John 8:3-11 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, 4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? 6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. 7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. 8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. 9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”
He forgave here with a condition, go and sin no more. The change of mind required by the gospel is repentance of sin. This involves changing ones mind about sin - making up ones mind to cease practicing sin and to become obedient to God. Luke 24:47 - Those who are not God's children should be taught the need for repentance and remission of sin. What they need remission of is what they need to repent of: sin! [2 Tim. 2:25,26; Matt. 9:13] Acts 8:22 - Likewise, Christians who sin need to be taught to repent of their wickedness. [Luke 15:7,10; 17:3,4; 2 Cor. 12:21] Repentance is a decision to cease sinning and begin serving God instead. [Ezekiel 14:6; Deuteronomy 30:2,8,10; Jeremiah 8:4-6; 3:7,10-14; 25:3-7; 36:3,7; 2 Kings 17:13; Zechariah 1:3,4; 2 Chronicles 30:6-9; 1 Samuel 7:3,4; Revelation 2:5. Like hearing, faith, obedience, etc., repentance may refer to a specific decision to obey or may generally include all that a person does to be saved.] Before one repents they must acknowledge that they have sinned. “ For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.” Psalm 38:18 - “I will declare my iniquity.” We must admit it as a fact and be sorry for their sins. One who covers his sins will not prosper. In order to have mercy, he must confess and forsake it. Malachi 3:7 “Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?” - When confronted about their sins, some people refuse to admit guilt. They ask, "What sin? What do I have to repent of?" Before one will change his life, he must decide to change (repent). Before he decides to change, he must recognize that he has been guilty. As long as a person defends his practice and refuses to admit error, he has not repented. [1 John 1:9 - “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” ; 1 Kings 8:47 - “Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness.” ; 2 Chronicles 6:24-39; 7:14; Acts 19:18 - “And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.” James 5:16 - “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” Jeremiah 3:12f; 8:4-6; 5:3; 44:4,5; Jonah 3:8,10; Amos 4:6-11; Luke 15:18,21; 17:3,4; Psalm 32:5 - “I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” Leviticus 26:40]
Simply admitting one has sinned is not enough. Some people know they have sinned but don't care, or at least don't really regret what they did. Psalm 38:18 - “I will declare my iniquity and be in anguish for my sin.” Joel 2:12,13 - “Turn to God (repent) with weeping and mourning. Tear your heart, not your garment. God wants, not mere outward expressions of grief, but sincere sorrow. We must sincerely wish we had never done the act.” 2 Corinthians 7:10 - “Godly sorrow leads to repentance unto salvation.” One who does not repent cannot be saved, and he cannot truly repent without sorrow. James 4:8,9 - Sinners must mourn and weep. A person may admit he did wrong and may even stop committing the sin, but that does not prove he regrets what he did. He may think it was justified under the circumstances, but he simply has no reason to do it again. For example, a couple may live together without marriage then get married; they are no longer committing fornication, but that does not prove they regret the fornication committed before marriage. To be saved one must repent. But He will never truly repent until he knows and admits he was wrong and is truly sorry. [Psalm 34:18; 51:17; 31:10; Isaiah 57:15; 66:2; 22:12-14; Job 42:6; Jeremiah 31:19; 5:3; 6:26; Jonah 3:5-8; Matthew 26:75; 11:20; 2 Chronicles 34:27; Ezra 10:1]
It is also possible for a person to know he is wrong and be sorry without really making up his mind to change. Some people have the idea that repentance just means being sorry - if they just admit they were wrong and say they are sorry, everything is forgiven. But repentance is a decision to change and develop a proper attitude. We can never please God till we develop a proper state of mind. Proverbs 4:23 - Keep your heart diligently because out of it are the issues of life. People do wrong because they chose to do wrong. In order to start doing right, they must change their mind and decide to do right - repent. The mind is where we decide what we will do. This is why our state of mind is so important. Romans 6:17,18 - One who is a servant of sin needs to be made free from sin and become a servant of righteousness. To do this, he must obey God "from the heart." You cannot obey from the heart until you have decided in your heart to obey. That decision to do right is repentance. Joel 2:12,13 - Repentance must involve the heart - the inner man. We can never please God till we get our heart right. That happens in repentance. When people know what God wants but will not do it, they lack repentance. (They may also lack faith, love, etc., but one thing they definitely lack is repentance.) [1 Kings 8:33-36,46-50; 2 Chronicles 6:24-39; 7:14; Ezekiel 18:31; Jeremiah 24:7; 2 Kings 23:25; 1 Samuel 7:3,4]
To Receive God's Forgiveness one must repent. 2 Peter 3:9 - God is not willing for men to perish but wants all to come to repentance. The alternative to repentance is perishing! [Luke 13:3,5] Acts 2:38 - Repent and be baptized for remission of sins. Ezekiel 18:21-23,27,28,30-32 - Wicked men must turn from evil and do right or they will die (spiritually). God does not want us to die. He is willing to forgive, but first we must be willing to change. Before we can change, we must decide to change - that is repentance. The gospel emphasizes repentance because repentance is essential to changing our attitudes and our life. Until we are willing to change our lives, God is not willing to forgive our sins! If you have sinned, you must admit the sin and be sorry. Then you must make up your mind to change. Have you done so, or are you just expecting everything to be forgotten because you said you were sorry? Forgiveness comes only after a decision to change! [Ezekiel 33:10-19; 2 Timothy 2:25,26; Romans 2:4,5; Acts 3:19; 8:22; 5:31; 17:30,31; Revelation 2:5,16,21-23; Luke 3:8,9; 24:47; 2 Corinthians 7:10; 1 Kings 8:46-50; 2 Chronicles 6:24-29; 7:14; Joel 2:12-14; Jeremiah 36:3,7; Isaiah 55:7; Matthew 11:20-24; 21:28-32]
Quit Practicing Sin change your conduct. Repentance is a decision to change. After receiving forgiveness, one must follow through and make the changes he decided to make.
Acts 26:20 - After forgiveness men must do works worthy of repentance. [Luke 3:8-14; Matthew 3:8] Ezekiel 18:21-32 - To avoid death, the wicked must turn from evil and do right and keep God's statutes. Matthew 21:28-31 - The ultimate question, in the story of the two sons, was which of the two did the will of the father. The son who was right was the one who eventually went and did what he was supposed to do. Proverbs 28:13 - We prosper, not by hiding our sins, but by confessing and forsaking them. This is where many members of the church fail. They profess that they want forgiveness, then are baptized or pray for forgiveness, but never follow through and change. They want forgiveness but not change. There is a difference between repentance and the fruits of repentance. Sometimes people go through the motions of baptism (or public confession), but do not truly repent. These people will never truly be forgiven until they first truly repent. Other people really did repent and intended to change their lives, but never followed through. These people may have been forgiven the first time but now are back in sin. They need to repent again and this time produce the fruits of repentance. [Genesis 44 cf. Genesis 37; Luke 13:5-9; 15:19; Ezekiel 33:10-19; Revelation 2:5; Deuteronomy 30:2; 2 Kings 17:13; Jonah 3:8,10; Isaiah 55:7; Jeremiah 4:1; 18:8,11; 44:4,5; 25:3-7; 35:15; 2 Chronicles 30:6-9; 1 Samuel 7:3,4]
Luke 15:17-24 - The story of the prodigal son sums it up well. The younger son wasted his inheritance in riotous living (vv 13,30). He came to be in need and "came to himself" (vv 14-17). [The story does not use the word "repent," but the parallel stories do in vv 7,10.] * He acknowledged his error: "I have sinned" (v18).
* His sorrow was implied by the fact he no longer believed himself worthy to be called a son (v19).
* He then decided to go back to the father (vv 18,19). This decision is repentance. (Cf. vv 7,10)
* He met the conditions of forgiveness by confessing his sin to the father (vv 20,21).
* He left the practice of sin (vv 20,21).
* He offered to make restitution by being just a servant of the father, not even a son any longer (vv 19,21). The gospel is a message of change. Sinners can change. We all can change. Note the attitude of the father when the son did return: vv 20,22-24. Truly there is joy in heaven among the angels when a sinner "repents" (vv 7,10). | 
