Repentance required for Forgiveness

Luke 13: 3  I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

I had a brief conversation with Ryan about the work of Christ on the cross and how to receive forgiveness.  Scripture is clear from (at least) Ezekiel 3 on through Revelation that the floodgates of forgiveness are opened through repentance.  Repentance isn't simply acknowledging that you're a sinner, that really takes no rocket scientist to discern.  Repentance is digging deep, confessing specific sins, and literally turning away from that sin.  Yet I find that I am simply not capable of leaving a life of sin.  This is where I truly need God's grace.  Not just forgiveness, but a grace that removes my dependence on sin whatever its form.  Sin means that I have made self-centered decisions and in order to make decisions with the best interests of God and others or perhaps even myself, I need to be a different person.  I cannot make myself new, but God can.  Being made new only begins with forgiveness and is made complete when I truly yield to God's Lordship and begin to follow His lead on a consistent basis. 
Wesley described God's grace as being manifested in three ways: prevenient grace - God calling you into relationship (Rev 3:20), God's justifying grace - that moment when you acknowledge your sin and yield your life to Christ as your Savior and Lord, and Sanctification - that process of being made holy or Christ-like.  These help me understand how God works in us. 
"Christians" living a life of unrepentant sin have closed God off to at least an area of their lives.  I am unworthy and unable to judge whether they have professed true belief and dependence on Christ, or have simply signed up for life assurance without buying into the covenant of making Christ Lord.  What I do know is that the forgiving work of Christ was complete on the cross and is available to all who repent.  The complete work of Christ was His demonstration of power over death which is the source of all hope in this world and the next. 
Repentance means to turn away or around, not keep living life as before.  I know I am unable to truly repent without God's help.  Ezekiel had a stern message of destruction without repentance.  That message, like our God, remains true today.  Unfortunately, the message of repentance has been watered down and is leading many to believe that repentance is a simple thing to simply spew out of ones mouth then get on down to brunch on time.  Repentance means to change, not just keep on living a self-centered life making self-centered decisions.  Repentance changes us literally by the Grace of God.