Acts 16:29 – 30 (KJV)

29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,

30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

Three “C’s” of salvation

1. Conviction (what you feel)

Acts 16:28 – 30 (KJV)

28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,

30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

2. Confession (what you say)

Acts 16:31 – 32 (KJV)

31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

3. Conversion (what you do)

Acts 16:33 – 34 (KJV)

33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

True repentance: 2 Samuel 12:1-13 (changing our minds about sin and turning to God)

David said to Nathan, “I have sinned. . . .” These same words (or their equivalent) are found elsewhere in the Scriptures (read Psalm 51), but not always with the same sincerity. The following seem like false repentance to me:

• Pharaoh twice told Moses, “I have sinned . . .” ( Exodus 9:27; 10:16-17). It is obvious to all that his was not a sincere repentance.
  
• Balaam was intercepted by the angel of God on his way to Balak, and when he realized he had barely escaped death at the hand of the angel of God, he exclaimed, “I have sinned . . .” (Numbers 22:34).
  
• Judas, who betrayed our Lord, confessed to his sin, but he did not truly repent of it either (Matthew 27:4).
  

Thus, we must conclude that merely saying, “I have sinned” is not proof of genuine repentance.