Quotes: Repentance

1. c. AD 30 — Jesus Christ

   “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

   Significance: Repentance is the entry point into life with God.

   
   

2. c. AD 50 — Paul the Apostle

   “God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.”

   Significance: Repentance is a response to divine mercy, not human merit.

   
   

3. c. AD 96 — Clement of Rome

   “Let us turn to His compassion, forsaking vain works and strife, and cleave to His mercy.”

   Significance: Repentance abandons sin and embraces God’s mercy.

   
   

4. AD 150 — Justin Martyr

   “The only way to escape eternal punishment is repentance.”

   Significance: Repentance is the God‑given path from judgment to life.

   
   

5. AD 203 — Tertullian

   “Repentance is the price at which the Lord is willing to redeem the sinner.”

   Significance: Repentance is the God‑required response to His offer of redemption.

   
   

6. AD 386 — Augustine of Hippo

   “The beginning of good works is the confession of evil works.”

   Significance: Repentance begins with honest acknowledgment of sin.

   
   

7. AD 590 — Gregory the Great

   “True repentance is sorrow of heart and amendment of life.”

   Significance: Repentance includes both grief over sin and real change.

   
   

8. AD 1095 — Anselm of Canterbury

   “No one truly repents unless he hates his sin.”

   Significance: Repentance reshapes the heart’s affections.

   
   

9. AD 1370 — Catherine of Siena

   “Every sin is done with the hands of love; therefore repentance must be done with the hands of love.”

   Significance: Repentance redirects love back toward God.

   
   

10. AD 1517 — Martin Luther

    “The entire life of believers is to be one of repentance.”

    Significance: Repentance is a lifelong posture, not a single moment.

    
    

11. AD 1536 — John Calvin

    “Repentance is not merely the start of the Christian life, but its whole course.”

    Significance: Repentance shapes the entire journey of discipleship.

    
    

12. AD 1654 — Blaise Pascal

    “To make light of repentance is to make light of grace.”

    Significance: Repentance honors the weight and wonder of God’s mercy.

    
    

13. AD 1678 — John Bunyan

    “The man that does not repent cannot believe; he that does repent cannot perish.”

    Significance: Repentance and faith are inseparable gifts.

    
    

14. AD 1741 — Jonathan Edwards

    “A truly repentant sinner is more sensible of the misery of his sin than of the misery of his suffering.”

    Significance: Repentance grieves sin itself, not merely its consequences.

    
    

15. AD 1761 — John Wesley

    “Repentance is a change of heart from all sin to all holiness.”

    Significance: Repentance is a transformation of desires and direction.

    
    

16. AD 1834 — Charles Simeon

    “Repentance is the first step toward God, and the last step we ever take in this life.”

    Significance: Repentance begins and sustains spiritual growth.

    
    

17. AD 1857 — Charles Spurgeon

    “Repentance is the inseparable companion of faith.”

    Significance: Genuine faith always produces repentance.

    
    

18. AD 1904 — R.A. Torrey

    “There can be no revival without deep, thorough repentance.”

    Significance: Repentance is the spark of spiritual renewal.

    
    

19. AD 1952 — A.W. Tozer

    “The repentant heart is the prepared heart.”

    Significance: Repentance makes room for God’s presence and power.

    
    

20. AD 2009 — John Piper

    “Repentance is turning from all that belittles Christ to treasure Him above all.”

    Significance: Repentance is ultimately about valuing Christ rightly.

See also: Bible verses