Repent and Believe

Let’s learn what it means to Repent and Believe. What does that look like? What should our attitude and position be before Jesus?

Watch this video to see how a woman who lived a sinful life repented before Jesus because of her great belief and faith in him.

Read the story – Luke 7:36-50

When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Questions

Once you have watched the video, we recommend you spend some time to think about the story in greater detail. Here are three questions that you can use to think about this story:

Question 1: What do you think it means to repent and believe?

Click to see our answer

To repent and believe means that we turn away from our sin. We turn away from our old way of life and have faith that Jesus’s sacrifice has taken the punishment for our sins. He is now our Savior and our King. What Jesus says is now what we will do!

Question 2: Who needs to repent? Why should they repent?

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In the Word of God, it says:

For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of GodRomans 3:23

This means that everyone must repent and believe in Jesus. We must ask for forgiveness and have faith that Jesus’s sacrifice for us will save us from God’s wrath and punishment for our sins.

Question 3: What is the result of repentance and belief?

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Just as you saw with the woman in the video, Jesus forgives our sins when we come to him in repentance. If our sins are forgiven, we can return into a relationship with God! We can live with God in our lives today and for the rest of eternity!