Takes a lot more than that. Read Hebrews 6. Repentance is called the “foundation”, which means something is built on it.
sorry- we don’t work our way in to a salvation state- lest any man should boast
[[Takes a lot more than that.]]
How much more? 10% more self-effort? 20% more ‘faith’? 100% more commitment before God deems you worthy enough to accept as His child? (in other words a vow to become perfectly sinless- to turn from all sin before Christ will accept you as His own?)
When you give a gift- do you demand the person vow something first before they receive the gift? Then it’s no longer a gift- it’s an earned reward-
Repentance is a change of mind about Who Christ is and What He came to accomplish- that’s it-
The verses in James you mention are only about losing rewards- not salvation- James isn’t talking about either losing salvation or working up their salvation by doing works in order to be seen as ‘truly saved’- He is simply talking about their faith atrophying- becoming useless-
IF James was advocating that we must work for our salvation- or maintain our salvation or else lose it, or work in order to prove we were ‘truly saved’ in the first place- then it is in direct conflict with Paul’s teachings- ant it directly contradicts the passages where Paul speaks to his BROTHERS and SISTERS who were living in carnal sin
“RESPONSE: The Bible repeatedly refers to salvation as being by grace through faith—apart from works. Paul writes, “We maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom. 3:28). He writes to the Galatians, “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly” (Gal. 2:21). Elsewhere he writes, “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” (Eph. 2:8-9).”
“Second, James is writing about justification before MEN—not before GOD. James writes, “You see that faith was working with his works…” (Jas. 2:22), and later writes, “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (Jas. 2:24). James is emphasizing how believers can recognize someone’s faith (“You see…”). While God knows the heart (1 Chron. 28:9; Ps. 44:21; Jer. 17:9-10; Heb. 4:13), we can’t always see if someone has faith. One of the best ways to ascertain someone’s faith is to look at their deeds, as the rest of the NT authors affirm (Titus 1:16; 3 Jn. 10). Of course, good deeds do not cause someone to be a true believer, but they can show if someone is a true believer.”