No one can repent, of course, until they have faith in God. God, the Almighty, the LORD of Hosts, the all sufficient One who IS. God, the Creator, by whom, through whom, and in whom ALL exists. God, who says of Himself, “I AM that I AM!”

We must believe that God exists before we can repent because, as we have seen, we cannot even believe that moral truth exists until then. But, once we believe that God does exist and that He is who He says He is, then we should certainly say to ourselves, “Then I had better do what He says!”

Thus we see that repentance and faith will come to a person virtually simultaneously. When I actually do obtain a faith in God, then I should naturally, as a matter of due course, repent of my dead works, of the many things I do that lead to death, destruction, and shattered lives. But will I repent?

This is the mystery of the gospel, of Elohim, of Melchizedek, of the seeds and the sower, and indeed of all that the Bible calls “salvation.” The reality is that some do hear the truth, believe it, and then repent because of it. But, then, shortly thereafter or even many years later, they refuse to continue in the ways they have learned and return to the ways of the world. Some people go through life thinking they believe in Christ and his words, yet never change any of their sinful behaviors. Others never believe at all and know they don’t believe. And some live a life of faith and repentance, bearing the fruit that can only come of repentance all the days of their lives.

The fact remains that one must believe, must have faith, in God before he can ever repent. “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is hand!” cried both John the Baptist and Jesus the Messiah. Yes, repentance and faith in the King of Heaven together establish the foundation of the Gospel.