Before we can be saved we have to change our mind (repent) about two things. One is to admit that we’re sinners who would be hopelessly lost without a Savior, and the other is to believe that God sent His Son to pay the penalty due us for our sins so He could be our Savior. Therefore repentance comes before salvation, and that’s why we say, “Repent and be saved.”
Some people have the mistaken belief that to repent means to change our behavior. But if that was the case the phrase “repent and be saved” would mean we’d all have to stop sinning before we could be saved. It doesn’t make sense.
Many believers do experience a change in their behavior after they’re saved, But when that happens it’s not called repentance, It’s called the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.
Quoted from Jack Kelly
If I had to stop sinning first I could not be saved, if I try on my own consciously in even the slightest way, some other form in my flesh comes to the front in a big way. Oh the wretched sinful man I am. And when I ask for forgiveness from God, Jesus is my intercessor and I am made as righteous as He is instantly in Gods view. TY LORD!
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.