--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Repentance is not something God demands…" description: "\"Repentance is not something God demands of you before He will take you back and which He could let you off if He chose; it is simply a description of w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/c-s-lewis-2-132_chose_repentance-is-not-something-god-demands_1232862.png" --- # Repentance is not something God demands of you before He… ![“Repentance is not something God demands of you before He will take you back and which He could let you off if He chose; it is simply a description of what going back is like.” quote by C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/c-s-lewis-2-132_chose_repentance-is-not-something-god-demands_1232862.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/c-s-lewis-2-132_chose_repentance-is-not-something-god-demands_1232862.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/c-s-lewis-2-132_chose_repentance-is-not-something-god-demands_1232862.png) > “Repentance is not something God demands of you before He will take you back and which He could let you off if He chose; it is simply a description of what going back is like.” [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Repentance is not a divine demand before forgiveness; it describes the experience of returning. **In simple terms:** Repentance describes returning, not a demand. Key Takeaway Understand forgiveness as relational. Themes spirituality forgiveness redemption Mood thoughtful hopeful Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - personal repentance - confession - reconciliation counseling Key Concepts Theology psychology of guilt Questions to Reflect On - What does returning feel like to you? - How does this view change your sense of guilt? A Different Perspective Forgiveness may feel conditional. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Repentance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repentance/) ## Related quotes > [“So you’re making demands, are you? Well, let’s hear them.” “I want unlimited access.” “Now that sounds interesting. To what, exactly?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-plum/so-you-re-making-demands-are-you-well-let-s-hear-them-i-want/) [Amy Plum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-plum/) > [God demands not that I be successful, but that I be faithful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/god-demands-not-that-i-be-successful-but-that-i-be-faithful/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [God never demands anything that He does not provide for. Whatever God commands us to do, He equips us to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/god-never-demands-anything-that-he-does-not-provide-for-whatever-god/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [When God demands more of you, it's because He sees more IN you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-furtick/when-god-demands-more-of-you-it-s-because-he-sees-more-in-you/) [Steven Furtick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-furtick/) > [...we are not without hope of salvation, nor is it at all the right time for us to despair. All our life is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-palamas/we-are-not-without-hope-of-salvation-nor-is-it-at-all-the-right-time/) [Gregory Palamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-palamas/) > [The name 'Seventh-day Adventist' carries the true features of our faith in front and will convict the inquiring mind. Like an arrow from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-g-white/the-name-seventh-day-adventist-carries-the-true-features-of-our-faith/) [Ellen G. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-g-white/) > [“There must be a great national heart-turning, or repentance to God as an immediate preparation for the kingdom as seen in the Old Testament…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-sperry-chafer/there-must-be-a-great-national-heart-turning-or-repentance-to-god-as/) [Lewis Sperry Chafer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-sperry-chafer/) > [“Remember, this repentance, this willing submission to humiliation and a kind of death, is not something God demands of you before He will take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/remember-this-repentance-this-willing-submission-to-humiliation-and-a/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [The full acting out of the self's surrender to God therefore demands pain: this action, to be perfect, must be done from the pure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-full-acting-out-of-the-self-s-surrender-to-god-therefore-demands/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“The more grievous the sin, the greater the repentance, God was bidding His time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/the-more-grievous-the-sin-the-greater-the-repentance-god-was-bidding/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [The murders of Newtown are a warning to me - and you. Not a warning to see our schools as defenseless, but to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-murders-of-newtown-are-a-warning-to-me-and-you-not-a-warning-to/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [“case of Adam, however, had no analogy with this, but was altogether different. For, having been beguiled by another under the pretext of immortality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-church-fathers/case-of-adam-however-had-no-analogy-with-this-but-was-altogether/) The Church Fathers > [“Modernity has abandoned the household gods, not because we have rejected the idolatry as all Christians must, but because we have rejected the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/modernity-has-abandoned-the-household-gods-not-because-we-have/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [“A generous orthodoxy is like that. It acknowledges that we’re all a mess. It sees in our worst failures the possibility of our deepest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-d-mclaren/a-generous-orthodoxy-is-like-that-it-acknowledges-that-we-re-all-a/) [Brian D. McLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-d-mclaren/) > [“ACT20.21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/act20-21-testifying-both-to-the-jews-and-also-to-the-greeks/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by C. S. Lewis > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Either Jesus is the Son of God ; or a madman or worse. But His being just a great teacher? He's not left that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/either-jesus-is-the-son-of-god-or-a-madman-or-worse-but-his-being/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [To every soul, God will look like its first love because He IS its first love. Your place in heaven will seem to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/to-every-soul-god-will-look-like-its-first-love-because-he-is-its/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Don't you understand anything? Isn't it absolutely essential to keep a fierce Left and a fierce Right, both on their toes and each terrified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/don-t-you-understand-anything-isn-t-it-absolutely-essential-to-keep-a/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“Really great moral teachers never do introduce new moralities: it is quacks and cranks who do that. As”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/really-great-moral-teachers-never-do-introduce-new-moralities-it-is/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“When He died in the Wounded World He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/when-he-died-in-the-wounded-world-he-died-not-for-men-but-for-each/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [All I am in private life is a literary critic and historian, that's my job...And I'm prepared to say on that basis if anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/all-i-am-in-private-life-is-a-literary-critic-and-historian-that-s-my/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [If a man is going to write on chemistry, he learns chemistry. The same is true of Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/if-a-man-is-going-to-write-on-chemistry-he-learns-chemistry-the-same/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [The first fact in the history of Christendom is a number of people who say they have seen the Resurrection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-first-fact-in-the-history-of-christendom-is-a-number-of-people/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I#pray because the need flows out of me all the time-walking and sleeping. It does not change # God - it changes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/i-pray-because-the-need-flows-out-of-me-all-the-time-walking-and/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Are the gods not just?' 'Oh no, child. What would become us us if they were?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/are-the-gods-not-just-oh-no-child-what-would-become-us-us-if-they-were/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Love is more than an emotion, it is a decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/love-is-more-than-an-emotion-it-is-a-decision/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Ink is the great cure for all human ills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/ink-is-the-great-cure-for-all-human-ills/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [A man may have to die for our country: but no man must, in any exclusive sense, live for his country. He who surrenders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/a-man-may-have-to-die-for-our-country-but-no-man-must-in-any/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [War creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/war-creates-no-absolutely-new-situation-it-simply-aggravates-the/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) [Explore all 1,190 C. S. Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## More Chose quotes > [“None of us can chose where we will love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/none-of-us-can-chose-where-we-will-love/) [Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/) > [I just decided to take some time off. I've been modeling since '93, '92, and that's a pretty long time. I'm a single mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-murphy/i-just-decided-to-take-some-time-off-i-ve-been-modeling-since-93-92/) [Carolyn Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-murphy/) > [“i chose not to run”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-seinfeld/i-chose-not-to-run/) [Jerry Seinfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-seinfeld/) > [I saw Islam as the correct way to live, and I chose to try to live that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kareem-abdul-jabbar/i-saw-islam-as-the-correct-way-to-live-and-i-chose-to-try-to-live/) [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kareem-abdul-jabbar/) > [I chose Juventus for their winning mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wojciech-szczesny/i-chose-juventus-for-their-winning-mindset/) [Wojciech Szczesny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wojciech-szczesny/) > [Perhaps God chose me to be an atheist?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/perhaps-god-chose-me-to-be-an-atheist/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [“Everyone have the free willing to chose which kind of life he wanna live, to be remembered or forgotten”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-hachemi-sabi/everyone-have-the-free-willing-to-chose-which-kind-of-life-he-wanna/) El hachemi Sabi > [“You can survive alone, or you can \*live\* together. I know which option William would chose—has chosen,” he said, shaking me as if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-williams/you-can-survive-alone-or-you-can-live-together-i-know-which-option/) [Nicole Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-williams/) > [I chose deliberately for Harry Bosch to age chronologically with the books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/i-chose-deliberately-for-harry-bosch-to-age-chronologically-with-the/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [God chose what is weakest in the world to shame the strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/god-chose-what-is-weakest-in-the-world-to-shame-the-strong/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [Chose the niche that you enjoy, where you can excel and stand a chance of becoming and acknowledged leader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-koch/chose-the-niche-that-you-enjoy-where-you-can-excel-and-stand-a-chance/) [Richard Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-koch/) > [If you chose to be an actor, if you take that baton and say 'OK, this is what I want to do with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-whannell/if-you-chose-to-be-an-actor-if-you-take-that-baton-and-say-ok-this-is/) [Leigh Whannell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-whannell/) > [What if I couldn't handle people's opinions of me? I know that shouldn't dictate a person's degree of peace or happiness in life, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-evans/what-if-i-couldn-t-handle-people-s-opinions-of-me-i-know-that-shouldn/) [Chris Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-evans/) > [You chose to give away your love. You chose to have a broken heart. You chose to give up. You chose to hang on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-chose-to-give-away-your-love-you-chose-to-have-a-broken-heart-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I chose to be a working wife and mother. Why should I compromise on either?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanda-kochhar/i-chose-to-be-a-working-wife-and-mother-why-should-i-compromise-on/) [Chanda Kochhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanda-kochhar/) Browse all 504 Chose quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Repentance is not something God demands of you before He will take you back and which He could let you off if He chose; it is simply a description of what going back is like.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "C. S. Lewis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/repentance-is-not-something-god-demands-of-you-before-he-will-take/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chose" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/repentance-is-not-something-god-demands-of-you-before-he-will-take/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/c-s-lewis-2-132_chose_repentance-is-not-something-god-demands_1232862.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/c-s-lewis-2-132_chose_repentance-is-not-something-god-demands_1232862.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/c-s-lewis-2-132_chose_repentance-is-not-something-god-demands_1232862.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Repentance is not something God demands of you before He will take you back and which He could let you off…” — C. S. Lewis", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "C. S. Lewis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Repentance is not something God demands...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/repentance-is-not-something-god-demands-of-you-before-he-will-take/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/repentance-is-not-something-god-demands-of-you-before-he-will-take/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```