True repentance is moral and ethical to the core When people asked John the Baptizer what it meant he told them to share their goods with others, feed the hungry, be honest in business and be satisfied with your wages (Lk. 3:10ff). The key word is willingness. When a man or woman says, “I do” at the altar, they do not know what he is getting into; what that all involves. But he is committing to it.
We cannot promise God we will never use profanity, be unkind, tell lies, etc. again. We can’t lose weight, much less promise to life like Jesus Christ. But we can want it, and we can trust Him to change us. Galatians says if we can make ourselves right with God by obeying the law, being good, then Christ died for nothing. What God asks for is willingness, not ability.