To enter the kingdom of God, repentance was absolutely necessary. It was commanded by John the Baptist, Jesus, Peter, and Paul. Although it is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible, one could easily conclude that it was demanded by all of the apostles.
Repent means literally, "to turn around." Jesus wanted his followers to turn from self centered living to a more community lifestyle. John the Baptist asked people to share their food and clothes with others, he asked soldiers to back off from abusing others and to stop complaining about their pay, he asked tax-collectors to back off from taking too much from others, and he asked religious leaders stop focusing on who they were and focus more on what they did. These were ways that people could live out the end result of their repentance.
Today, churches that emphasize repentance usually focus on personal relationship with God, which is good; but by focusing only on God, they neglect what John the Baptist and Jesus focused on - turning away from self seeking and building good relationships and sharing within the community of faith as well as with those who stand outside of God's kingdom.
A John the Baptist model for building biblical relationships today would take the form of giving sacrificiallly to those who do not do as much as we do. It would mean turning away from opportunities for profit that use or hurt other people. A John the Baptist model would put helping others above personal goals and self service. It would mean that the best Christians would be defined not so much by being born again, or being filled with the Spirit, or how gifted and talented they were, as much as it would be defined by serving and loving others.
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