Can Someone Be Saved Without Repentance?

[David]

The short answer is no. Jesus never preached salvation without repentance, and neither did His apostles. But repentance has to be understood the way Scripture defines it. It is not cleaning yourself up before you come to Christ, earning salvation through good works, or promising God that you will never sin again.​

Jesus began His public ministry saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). He called sinners to repent and believe. Those were not two different gospels. They belong together in the gospel call.

Paul preached the same thing. He described his ministry as “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). A sinner does not save himself by repenting, and repentance does not earn the grace of God. Scripture is clear that salvation is “by grace...through faith” and “not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9).

Think of a man standing in a burning house. He does not put out the fire before calling for rescue. He does not repair the house, clean the smoke off the walls, and then ask to be saved. He cries for help because he knows he cannot save himself. In the same way, repentance is not a sinner repairing his life so God will accept him. It is the sinner recognizing that he is in rebellion against God and turning to the only One who can save him.

Christ paid the full price for our salvation on the cross. We add nothing to what He accomplished. We are not saved because we repented well enough. We are saved because Christ saves sinners who come to Him in faith.

Repentance Is Commanded​

Repentance is not something Scripture reserves for unusually serious Christians. Jesus said plainly, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). Paul told the people of Athens that God “now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30).

When the Gentiles believed the gospel, the believers in Jerusalem glorified God and said, “Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18). Repentance is not a man-made religious burden added to faith. It is part of the gospel message found throughout the New Testament.

Imagine a man driving the wrong way down a one-way road. Someone waves him down and tells him he is headed straight into danger. He cannot say, “I believe you,” while pressing the gas pedal and continuing in the same direction. At some point, believing the warning means he turns around.

That is not a perfect picture of salvation, but it helps show the point. Biblical repentance is not merely admitting that God is right. It is turning toward Him rather than continuing to defend rebellion.

The problem comes when people want forgiveness while refusing to turn from rebellion against God. They want Jesus to save them from the penalty of sin while insisting that He has no authority over the way they live. Scripture never presents salvation that way.

We do not come to Christ on our own terms. We do not tell Him which sins He may forgive and which sins we intend to keep. Jesus is Lord, and the sinner comes to Him empty-handed, without bargaining and without excuses.

Repentance Is Not Sinless Perfection​

We also have to be careful not to turn repentance into sinless perfection. The Bible does not teach that a Christian reaches a point where he never sins again. First John 1:8 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

Believers still face temptation. We still stumble, and we still need to confess our sins. That is why the next verse says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

The difference is not that a Christian becomes incapable of sin. The difference is his relationship to sin.

Think about two men who fall into a mud hole. One gets up, hates being covered in mud, and starts trying to get out. The other sits down in it, makes himself comfortable, and says he plans to stay there. Both are in the mud, but their attitude toward it is completely different.

That is the difference between struggling with sin and defending it.

A believer may fall and have to come before God saying, “Lord, I sinned. Forgive me and help me overcome this.” That is very different from someone saying, “I know God calls this sin, but I have decided I am going to continue in it, and I do not intend to repent.”

Paul dealt directly with the idea that grace gives a Christian permission to continue in sin. He wrote, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:1–2).

Grace is not permission to live comfortably in rebellion. The grace of God forgives the sinner, but it never changes God's definition of sin.

Repentance Does Not Replace Faith​

At the same time, sinners are not saved by reforming their lives. No amount of sorrow, church attendance, baptism, giving, good deeds, restitution, or moral improvement can erase our guilt before God.

Romans 4:5 says, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” God justifies the ungodly who believe. That leaves no room for boasting about what we have done to earn salvation.

A man with a debt he can never pay does not solve the problem by handing the creditor a few dollars and promising to do better next month. If someone else pays that debt in full, the payment is not improved by adding pocket change to it.

That is what happens when people try to add their works to the finished work of Christ. Jesus did not make a down payment at Calvary and leave the rest for us to finish. He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

Repentance does not replace faith. It is not another work added to the cross. In repentance, the sinner turns toward God instead of continuing to defend his rebellion. In faith, he places his trust entirely in Jesus Christ and what Christ accomplished through His death and resurrection.

Paul said that people “should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance” (Acts 26:20). Notice that the works follow repentance. They do not purchase salvation.

Fruit does not make a tree alive. A healthy tree produces fruit because it is alive. In the same way, a changed life does not buy salvation. It is the proper fruit that follows a genuine turning to God.

Sorrow Alone Is Not Repentance​

Feeling guilty is not necessarily repentance either. A person can be sorry because he got caught. He can regret losing his family, damaging his reputation, losing his job, or suffering the consequences of what he did while still loving the sin itself.

A child may cry after breaking a window, but the tears do not always mean he is sorry he did wrong. He may only be crying because he knows punishment is coming. There is a difference between being sorry about the consequences and being sorry about the sin.

Scripture makes that same distinction between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow. Paul wrote, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Biblical repentance stops defending what God condemns. It stops making excuses and trying to change the meaning of Scripture so that sin becomes acceptable. If God calls something sin, repentance does not rename it so we can continue doing it with a clear conscience.

That does not mean we instantly overcome every sinful habit. Christians can have real battles with the flesh. But someone who is battling sin is in a very different place from someone who has decided that the sin is acceptable and that God must approve of it.

You Cannot Have Christ on Your Own Terms​

This is where the issue becomes very simple. We do not get to create our own version of Jesus. We cannot say that we want Him as Savior while rejecting His authority as Lord.

Suppose a man says he wants to board an airplane, but he refuses to leave the terminal. He may talk about the destination, admire the plane, and even claim he believes the pilot can get him there, but if he refuses to board, his words do not move him one inch.

In the same way, people can talk about Jesus, admire Jesus, and even say they believe certain facts about Jesus while still refusing to come to Him on His terms.

Acts 16:31 says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Scripture does not present one Jesus who saves and another Jesus who rules. The One who died for our sins and rose again is Lord.

That does not mean salvation depends upon how well we obey after we believe. Our confidence must remain in Christ and His finished work, not in our performance. But genuine faith does not come to Christ insisting that certain areas of rebellion are off limits to Him.

The gospel does not call us to bargain with God. It calls us to come to Him as guilty sinners who have no righteousness of our own and no ability to save ourselves.

The Gospel Call​

The message of salvation is not, “Clean up your life and maybe God will accept you.” You cannot clean yourself up enough. You cannot undo your sins, and you cannot produce enough righteousness to make yourself acceptable before a holy God.

Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. He did what we could never do for ourselves. Scripture says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

A drowning man does not argue with the rescuer over how he wants to be saved. He does not say, “Throw me the rope, but do not pull me toward the boat.” He knows he is helpless, and he reaches for the rescue being offered.

That is how the sinner comes to Christ. Not boasting, not bargaining, and not pretending he can rescue himself.

Come to Christ as the guilty sinner you are. Stop trusting your religion, your morality, your good intentions, or anything else you think might make you acceptable to God. Turn to God and place your entire hope in Jesus Christ.

No one is saved because he repented perfectly. No one is saved because he produced enough good works. Salvation is by the grace of God through faith in Christ alone. But that same Bible also records Jesus saying, “Repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

We should not separate what Jesus joined together. We should not turn repentance into works, but neither should we remove repentance from the gospel call. A sinner does not have to become worthy before coming to Christ. He cannot. He comes guilty, helpless, and with nothing to offer.

Christ does the saving. But the sinner who comes to Christ is not coming to defend his rebellion. He is coming because he knows he needs mercy.

That is the gospel Jesus preached, and we have no authority to soften it.

Are you willing to stand before God trusting a gospel you created for yourself, or will you believe the gospel Jesus actually preached: “repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15)?

 

[Mason]

@David,
You're right that repentance is a requirement not optional.

You said,

The Bible does not teach that a Christian reaches a point where he never sins again.

Please for your sake and the sake of others stop teaching that
What you said is contrary to what the scriptures tell us:
“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” (1 John 3:9).
“We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.” (1 John 5:18).


“Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.” (1 John 3:6).

 

[Seraiah]

Was King David a "Christian" (I know we don't call them Christians in the Old Testament, but I think you know what I mean) when he committed adultery with Bathsheba?

In 1 Samuel 13:14 Samuel tells King Saul that he would be replaced. He says, "the LORD hath sought Him a man after his own heart," This must mean that the man referenced was walking with God and would end up in heaven, he was "saved." We know that this was David (Acts 13:22), and yet he committed a horrible sin.

In Psalm 51 we see David repenting of sin. In Psalm 139:23-24 we see David wanting to know if there was any "wicked way," sin, in him. He was "saved" and yet still had the ability to sin.

We also see Moses, certainly "saved," yet he was punished for sin. (Numbers 20:11 when he hit the rock instead of speaking to it and was not able to go into the promised land.)

 

[bobinfaith]

Hello Seraiah;

Thank you for joining Biblical Truth Forum. We look forward to fellowship with you and everyone here.

Good questions!

About 1000 years before Christ was born David was raised by God to be King predating Christianity. Therefore, David was a man of God after His own heart and followed the Mosaic Covenant. Because of David's faith he was redeemed and forgiven by God’s grace.

Moses was a man of God who was called to lead His people out of Egypt. Moses misrepresented God and took away His glory when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it in front of the people. This led to the consequences of God's discipline toward His servant forbidding Moses to lead the people into the promised land of Canaan.

God bless you, Seraiah, and your family.

Bob

 

[Mason]

@Seraiah,
The scriptures are clear that if we sin we don't know Jesus and are a child of the devil:
“Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” (1 John 3:6-10).

 

[Seraiah]

Are you saying that Moses and David didn't know God until after those sins?

 

[bobinfaith]

Are you saying that Moses and David didn't know God until after those sins?

Good morning, Seraiah;

No.

Moses and David both knew and had a relationship with God which the Almighty anointed (called) Moses and David to serve.

God bless you.

Bob

 

[David]

@David,
You're right that repentance is a requirement not optional.

You said,

Please for your sake and the sake of others stop teaching that
What you said is contrary to what the scriptures tell us:
“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” (1 John 3:9).
“We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.” (1 John 5:18).


“Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.” (1 John 3:6).

I want to address this directly from Scripture because you keep accusing me of teaching something contrary to God's Word. You have repeatedly quoted 1 John 3:9 and insisted that a person born of God cannot commit sin. I believe every word of that passage. But you cannot take those words and interpret them in a way that contradicts other things God has plainly said.

I am not going to argue against Scripture. I'm going to put Scripture before you and ask you to consider what it actually says.

1 John 1:8–10

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

John says WE. He includes himself. He is writing about fellowship with God, walking in the light, and confessing our sins. Nowhere does he say these statements apply exclusively to people before they are born again.

1 John 2:1–2

"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

This is the very same John who wrote 1 John 3:9.

Notice that he tells believers not to sin, but then says that if anyone sins, Jesus Christ is our advocate with the Father.

Why would John tell believers about their advocate if he intended to teach that a genuinely born-again person was absolutely incapable of committing a sin?

1 John 5:16–17

"If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.

All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death."

This passage is especially important because it comes from the same chapter where you quote verse 18.

John specifically speaks about seeing a BROTHER sin. He tells believers what to do in that situation.

You cannot simply ignore verse 16 while insisting that verse 18 means no born-again person can ever commit a sinful act. Both passages belong to the same letter and must be understood together.

Galatians 6:1

"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."

Paul is speaking to Christians. He tells those who are spiritual to restore someone overtaken in a fault.

He also warns them to consider themselves lest they be tempted.

If a Christian had become incapable of sinning, why would Paul warn spiritually minded believers that they themselves could be tempted?

James 3:2

"For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body."

James does not say that everyone except born-again Christians offends in many things. He says WE offend all.

This does not excuse sin. It demonstrates why Christians must continually watch their words and conduct.

James 5:19–20

"Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;

Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."

James is addressing brethren and warning that someone among them can wander from the truth.

Why warn Christians about wandering if they were absolutely incapable of doing so?

And notice the seriousness of the warning. James is not encouraging anyone to remain in sin. He is urging restoration.

1 Corinthians 3:1–3

"And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?"

Paul calls these people "brethren" and "babes in Christ," yet he rebukes them for envy, strife, and divisions.

Those things are sinful. Paul did not approve of their behavior. He confronted it.

But neither did he teach that the presence of these sins automatically established that every one of them had never belonged to Christ.

Galatians 2:11–14

"But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed."

Paul goes on to explain how Peter withdrew from eating with Gentile believers because he feared those of the circumcision.

Verse 13 says:

"And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation."

Here we have Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, being publicly corrected for conduct that was not upright according to the truth of the gospel.

Was Peter not a believer? Had he never known Christ? Paul did not draw that conclusion. He confronted Peter's wrongdoing.

1 Corinthians 11:30–32

"For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world."

Read the surrounding passage. Paul is addressing serious wrongdoing among people participating in the Lord's Supper.

The Lord was chastening them because of their conduct.

This is not permission to sin. It is a warning about God's judgment and correction.

Hebrews 12:5–6

"And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."

Why does God chasten His children?

The passage speaks of correction, discipline, and becoming partakers of His holiness. It does not present God's children as people who have become incapable of doing wrong.

Revelation 2:4–5

"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."

These are the words of Jesus Christ to the church at Ephesus.

He calls them to repent.

Revelation 3:19

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."

Jesus Himself speaks about rebuking, chastening, and calling people to repentance.

Are we supposed to ignore these words because someone has decided that a believer cannot possibly commit sin?

Galatians 5:16–17

"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would."

Paul describes the conflict between the flesh and the Spirit while instructing believers how to live.

The answer is to walk in the Spirit and refuse to fulfill the desires of the flesh.

1 Corinthians 10:12–13

"Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

God provides a way of escape from temptation. That is why we must resist sin rather than surrender to it.

But Paul also warns believers to take heed lest they fall. That warning must be taken seriously.

Romans 6:12–13

"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God."

You quoted Romans 6:3–11 concerning our death with Christ. But Paul immediately follows those verses by commanding believers not to let sin reign and not to yield their members to unrighteousness.

Being dead to sin means we must no longer serve it as our master. It does not mean Scripture teaches that we have become incapable of disobedience.

Philippians 3:12

"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus."

Paul was pressing toward the goal of knowing Christ fully and attaining the resurrection. He did not claim to have already attained that goal.

And that brings us to something else we must understand.

1 John 3:2–3

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."

John tells us that we are God's children NOW, but he also points to what we shall be when Christ appears.

Until then, we are to purify ourselves and live in obedience to God.

Now consider all these Scriptures together.

I fully believe that whoever is born of God does not continue living under the dominion of sin. Romans 6 teaches that we are freed from sin's mastery, and 1 John 3 teaches that righteousness, not lawlessness, characterizes the children of God.

I also believe God gives us strength to resist temptation and obey Him. I have never taught otherwise.

But you have gone beyond those truths by claiming that a born-again Christian is absolutely incapable of committing even one sin.

That is the claim you need to establish without contradicting the other Scriptures I've quoted.

You have repeatedly accused me of leading people away from Jesus Christ because I refuse to accept your interpretation. Yet I have consistently warned people to repent, turn away from sin, and live in obedience to Christ.

I will not tell people that sin is acceptable. I will not tell them that grace gives them permission to continue living in rebellion against God. And I will not tell them that Scripture guarantees they have become incapable of ever sinning again when these passages plainly address the possibility of believers falling into wrongdoing.

God's Word must determine what we believe, not our determination to defend an interpretation.

Please read these passages carefully and explain how your interpretation accounts for them. They are all part of the Bible, and not one of them can be dismissed.

The purpose of this discussion should be to understand the truth God has revealed, because salvation and eternal life are far too important for any of us to be careless with His Word.

 

[Yesua888]

@David,
You're right that repentance is a requirement not optional.

You said,

Please for your sake and the sake of others stop teaching that
What you said is contrary to what the scriptures tell us:
“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” (1 John 3:9).
“We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.” (1 John 5:18).


“Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.” (1 John 3:6).

Hi Mason,

Is that verse then telling us that we are not "born of Him", because we admit that we do become impatient with our loved ones, or stray off path a little, or sometimes catch outselves having "bad thoughts"? Even though we do not like to behave like this, does it mean that we are living in a "dream world", thinking that we are His?

I really want to get to the bottom of this once and for all.

With all due respect, you have not yet answered my question of whether you commit sin, and whether you consider yourself "born again"? An answer may shed some light on this : )

1 John 3:9 states that individuals born of God do not practice or continue in habitual sin because God's seed (the Holy Spirit or new divine nature) remains within them. While this verse is often cited to suggest believers are sinless, theological consensus interprets it to mean that true believers will not make a practice of sinning or live willfully in unrepentant sin, as their new nature rejects it.

I understand you find this verse compelling. But reading any verse in isolation from its author's argument is a method that will make any Bible contradict itself. If you applied that same rule to [a verse they care about], you'd get a result you'd reject too.

How to answer a person who is stuck on 1 john 3:9, and who will not see the other verses before this (or other similar verses in other bible books), and also refuses to see things in context?

Lead with their own text, not other verses

Since they won't look at other passages, stay inside 1 John 3:9 itself. The Greek verb is in the present tense (ἁμαρτάνειν), which denotes ongoing, habitual action — not a single act. So even the verse they are quoting says "cannot keep on sinning," not "cannot sin once." You don't need 1 John 1:8 to make that point; it's in the grammar of the verse they're already holding up.

Something that may clear things up:

https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-is-the-sin-not-leading-to-death-in-1-john-5

• "What do you think John means by 'cannot go on sinning'?"
• "If a believer sins and then repents, are you saying they were never actually saved?"
• "Does this verse mean a Christian can't be surprised by their own sin, or that they can't be characterised by it?"

I don't think we're going to resolve this here, and I don't want to keep pushing. I think you're reading this verse in a way that isn't what John meant, but I respect that you're working through it.