What Does It Mean to Repent and Believe the Good News?

To repent and believe the good news is to turn from ruling your own life and trust Jesus Christ as the King and Savior who has come for you.

Repent: turn toward God

When Jesus says this in Mark 1:15, He has announced that God’s kingdom is drawing near in Him.

Repentance is more than feeling bad or promising to improve. It means:

• honestly naming sin as sin, rather than excusing it;
• turning away from the path that leads from God;
• bringing your real self into the light before Him;
• choosing to obey Christ where you have been resisting Him.

Godly sorrow is meant to lead somewhere: “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Repentance is not paying God back. It is returning to the Father who receives sinners.

Believe: rest your trust in Christ

The good news is not that you can make yourself acceptable to God.

It is that Jesus has died for sinners, risen bodily from the dead, and reigns as Lord. He calls you to receive Him—not merely agree that He exists.

To believe means trusting that:

• Christ’s death is sufficient for your forgiveness;
• His resurrection is your hope of new life;
• His authority is good, even when obedience costs you;
• His grace is for you, not only for people who seem more put together.

“As many as received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

What it looks like today

You can begin plainly: confess the particular sin or self-rule you need to leave, ask Christ for mercy, and entrust yourself to Him.

Repentance keeps turning; faith keeps receiving. Neither is perfection. Both are the response of someone whom Jesus is bringing into His kingdom.