Repentance implies faith and faith implies repentance. One cannot exist without the other. Repentance and faith are two essential elements in conversion. They constitute twin graces that can never be separated. As John Calvin, the great Church Reformer, reminds us, this is true not only of the beginning but of the whole of our Christian lives. We are believing penitents (a person who repents of sin) and penitent believers all the way to glory in Christ.

We cannot separate turning from sin in repentance and coming to Christ in faith. In one instance (repentance), the person is viewed in relation to sin; in the other (faith), the person is viewed in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ. But the individual who trusts in Christ simultaneously turns away from sin. In believing he repents and in repenting, believes (Ferguson; Which Comes First: Repentance or Faith?).