All have sinned
Everyone, excluding Jesus Christ have sinned, as Paul writes; “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).The apostle also John cites: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:8-10).
Dead works
As a result of sin (distance from God), everyone has 'dead works' that must be repented of and forgiven by God. Dead works are our spiritually ineffectual and vain works which especially preceded our spiritual awakening. We can still create dead works after conversion, these too must be repented of. Repentance therefore is an ongoing concern for believers.
In our modern world some forget that every action (cause) has an effect (reaction), when we are away from God and the ways of the creator we ‘do’ wrong ‘causes' that create unproductive reactions. The Bible calls this sin.