Quotes: Repentance
Updated: Feb 14
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.
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.
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.
AD 150 — Justin Martyr
“The only way to escape eternal punishment is repentance.”
Significance: Repentance is the God‑given path from judgment to life.
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.
AD 386 — Augustine of Hippo
“The beginning of good works is the confession of evil works.”
Significance: Repentance begins with honest acknowledgment of sin.
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.
AD 1095 — Anselm of Canterbury
“No one truly repents unless he hates his sin.”
Significance: Repentance reshapes the heart’s affections.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
AD 1857 — Charles Spurgeon
“Repentance is the inseparable companion of faith.”
Significance: Genuine faith always produces repentance.
AD 1904 — R.A. Torrey
“There can be no revival without deep, thorough repentance.”
Significance: Repentance is the spark of spiritual renewal.
AD 1952 — A.W. Tozer
“The repentant heart is the prepared heart.”
Significance: Repentance makes room for God’s presence and power.
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
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