What are people responsible to do in conversion?

People are responsible to do two things: repent and believe. Conversion is a radical turn away from sin and to God through faith in Christ. Jesus summed up what humans must do in conversion when he commanded his hearers, “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

What does it mean to repent?

1. Repentance means owning that you are a sinner (Acts 3:19).
2. Repentance means renouncing sin and resolving to obey Christ (Luke 9:23, Rom. 2:4).
3. Repentance means mourning over sin and rejoicing to accept Jesus as your new Master and Lord (2 Cor. 7:10, Rom. 6:12-23).
4. Repentance is not the end of the battle but the beginning of one (Gal. 5:16-17).

What must we believe? We’re to believe in the gospel!

1. Believe that God is the holy creator of the universe, the Lord of all (Isa. 6:1-5, Gen. 1:1, 1 Tim. 6:15-16).
2. Believe that you are a sinner and deserve God’s righteous wrath (Rom. 1:18, Rom. 3:23).
3. Believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sin and rose from the grave to conquer death and offer you eternal life (Rom. 3:21-26, Gal. 2:20, Acts 2:24, John 11:25).

Repentance and belief are two sides of the same coin. In conversion we turn from our sins and trust in Christ.