For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
2 Cor. 7:10 NASB
From last week, we began with Acts 3, looking at times of refreshing to find that they come, following repentance.
This biblical standard shows us that repentance begins from a godly sorrow; a sorrow not to be repented of.
A Godly sorrow is the awareness that our actions, in God's mind, are evil. God’s definition of evil isn’t our definition. Evil, in God’s mind, is that which causes harm. The actions cause pain. That could be pain to ourselves or pain to others. It’s the wide road, where anything is allowed, that leads to death. For a good Father, who desires our lives to be filled with abundant life, you could then understand why God hates evil.
From Helps Word Studies evil is defined as ~
2556 (kakos) is evil "in the abstract; 4190/ponērós, evil in active opposition to the good" (K. Wuest, Word Studies, Vol 2, Hebrews, 77). "Where kakos and ponēros are put together, kakos is always put first and signifies 'bad in character, base,' ponēros, 'bad in effect, malignant'" (Vine, Unger, White, NT, 49).
ponērós (an adjective which is also used substantively, derived from 4192 /pónos, "pain, laborious trouble") – properly, pain-ridden, emphasizing the inevitable agonies (misery) that always go with evil.
Two thoughts are held in our verse today that I want to examine. Firstly, ’Repentance without regret’ means we are not sorry about what we are turning away from. Paul counted all things a loss that He could win Christ. Phil. 2. ‘Winning Christ’ is the highest challenge and goal of our lives.
Secondly, that I am not engaging in guilt and condemnation by repenting, but rather a thankfulness for God’s light shining into my dark places, leading me to true repentance and always unto life. Repentance is always according to the will of God, and always unto life. It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance ~ not to be repented of, because times of refreshing come with goodness and mercy.
Since we ‘know’ these things, let us examine then what it is that we really believe. Most of us have embraced a belief system that allows the activities we practice. Even those practices that we know hurt us. I want to examine Romans 12:1-2 and James 1:21. They will help us understand renewal and transformation.
Romans 12:1 exhorts us to present our bodies in a very special condition. That is as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God. We must present our bodies before the renewing of our minds can bring transformation.
From James 1:21, we see there must be a putting away of ‘filth and the abundance of evil to receive with meekness the word.’ Once this word is received, it must be implanted to save our souls.
There must first be a putting away to receive. We all want our thinking rightly aligned to His heart and mind, but without this ‘putting away’ of filth and evil, renewing is not working in us. For out of the abundance of the heart we see the issues of our life flowing.
Jesus qualifies evil from Mark 7:21-23 ~
ESV ~ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
From both verses in Romans and James, we see how one thing is necessary before the other can occur. From Romans 12, if I do not present my body to the Lord, my mind cannot be renewed. Without renewing my mind, there is no transformation. From James, we learn that putting off filth and evil (as defined by God) is first required.
Now to renewal ~ we can see from these two scriptures the dynamics faced, standing at the crossroads of choice: my will, versus God's. We want to have all the blessings God promises, but are unsure of our willingness to change. If we are convinced our choice isn’t really ‘evil’, it allows us to continue in the current way. Repentance requires change for renewal and refreshing to occur.
Without choosing to take the word of God to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, we cannot overcome. Our first commandment is to not only love God with all our heart but our mind as well. If I love Him, I choose to love His word. My mind is a part of my body I present to Him that begins the process of renewing.
Godly sorrow brings repentance. Repentance brings renewing, and renewing brings refreshing.