Repentance is just as essential as faith

Something more than "believing" is necessary to salvation. A heart that is steeled in rebellion against God cannot savingly believe—it must first be broken. It is written: "Unless you repent—you shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). Repentance is just as essential as faith; yes, the latter cannot be without the former: "You... repented not afterward, that you might believe" (Matthew 21:32). The order is clearly enough laid down by Christ: "Repent—and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15). Repentance is a heart-repudiation of sin. Repentance is a heart-determination to forsake sin. And where there is true repentance, grace is free to act, for the requirements of holiness are conserved, when sin is renounced. Thus, it is the duty of the evangelist to cry, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy on him" (Isaiah 55:7). His task is to call on his hearers to lay down the weapons of their warfare against God, and then to sue for mercy through Christ.

- Arthur W Pink

Present Day Evangelism