You "left the rails" when you took away the conditions.
Here are a few of them.
The
conditions that you mentioned sound very much like
fruit of the Holy Spirit of Almighty God.
Let's look for the Scriptural answers to these three questions.
- What is repentance?
- Who controls repentance?
- How does a person repent?
Our first step is to visit the linguistic definition.
Let us dig into the word "repent" which means "think differently afterwards". After we believers are born from above by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3), and in like manner given the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). The Greek word metanoeó is the English word "repent" in Matthew 4:17. Let us obtain the definition of "repent".
Repent: think differently afterwards
metanoéō (from 3326 /metá, "changed after being with" and 3539 /noiéō, "think") – properly, "think differently after," "after a change of mind"; to repent (literally, "think differently afterwards")
(def from
3340. metanoeó HELPS Word-studies section).
The word "repent" does not mean "I change my mind" as asserted by too many people. Try reciting the words of Lord Jesus, where He is commanding the people in Matthew 4:17, except, first, replace the word "
repent" with "I change my mind", then, second, replace the word "
repent" with "think differently afterwards". God does not change (Malachi 3:6), so this One True God Jesus commands repent.
Godly sorrow brings "thinking differently afterward" leading to salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10), so God's power generates this sorrow within believers hence God calls it "Godly sorrow" thus illuminating and magnifying sin (Romans 5:20).
FIRST BIBLICAL CiTATION FOR REPENTANCE - A DEEP EXAMINATION
Here is the Christian teaching of 2 Corinthians 7:8-10. The passage (from the NASB which explicitly states that the NASB translators add bracketed words for clarity - so I have no problem removing the bracketed words from the NASB - but this is verbatim from the NASB):
8 For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it - [for] I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while -
9 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to [the point of] repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to [the will of] God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.
10 For the sorrow that is according to [the will] [of] God produces a repentance without regret, [leading] to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Paul wrote a letter that exposed the Corinthian problem, see "I caused you sorrow by my letter" in verse 8.
As Paul writes further (in verse 9), the Apostle narrows the focus with "for you were made sorrowful according to God"; moreover, the Greek of ἐλυπήθητε γὰρ κατὰ Θεόν agrees with "for you were made sorrowful according to God". "ἐλυπήθητε" means "you grieved"/"you were made sorrowful", and "γὰρ" means "for", and "κατὰ" means "down"/"against"/"according to", and "Θεόν" means "God".
Paul does not leave it there, NO, rather Paul repeats himself in verse 10 to make it clear - in Jewish fashion of repeating a point for emphasis - Paul makes it clear in no uncertain terms "the sorrow that is according to God produces a repentance without regret, to salvation". That is Paul driving the Power of God exclusive role in man's salvation point home!
Notice the key words of "
according to God".
That sorrow, that repentance, is not of man's conjuring. See the keywords and absolute concept of "according to God"!
The scripture is devoid of "sorrow that is according to your free will" or "your free will to repent" or any indication about such a notion as man's free-will choice toward God.
The Apostle wrote "the sorrow that is according to God produces thinking differently afterward without regret" (2 Corinthians 7:10).
SCRIPTURAL CITATIONS ABOUT THE SOURCE OF REPENTANCE
BIBLE CITATION: Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4).
Notice that rebuke of people that despise repentance being from God!
BIBLE CITATION: When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life." (Acts 11:18)
See that God grants repentance as testified by the disciples in Acts 11:18.
BIBLE CITATION: with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, (2 Timothy 2:25)
Paul testifies that God grants "thinking different afterwards" in 2 Timothy 2:25.
BIBLE CITATION: "
I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes" (Matthew 11:25).
Jesus reveals that God imparts the revelation of the Truth (John 14:6) into believer's thoughts causing believers to "think different after" being saved from the wrath of God.
THE THREE QUESTIONS ANSWERED
God grants repentance into people, as it is written; on the other hand, there is complete absence and silence in scripture for repentance as a work conjured up by man nor by man's "free will" nor "choice" nor "ability".
God grants repentance, and God acts for God's glory! Praise be to the Living God!
The Fountain of Living Water, Jesus Christ, says the following about Belief/Faith "
This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29) which means "every Christian's faith/belief in Jesus" equals "the work of God".
AND Paul is in accord with Jesus' words for Paul wrote to the Ephesians "by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His work, created in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:8-10) which means that no person manipulates his or her own belief/faith in Jesus because Paul wrote "that not of yourselves".
AND Peter is in accord with Jesus' words for Peter declared "God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:8-9) which means God imparts belief/faith to cleanse believer's hearts.
SO, clearly, Jesus' words in John 6:29 state for us believers to believe in Jesus whom the Father has sent is exclusively granted by/of/through God.
"But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13). Charity is a form of love.
Let's look at charity as a form of love. "
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another" (John 13:34).
AND John is in accord with Jesus' words for he wrote "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God" (1 John 4:7, see the phrase "love is from God" meaning God is the source of true love).
AND John expands with his writing of "God is Love, and the one who abides in Love abides in God, and God abides in him" (1 John 4:16, see the phrase "one who abides in Love" is equivocated with "one who abides" "in God" which extends from God's exclusivity with "God is Love").
SO, clearly, Jesus' words in John 13:34 states that the love, true love (John 3:33), the very righteous love, the Godly love within us children of God, this love is exclusively by/of/through God.
The selfish "love" of unsaved people has reward on full here on earth (Matthew 6:2-4) - they brag about "their" deeds such as "look at what I gave to so-and-so", but the selfless love imparted by God into believers has glory for God such as "I give this to you in the Name of Jesus" and/or "Jesus had me give such-and-such".
Water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of past sins.
Enduring faithfully until the end.
Here you point out actions/deeds/works/fruit.
A person is saved by faith alone - not saved by works - truly saved by belief, yet works are the evidence of being saved.
By God's grace for God's glory, believer's good deeds, even coming to Christ, is caused by God for Jesus the Word of God says "
he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God" (John 3:21).
AND Paul is in accord with Jesus' words for he wrote to the Philippians "being filled with the fruit of righteousness that [is] by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:11)
SO, clearly, Jesus' words in John 3:21 state actions/deeds/works/fruit in we believers is exclusively by/of/through God.
Basically, everything you wrote about is caused by God.