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Is repentance required for salvation, or is belief alone enough?

Inferred

No single verse settles it; the conclusion is assembled across texts and leans one way.

Both repentance and faith are consistently presented together as the required response to the gospel, no text at any tier teaches that bare intellectual belief, without a change of mind and direction, is sufficient for salvation.

No single verse states "repentance AND faith are both required" as a formal proposition, but the consistent pairing across independent texts, Jesus' own words, Peter's apostolic proclamation, and Paul's summary of his entire ministry, assembles that conclusion by convergent inference, with no same-or-higher-tier text teaching that repentance is unnecessary.

Key texts:
Luke 13:3Tier 2 · Jesus
I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way.
Luke 13:5Tier 2 · Jesus
I tell you, no, but, unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way.”
Acts 2:38Tier 3 · Apostle
Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

…and 19 more verses weighed in the full analysis.

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Original-language words behind this answer:
monogenḗs (Greek G3439)dōreá (Greek G1431)apeithéō (Greek G544)áphesis (Greek G859)dōron (Greek G1435)katakrínō (Greek G2632)metánoia (Greek G3341)homologéō (Greek G3670)Héllēn (Greek G1672)homoíōs (Greek G3668)

SAM answers from primary-source texts only, weighing each verse by its authority tier. Every quotation is verified word-for-word. How the method works →

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