In order to be
forgiven of sins, one must first repent. In order to repent, one must first
have godly sorrow. Some people do not repent because they are not really sorry.
But there is another kind of sorrow – the sorrow of the world –that does not
lead to repentance, but leads to death.
If godly sorrow
is necessary in order to repent and receive salvation, but there is another
kind of sorrow that leads to death, then surely we need to know the difference.
What is the
difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow? How do we recognize when we
or others have a proper sorrow for our sins?
Consider the
Bible teaching:
The Need for
Godly Sorrow and Repentance
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Passages about
the Necessity of Repentance
===========================
God’s word places
far more emphasis on repentance than many of us appreciate.
Mark 1:15 – Mark
summarized Jesus’ message as: "Repent, and believe in the gospel."
Luke 24:47 –
Jesus said repentance and remission of sin should be taught to all nations.
Acts 2:38 – In
the first gospel sermon, Peter preached, "Repent and be baptized, every
one of you for the remission of sins..."
Acts 17:30 – God
commands all men everywhere to repent.
2 Peter 3:9 – God
is not willing for men to perish but wants all to come to repentance.
Acts 8:22 –
Christians who sin must be taught to repent of their wickedness.
Revelation 3:19 –
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
Repentance is a
change of mind – a decision, a choice, a deliberate exercise of the will – in
which one determines to act differently in the future than he has in the past.
If you have sinned, you must admit the sin and be sorry. Then you must make up
your mind to change.
Forgiveness comes
only after a decision to change! Without repentance no one can be saved.
(Matthew 3:2; 11:20-24;
21:28-32; Luke 13:3; Ezekiel 18:21-23,27,28,30-32; 33:10-19; 2 Timothy 2:25,26;
Romans 2:4,5; Acts 3:19; 8:22; 5:31; Revelation 2:5,16,21-23; Luke 3:8,9;
15:7,10; 17:3,4; 2 Corinthians 12:21; 1 Kings 8:46-50; 2 Chronicles 6:24-29;
7:14; Joel 2:12-14; Jeremiah 36:3,7; Isaiah 55:7)
Passages about
the Necessity of Godly Sorrow
============================
True repentance
must be motivated by sincere sorrow or remorse for sin.
Proverbs 28:13 –
One who covers his sins will not prosper. In order to have mercy, he must
confess and forsake sin.
Joel 2:12,13 –
Turn to God with weeping and mourning. Tear your heart, not your garment.
Luke 18:13 – The
publican, seeking forgiveness for his sins, beat his breast saying, "God
be merciful to me, a sinner."
James 4:8-10 –
Sinners must mourn and weep.
2 Corinthians
7:10 – Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation...
Before one will
change his life, he must decide to change (repent). Before he decides to
change, he must recognize that he has been guilty. Then he must sincerely
regret what he did and sincerely wish he had never done it.
A person will
never truly repent until he knows and admits he was wrong and is truly sorry.
Do you recognize your sins? Are you truly sorry?
(Psalm 38:18;
34:18; 51:17; 31:10; Isaiah 57:15; 66:2; 22:12-14; Job 42:6; Jeremiah 31:19;
5:3; 6:26; Jonah 3:5-8; Matthew 26:75; 11:20; 2 Chronicles 34:27; Ezra 10:1; [1
John 1:9; 1 Kings 8:47; 2 Chron. 6:24-39; 7:14; Acts 19:18; James 5:16;
Jeremiah 3:12f; 8:4-6; 5:3; 44:4,5; Jonah 3:8,10; Amos 4:6-11; Luke 15:18,21;
17:3,4; Psalm 32:5; Lev. 26:40)
Godly Sorrow vs.
Worldly Sorrow
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
A person may
cease a sinful practice without repenting. A person may admit an act was wrong
without being sorry. But a person may be sorry yet still not forgiven because
it is improper sorrow. So let us consider the difference between godly sorrow
and worldly sorrow.
Examples of Godly
Sorrow
================
Godly sorrow
requires true remorse, sincere acknowledgment of error, and determination not
repeat the sin. We must grieve for the harm done to our relationship to God and
other people, truly wishing we never had done it.
Consider Bible
examples:
David
*****
2 Samuel 12:9-14
– The prophet Nathan convicted David of adultery with Bathsheeba and having her
husband killed. David confessed that he had sinned, so God forgave him. But he
would still suffer consequences: the sword would never depart from his house,
he would have opposition within his own family, and the child who had been
conceived would die.
This account does
not describe his sorrow, but David describes it in the book of Psalms.
Psalm 32:1-5 –
"Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered..."
David describes his groaning, grief, and agony while he remained in sin.
Forgiveness required that he acknowledge his sin, not hide it. He must confess
it to the Lord without deceit (sincerely).
Psalm 38:18 – I
will declare my iniquity and be in anguish for my sin. Forgiveness required
admitting the sin with anguish because he had done it. Notice the depth of
sorrow.
Psalm 51:1-4,7-10
– David pled for mercy from God to cleanse his transgressions and sins. He
acknowledged his sin, constantly aware of his guilt. He grieved especially for
the wrong he had done against God.
2 Samuel 15:26
[16:11]– When he fled because Absalom rebelled, David said, "Let Him do to
me as seems good to Him."
This is godly
sorrow. One must openly acknowledge his sin and truly grieve for the wrongs he
has done, sincerely wishing he had never committed them. David suffered severe
consequences in this life without rebelling against them, but what grieved him
most was what his sin did to his relationship to God and his need for cleansing
of the burden of guilt.
Ninevites
*******
Matthew 12:41 –
Jesus said the people of Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah.
Jonah 3:4-10
describes this repentance. From the king down, the people believed the message
from God, wore sackcloth and fasted (signs of grief), and cried to God.
Everyone was required to turn from his evil way and from the violence in his
hand.
The people
sincerely grieved for their sins and determined to change their conduct
(repent). Then they prayed to God for forgiveness. Godly sorrow led to
repentance unto forgiveness.
The prodigal son
– Luke 15
**********************
Verses 11-16 –
The son wasted his father’s inheritance in sin (with harlots – verse 30). When
the money was gone, he ended up feeding hogs and would have eaten the hog slop.
Note verse 16 –
No one gave him anything. The account shows that his father knew what was
happening but did not bail his son out. He would have let him eat hog slop as
the consequence of his sins.
Far too often
parents or friends bail out a sinner to help him avoid the consequences of his
sins. If instead they allow him to suffer the consequences of his sins, he may
be led to repent like the prodigal did. (2 Thessalonians 3:10)
Verses 17-19 – As
a result, the son came to himself. He decided to go home and admit that he had
sinned against heaven and against his father. And he offered to accept whatever
consequences followed: he no longer deserved to be a son, but was willing to be
demoted to a servant.
A person who has
godly sorrow just wants to make his life right with God and with people whom he
has wronged. This requires admitting his sins, pleading for forgiveness,
changing his life, and accepting whatever consequences follow. His main concern
is being forgiven of his guilt.
(Peter – Matthew
26:75; Paul – 1 Timothy 1:12-16)
Examples of
Worldly Sorrow
=================
Worldly sorrow is
more concerned with avoiding the consequences of the sin in this life than with
changing the conduct or with correcting the relationship with God and those who
have been wronged. Consider Bible examples:
Cain – Genesis 4
*************
Verses 1-7 –
Abel’s sacrifice pleased God, whereas Cain’s did not. Cain responded, not with
repentance, but with anger (verse 5). God told Cain not to be angry but to rule
over the sin.
Verses 8-12 –
Cain killed Abel then denied responsibility and lied to God, saying he did not
know where Abel was. God said he would be punished because the ground would no
longer produce for him, and he would be a vagabond on the earth.
Verses 13,14 –
Cain complained that his punishment was greater than he could bear.
Contrast this to
the examples of godly sorrow. When his worship was not accepted, he became
angry. When rebuked for the anger, he killed Abel. When questioned about that,
he lied to God. When told he would be punished, he sought to avoid punishment.
At no point did Cain acknowledge sin or ask forgiveness. Instead of repenting,
he just went deeper and deeper into sin.
King of Israel –
2 Kings 6:24-33
**************************
Verses 25-29 –
The northern kingdom of Israel was ruled by a son of wicked king Ahab. As punishment
for their sins, the nation was besieged by Syria. This caused a famine so
severe that women were actually eating their own children.
Verse 30 – The
king responded with grief in which he wore sackcloth and tore his clothes.
Verses 31 –
Rather than repenting, the king determined to behead the prophet Elisha.
The king knew the
distress occurred because the nation was alienated from God. But rather than
seeking forgiveness to restore their relationship with God, instead he sought
to slay God’s prophet. Rather than repenting, he fought against the
consequences of the sin.
King Saul – 1
Samuel
*****************
At first Saul was
humble but he changed.
He sought to
please the people rather than to please God.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
13:13,14 –
Instead of waiting for Samuel, Saul himself offered sacrifice to God. Samuel
said he had disobeyed God’s command and as a result his dynasty would not
continue.
15:13-15,20-23 –
God told Saul and Israel to kill all the Amalekites and destroy their flocks.
Instead they spared the king and the best of the flocks and herds. Saul said he
had obeyed God. Then he blamed the people for keeping the best animals to the
offer the sacrifices. Samuel said rebellion and stubbornness are like
witchcraft and idolatry. So God rejected Saul from being king.
15:24,25,30 –
Saul admitted he had sinned because he feared the people, but still wanted to
be honored before the people. He was concerned, not about God’s forgiveness,
but about what the people thought.
God chose David
to replace Saul.
Throughout Saul’s
remaining life he struggled to defeat the consequences of sin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
16:23; 18:8-12 –
Saul’s jealousy led him to try to kill David who played music to calm him.
19:4-6,9,11-17 –
Saul swore to his son Jonathan not to kill David. But then he tried again to
kill him with his spear. Then he sent messengers to kill David in his bed.
20:30-33 – Saul
told Jonathan to help kill David so Jonathan could become king. When Jonathan
objected, Saul tried to kill Jonathan.
22:11-19 – Saul
killed all the priests and their families because he claimed they helped David.
24:16-20;
26:21-25 – Twice David could have killed Saul but spared him. Both times Saul
admitted he had sinned. He wept and admitted David was more righteous than he
was. He promised to no longer harm David. But both times immediately he
continued trying to kill him.
28:15-20 – When
God refused to give Saul guidance, he used a medium to call up Samuel.
1 Chronicles
10:13 – Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the
LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD, and also because he
consulted a medium...
Saul’s attitude
was back and forth, back and forth. He admitted sin, vowed to do right, and
grieved for his circumstances, but he immediately returned to sin. He was more
concerned about pleasing the people and avoiding the consequences of his sins
than he was about pleasing God and seeking God’s forgiveness.
People today
would doubtless say he was mentally ill. But God held him accountable and
continued to bring consequences and punishment for his sin.
[Israel – Numbers
13,14; Rich young ruler]
Applications
>>>>>>>
Many people today
are not forgiven because they never have godly sorrow for their sins.
Godly sorrow
leads one to grieve for his sin, its effect on his relationship to God and harm
done to others. It leads to humble acknowledging of sin and sincere repentance:
a decision to change so one can please God.
*****************************************************
With godly
sorrow, the sinner acknowledges his guilt and seeks above all else to change so
he can be forgiven and be right with God.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2 Corinthians
7:10 – "Godly sorrow works repentance unto salvation."
Psalm 38:18 –
"I will declare my iniquity and be in anguish for my sin."
Psalm 51:3,4 –
"I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against
You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight..."
Proverbs 28:13 –
He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes
them will have mercy.
With godly
sorrow, the sinner focuses on his need for forgiveness, cleansing of guilt and
restoration of his relationship with God and others. He accepts consequences in
this life if only God will forgive him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David said:
"Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is
covered..."
The prodigal
said: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight. I am no more
worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of your hired servants."
Godly sorrow
leads a person to deeply regret the harm done to his relationship to God and
other people. He openly admits his sin, willingly apologizes, accepts
consequences in this life, and seeks forgiveness according to whatever terms
God requires.
Godly sorrow
focuses on the need to change and be forgiven.
Worldly sorrow
often leads, not to change, but to excuses or committing more sins. The sinner
feels sorry for himself and regrets the consequences in this life and the fact
he did not get his way.
*****************************************************
With worldly
sorrow, the sinner may seek to hide his guilt. If his sin is exposed, instead
of changing, he may become angry or go deeper into sin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When rebuked for
his worship, Cain became angry, killed Abel, and then lied to God.
Saul first said
he had obeyed God. Then he blamed the people. Then he spent the rest of his
life trying to kill the man appointed to take his place as king.
Worldly sorrow
may lead the sinner to deny sin, blame others, or rationalize. It often leads
to other sins. In any case, it does not lead to a sincere effort to change.
With worldly
sorrow one may focus on avoiding the consequences in this life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cain: "My
punishment is greater than I can bear."
Saul: "I
have sinned, yet honor me before the people."
Criminals may
sorrow, not for the crime, but for the fact they got caught and punished.
Sexually immoral
people may regret having a disease, unwanted pregnancy, or divorce.
Drunkards, drug
abusers, or gamblers may regret loss of finances, jobs, or family.
People guilty of
other scandals may regret exposure, loss of power, influence, or position.
With worldly
sorrow, the sinner focuses on himself and avoiding consequences.
Conclusion
=======
Godly sorrow and
repentance are not the same thing, but godly sorrow leads to repentance. And
both are necessary to salvation. No one will be saved simply because he is
sorry, if he does not decide to repent. And no one who changes his conduct will
be saved unless he is truly sorry for what he did.
Forgiveness of
sins requires:
Recognizing and
admitting our conduct was sinful
Sincere godly
sorrow that we have wronged God and others
Repentance with a
sincere determination to change
Asking for
forgiveness. For one who was never forgiven by God, this is done in baptism.
For an erring child of God this is done by confession in prayer and apology to
people wronged.
Change of
conduct: quit practicing sin and make restitution
Have you and I
been truly sorry for our sins so we have repented and received forgiveness?
(C) Copyright 2018, David E. Pratte You are free to keep copies of this material on computer and/or in printed form for your own further study. If you have any other requests about the use of this material, please read our copyright guidelines at www.gospelway.com/copyrite.htm. Free Bible Study Lessons, Commentaries, and Workbooks
