Temporary Sorrow

2 Corinthians 7:10: For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

Proverbs 28:13: He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

When one has Godly sorrow over his sin, he will confess it to God, forsake it and receive forgiveness for it. Those things are the result of repentance.

Family Bible Notes: Godly sorrow; such as God requires; which grieves for sin because it dishonors (and displeases) God. Repentance to salvation; that sorrow for sin which leads a man to forsake it, and look to Christ for salvation. Not to be repented of; a change that will never be regretted or renounced. Sorrow of the world; that which is supremely selfish, and grieves principally because of the evil which sin occasions to the transgressor. Worketh death; tends to undermine health, shorten life, and hurry men to the second death.

Geneva Bible Notes: God*s sorrow occurs when we are not terrified with the fear of punishment, but because we feel we have offended God our most merciful Father. Contrary to this there is another sorrow, that only fears punishment, or when a man is vexed for the loss of some worldly goods. The fruit of the first is repentance, and the fruit of the second is desperation, unless the Lord quickly helps.

Godly sorrow only belongs to those on the path to Heaven. The other kind belongs to those on the way to Hell. Believers ought to have sorrow over their sin because it comes between them and their loving God. Unbelievers do not have that kind of sorrow because they have never personally and directly enjoyed the love of God. They have been continually separated from His love, whereas believers are only separated from it when they have unconfessed and unforsaken sin. They should be wise enough to strive to keep themselves in the love of God.

Jude 1:21: Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Isaiah 59:2: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Believers can keep themselves in the love of God by confessing and forsaking their sin. I have never heard a Christian say that he regretted confessing and forsaking some sin after he did that. I have seen and heard unbelievers and even some believers get angry when someone encourages them to forsake their sin. When believers sin, they get samples of the separation from God that unbelievers will experience forever.

So which kind of sorrow do you have, temporary or eternal?

Care to discuss Temporary Sorrow with Ron?

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