Godly Grief or Worldly Grief?

[Christsfreeservant]

“For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.” (2 Corinthians 7:10-11 ESV)​

The subject matter is the difference between godly grief and worldly grief. Worldly grief may have its temporary moments when someone may feel badly that he did something wrong, or that he got caught for doing wrong, or that someone was now upset with him for doing wrong, but if it doesn’t result in change of mind, and change of attitude, and change of behavior, and if that person just goes repeatedly right back into the same sins, especially without conscience or conviction, then that is worldly sorrow.

For repentance is not just a change of mind that doesn’t result in a change of attitude and behavior. True repentance involves us making a spiritual U-turn. We were going one direction, and now we turn, and now we go in the opposite direction. For this is what the Scriptures teach. And so you can’t just do “sin, confess, sin, confess” over again, or with no confession at all, and expect that God accepts that, or that those you are sinning against should just accept that as true sorrow for what you did wrong.

And I am certainly not claiming that we must be absolutely perfect or that we will never sin, but the Scriptures make it quite clear that if sin is our practice, and not righteousness and obedience to our Lord, we will not inherit eternal life with God, we are not in fellowship with God, we don’t know God, and we are liars if we say that we do. For we can’t walk in the light and in the darkness at the same time. Either sin is our practice or obedience and righteousness are our practice. We can’t have it both ways.

And so I like it that this passage of Scripture defines for us what godly grief and true repentance really look like. And many Scriptures give us a true picture of what godly grief and genuine repentance look like, too. For in Acts 3:19 it says, “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.” And Acts 26:20 says, “that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.”

And in 2 Corinthians 12:21 it says, “I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced.” The sense here is more than just a confession of wrongdoing, but it is of the need to change directions, and to stop the sinning that they were practicing, and to now do what is right.

And in 2 Timothy 2:25-26 it says, “…correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” Again, this is about escaping the snare of the devil, escaping being captivated by sin and now walking in obedience to the Lord in holy living in obedience to God.

[Matt 3:8; Matt 4:17; Matt 11:20-21; Matt 12:41; Matt 21:28-31; Mk 1:15; Mk 6:12; Lu 5:32; Lu 13:3; Lu 15:2-8; Lu 24:47; Acts 3:19-20; Acts 5:30-31; Acts 8:22; Acts 11:17-18; Acts 17:29-31; Acts 19:18-20; Acts 20:21; Acts 26:18-20; Rom 2:4; 2 Co 7:8-10; 2 Co 12:21; Eph 4:17-32; 1 Thess 1:9-10; 2 Tim 2:24-26; 2 Pet 3:9; 1 Jn 1:5-10; Rev 2:5,16; Rev 3:3,19]

And Jesus said that if anyone would come after him that he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in walks of obedience to his commands (New Covenant), then we have eternal life. And he said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter into the kingdom of heaven but the one DOING the will of God.

And Paul wrote that by faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. So sin is no longer to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires, for if sin is what we obey, it will lead to death, but if obedience is what we obey, it leads to righteousness and to sanctification, and its end is eternal life.

And he wrote that the truth that is in Christ Jesus we should have been taught is “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

[Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23; Romans 6:1-23; Ephesians 4:17-24]

And the grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:10)

“For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”​

So, please understand that repentance is not just making a confession of sin only for you to go right back and keep repeating the same sins over again with no change, and with no reversal of mindset, attitude, and behavior. For it is not enough to just feel sorry that you sinned, but you must turn, you must change, you must go in the opposite direction as you had been going, and now you must follow the Lord Jesus in obedience and in righteousness or else you do not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

“See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears” (Hebrews 12:15-17 ESV).​

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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