning in Jesus' teaching is change the direction of your life.

It can, of course, refer to repenting from individual sins. That meaning is also present in the NT, but it's not the most common for Jesus.
 
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bcbsr

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It really confuses me why a lot of people say "repent of your sins" in order to get saved. I can't find anywhere in scripture where it says this. We should repent of our sins after we get saved as a sanctification process and to grow in Christ. And of course we should confess our sins to him, do good works, and all that, also part of our walk in him after we are saved and sealed, part of sanctification and the result of salvation. But everywhere in scripture, all I see is Jesus saying "repent". I never see anywhere "repent of your sins" when he preaches the gospel to them to save them. I am not making this thread as a debate or argument, I am generally curious if I am missing something here because I'm confused why so many street preachers and teachers say "repent of your sins" when preaching the gospel because I just don't see this in scripture, I always want to follow scripture and not man's traditions. If someone wants to challenge me on this or show me somewhere in the new testament where it says this please do so.
Good point! The word repent is μετανοεω, "μετα" meaning "change, and "νοεω" meaning "mind". So Biblical repentance is primarily about a change of one's thinking. That is, changing from not believing to believing. Like Mark 1:15 "Repent, and believe in the gospel."

As an example you take Peter's description of Cornelius' conversion. In Acts 10 and 11 Peter describes preaching the gospel to Cornelius and his household and then the Spirit came on them.
"If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?" When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life." Acts 11:17,18

Notice that the "repentance"they were referring to wasn't regarding behavior, but simply the fact that Cornelius believed the gospel.
 
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timewerx

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Notice that the "repentance"they were referring to wasn't regarding behavior, but simply the fact that Cornelius believed the gospel.

Possibly true. In those times, people had the benefit of hearing the Gospel straight from the source in its unbiased, untainted form.

In John Chapter 6, something can be said when the vast majority of Christ's followers rejected the Gospel.

We're talking about "disciples" here, not just someone hearing the Gospel for the first time! :o

We don't see these thing anymore which is a strong sign we're not hearing the same stuff anymore! We've burried the Gospel in its pure form under layers of doctrines and dogmas.
 
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bcbsr

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Possibly true. In those times, people had the benefit of hearing the Gospel straight from the source in its unbiased, untainted form.

In John Chapter 6, something can be said when the vast majority of Christ's followers rejected the Gospel.

We're talking about "disciples" here, not just someone hearing the Gospel for the first time! :eek:

We don't see these thing anymore which is a strong sign we're not hearing the same stuff anymore! We've burried the Gospel in its pure form under layers of doctrines and dogmas.
In John 6 some followers left simply because to them it said sounded like crazy talk. John 6:60 These were those with unrooted faith as in the seed the fell on the rocky ground. When trouble came because of the word they quickly fell away. In this these case the "trouble" was - "sounds like crazy talk therefore I'm leaving." People shouldn't just discard scripture because they don't understand it.

More commonly what happens, in the case of doctrinal apostasy, is they'll misconstrue scripture to make it more appealing to them and their kind. "Disciples" are those on the road to salvation, but along the way before arriving at the end they get distracted, side-tracked into other things, other ideas. Those who make it to the end receive eternal life, yes in this lifetime, being freed from condemnation, freed from the wrath of God, as if they had already passed from death to life.

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life" John 5:24 But many followers of Christ haven't gotten to this point yet.
 
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StillGods

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Aren't we repenting of denying who Jesus is when we are asking to be saved.

we are repenting of thinking we dont need Him and acknowledging we need Him to save us.

the sin we are repenting of is not acknowledging Jesus is our Saviour and died for our sins.

if we dont repent of that then we are in a lot of trouble!
 
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bling

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May I ask why is man making up their own definition of the word repent? Why are people making a new theology of it when Jesus was saying the word not as "change your mind". Just like any other word can be used. Could using this in the wrong context keep people unsaved?
I see your point to some degree, but Peter (Act 2:38) told the crowd to repent, who already believed Christ was really the Messiah, who they crucified or they would not have been cut to the heart. I feel Peter could have used the word “surrender” to convey the same idea of “stop fighting against God”, which if left just there might be “work” and impossible for the unbeliever. Peter did not stop with just “repent” (mentally turning away from sinning), but goes on providing them the source of the power to stop sinning the indwelling Holy Spirit. Surrendering to the enemy is something any soldier can do at any time, but that does not mean the enemy is not still his enemy and he is certainly not switching sides at the time. Repenting, for those on Pentecost and the soldier, is just not liking where you are heading and a willingness to humbly accept your enemy’s pure charity.

I think a preacher can tell the nonbeliever to “repent”, but the nonbeliever needs to ask the next question “how” and be given the answer “be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit” and if the sinner does not ask, than the preacher should ask him “do you know how to repent of your ways?”

Asking a person to “believe”, without them first “hearing” has the same problem.
 
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hedrick

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I see your point to some degree, but Peter (Act 2:38) told the crowd to repent, who already believed Christ was really the Messiah, who they crucified or they would not have been cut to the heart.
Huh? There's no sign that that crowd was believers. The whole point of the story is to show the growth of Christianity. Starting in 2:5 or 2:6 we're no longer dealing with a small number of people in a room but a "crowd."
 
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bling

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Huh? There's no sign that that crowd was believers. The whole point of the story is to show the growth of Christianity. Starting in 2:5 or 2:6 we're no longer dealing with a small number of people in a room but a "crowd."
They were "believing" something or they would not have felt a death blow to their heart. so what were they thinking?
 
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