One of the several arguments used for saying that repentance has nothing to do with salvation is that the Apostle Paul only required “believing” in 1 Cor 15:1-4

1Co 15:1-4  Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; ²By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. ³For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; ⁴And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”

As for the argument that repentance is not required for salvation, I must ask the question, “Was Paul teaching ‘requirements for salvation’ in those verses, or does the context tell us that Paul was reminding believers in Corinth of his definition of the true gospel? I’ll leave the answer to you, the reader.

Additionally, the above argument is based on the belief that the only scripture that is addressed to the Gentiles in the NT is from the middle of Acts (CHs 9 or 13, when Paul began his ministry) through Paul’s letter to Philemon. Please allow me to provide passages of scripture contained in the middle of Acts to Philemon that clearly link repentance to salvation, from both Peter and Paul:

Peter

Peter, reporting to the church in Jerusalem after he visited the home of the Gentile Cornelius, told the assembled council of the events at Cornelius’ home. The response of the Jewish council was this:

Act 11:18  When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

Paul

Repentance was always at the heart of Paul’s evangelistic preaching. He confronted the pagan philosophers of Athens and proclaimed,

Act 17:30  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.

In his farewell message to the elders of Ephesus, Paul reminded them,

Act 20:20-21  And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Speaking in his own defense to Agrippa, Paul said:

Act 26:19-20  Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

Speaking of repentance, Paul told believers in Corinth:

2Co 7:9-10  Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.  For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

Another argument made for repentance not be required for salvation, is that Paul did not use the term repentance (an argument from silence and logical fallacy) in Eph 1:12-14, as if the omission of the term means that it is not a requirement for salvation, and that ‘believing’ is the only requirement for salvation (v. 13).

Let’s take a look:

Eph 1:12  so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

Eph 1:13  In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

Eph 1:14  who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Actually, if we merely look at the wider context of Eph chapter 1, along with the grammatical structure of verse 13, the answer seems rather simple.

First let’s consider the wider context of chapter 1, vv. 3-14, which follows Paul’s greeting to the church at Ephesus.

It seems to be widely known to Greek scholars that Eph 1:3-14, is one long Greek sentence, proclaiming the spiritual blessings to be found to those who are in Christ. Pual is not teaching anything about the ‘requirements’ for salvation in Christ, but the spiritual blessings of to be found in Christ.

Secondly, let’s look at the grammar of verse 13:

“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit:”

In that verse, Paul is telling Christians at Ephesus that WHEN they heard the gospel of salvation, AND believed in him (Christ), they were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. The sealing with the Holy Spirit is one of the ‘spiritual blessings” in Christ that Paulis describing.

There is much more that can be said concerning repentance and salvation, especially what it means to “believe” in Christ, but I’ll stop there. If the passages of scripture shared in this blog post aren’t sufficient to prove that Paul indeed connected repentance to salvation, what would be?

BTW, there is a great series of teachings at Bible.org:

ABCs for Christian Growth–Laying the Foundation | Bible.org

Thre is a really good discussion concerning Repentance and salvation at:

3.7. The Stewardship of God’s Truth Through Evangelism (Part 4) | Bible.org

Scroll down to “Assault 1: “Believe and Repent of Your Sins”

Be Blessed!