The Results of Godly Sorrow
When God makes us sorry, He does it for a good reason. It is always to produce good results. It is never to make us feel badly and get depressed over our sorrow. Many people mistake the sorrow of this world for godly sorrow. That is why Paul was inspired to show us the difference. (II Corinthians 7:10) I believe this is an essential truth for all believers to know, if we are going to grow and prosper in the Lord.
Paul explained to the Christians in Corinth and to us that sorrow according to the will of God produces a "repentance without regret." In other words, when God makes us sorry for a sin in our lives, when He convicts us of that sin, it leads us to repent of that sin, not just be sorry for it. Then, when we repent, we experience the grace of God to cleanse us, and we are restored to fellowship with the Lord. That is how we are saved for the first time, or how we are restored after our salvation. Therefore, we do not regret being sorry, but we are happy that God has led us to repentance by His type of sorrow. However, the sorrow of the world leads to death. All it does is make us feel badly and discourage us. That is what Satan does to us when we sin. He tells us we are bad, and we need to give up. The world tells us we will never measure up, never amount to anything. That leads us to get depressed, but we don't do anything about our sins, so we die in them, separated from God forever.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Corinthians 8-10.
Paul explained to the Christians in Corinth and to us that sorrow according to the will of God produces a "repentance without regret." In other words, when God makes us sorry for a sin in our lives, when He convicts us of that sin, it leads us to repent of that sin, not just be sorry for it. Then, when we repent, we experience the grace of God to cleanse us, and we are restored to fellowship with the Lord. That is how we are saved for the first time, or how we are restored after our salvation. Therefore, we do not regret being sorry, but we are happy that God has led us to repentance by His type of sorrow. However, the sorrow of the world leads to death. All it does is make us feel badly and discourage us. That is what Satan does to us when we sin. He tells us we are bad, and we need to give up. The world tells us we will never measure up, never amount to anything. That leads us to get depressed, but we don't do anything about our sins, so we die in them, separated from God forever.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Corinthians 8-10.