Does God Request Us to Repent and Believe, or Does He Command It?

This came up in a discussion, and my answer confused most people because my answer is a dual one. When I was asked to pick one I went with request, but the whole time I was thinking why does it have to be just one? Why can't it be both?

I may be wrong, I am still working through this, but here are my thoughts.

Free Will Is the Starting Point

We are not puppets. God gave us free will to choose what we want, and that matters so much to this question. He makes it very clear what He wants from us, but He does not override our ability to choose. That choice, to come to Him willingly, openly, and freely, must mean something extraordinary to God.

A love that is chosen is not the same as a love that is forced.

So does that mean I do not believe in the Ten Commandments (because they are commands) or that they are simply a request? Absolutely not. I believe in them completely and I believe we are absolutely called to follow them. But here is the thing, we still have to make that choice. Some people do not, and that is a painful reality.

When we choose to truly follow Christ, not halfway, not conveniently, but fully and completely, we begin a process of learning and living out His commandments. I describe it as a pull. Something draws us toward being more like Him, and as that pull grows stronger the commandments stop feeling like a list of rules our flesh keeps trying to fight and start feeling like the natural expression of who we are becoming.

The Word That Changes Everything

Here is where my dual understanding comes from.

Acts 17:30 says: "In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent."

That is not a gentle suggestion, that is a command. The Greek word used there is paraggelló, it carries the weight of an order, a directive issued with authority. God is not asking politely.

And yet.

Look at how Jesus describes His own heart in Matthew 23:37: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing."

That is not the language of a king issuing a decree. That is the language of someone longing, pleading, aching for people to come to Him. The command is real. The love behind it is also real. And both of those things exist at the same time.

A Request & a Command Are Different But They Coexist

A request and a demand are two different things, but they are not mutually exclusive. I think that is exactly what is happening here.

God commands repentance and belief, that is His authority speaking. He is the Creator and we are accountable to Him. That is not up for debate. But the way He pursues us, the way He pleads with us, the way He sent His own Son rather than simply wiping the slate clean and starting over, that reads like so much more than a cold command handed down from above.

He is commanding, He is also asking, He is also pleading.

2 Peter 3:9 puts it plainly: "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

Not wanting anyone to perish. That is the heart behind the command. He is not issuing orders from a distance, He is a God who desperately wants us to choose Him and has made every possible way for us to do so.

My Conclusion (For Now)

Commandments are given to us, not forced upon us. The fact that we can still choose to ignore them is proof that the choosing matters. That is why I land first and foremost on request, because the entire framework of our relationship with God is built on the fact that He wants us to come to Him freely.

But the command is real too. Both are true at the same time and I think that is exactly the point. And the fact that He does all three at once says more about who He is than any one of them could say alone.

© 2026 Jane Isley. (revision)

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