Godly Sorrow

1 Cor.7:10, ‘For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.’

Apostle Paul spent approximately three years to build the church in Corinth. (Acts 19 & 20). Even after he left Corinth, he was greatly concerned with the purity and growth of this church. He wrote letters to this church concerning various issues faced by the believers. He clearly pointed out the falls of this church. He was very straight forward in writing the same. However the intention was not to make them just feel guilty but to lead them to repentance. In this context, he wrote a few edifying lines on the sorrow that comes from God, which includes seven aspects. Many of us feel bad about the sins we commit, when we are convicted of the same. But only a few repent in true sense and grow in the holiness of God. Others satisfy themselves by mumbling a few words asking for forgiveness and soon commit the same with a bolder heart.

All men have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God . And no man is perfect. But as a God’s child strives towards perfectness, his attitude get molded into heavenly attitude. Repentance is asking for forgiveness with a firm decision to not to continue in that sin any more. King David was called as a man after God’s own heart, inspite of the fact that he had committed greater sins than King Saul, who ended up in darkness. David’s repentance was such that God loved it and accepted it. He never continued in sins he was convicted of. He pursued the holiness of God. Psalms 51 is a prayer of David who cried for forgiveness and restoration as soon as he was convicted of his sins by the Lord through prophet Nathan. This psalms highlights all the 7 aspects of Godly sorrow about which apostle Paul talked about in his letter to Corinth.  1 Cor.7:11, ‘For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

1. Diligence :This word points out to thoroughness. Ps.51:7, ‘Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.’ Hyssop is a plant which has strong smell. It was used to uproot any foul smell that might have been there. King David did not even desire the slightest of the foul smell of the sin he had committed to linger in his heart any more. He yearned to be washed thoroughly from his sins with no trace of it anymore in his life (Ps.51:2). He expressed his hatred towards that sin through this attitude. We ought to hate sin to the extent that we take care never to commit it again.
2. Clearance : Ps.51:8, ‘Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice.’ Once a person is confident that his sins are washed away, his heart is filled with joy of salvation. The joy is the proof that his life has been cleared off from all the handwriting that was written against him in heaven. A repented life is cleared off from the guilt completely. The guilt is replaced with joy of salvation. Guilt brings in pain as in case of broken bones, but repentance gives joy that comforts one from that pain. We ought not to linger in the guilt of our sins, for the Lord has assured us of removing our sins as far as east is from the west. Lets trust Him who forgives rather than the one who keeps accusing even after repenting (Ps.103:11-13).
3. Indignation : Ps.51:3,” For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.’ The word ‘indignation’ refers to displeasure or annoyance. David’s sins were always before him. Though he tried to hide his sins in the beginning from the world, soon he found himself before his own sins. This caused indignation in his heart. He could not run away from them. A person who is convicted of sins can never run away from guilt. It chases the person till he or she chooses to repent and be washed by the blood of Christ Jesus.
4. Fear : Ps.51:11, ‘Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.’  Guilt brings in fear. Math 5:4 says that blessed are the ones who mourn for they shall be comforted. Mourning refers to pain of loosing a near or dear one in death. Such great was the pain of David here as he cried to the Lord to not to take away the Holy Spirit from him. He did not cry for not taking away his kingdom or riches or his fame. But he could not bear the pain of being separated from the Lord. He feared that the Spirit of the Lord might be taken away from him. If anyone  continues to sin inspite of the convictions from the Holy Spirit, he or she  chooses to grieve Him. And grieving Him again and again deliberately might make the Holy Spirit leave a person, just as it happened in King Saul’s life (1 Sam.16:14). A God’s child is ready to go through all the painful  consequences of sins so that he or she never looses the presence of His Spirit from their lives. Nothing more than His presence is important in our life.
5. Vehemant Desire : Ps.51: 14-15, ‘ Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. ¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.’ Vehement desire refers to the passionate desire. A true repented life yearns to worship the Lord. Such a person expresses the joy of being forgiven through worship. King David longed to worship the Lord with a passionate heart. He longed to express the joy of salvation. Only a trued repented life can worship the Lord which is accepted by heaven. The pain of guilt had bound his lips. Hence, David cries out to the Lord to open his lips so that he could worship the Lord with all his heart.
6. Zeal : Ps.51 ;13, ‘Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.’  After being forgiven, a God’s child is filled with zeal for the Lord. King David was so zealous for the Lord that he committed himself to teach the transgressors and the sinners about the ways of the Lord. A truly repentant life cannot be quiet about the ways and holiness of the Lord. He or she will choose to be an ambassador of the Lord. Repentance on a daily basis is the only way to sustain in the zealousness for the Lord.

7. Vindication : Ps.51:16-17, ‘ For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. ¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise.’ This is an action of clearing someone of the blame. David was ready to do anything and everything that would clear off his blame from him. He was a man who walked with God and who knew God’s heart much closely. Therefore he wrote that the Lord did not need a sacrifice or burnt offering. He knew that nothing less than a broken and contrite spirit would free him from it. Hence, David submitted himself and gave the Lord exactly what He needed. 2 Sam.12:13, ‘So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.’ David presented his broken heart to the Lord, crying out for forgiveness. Very soon, the Lord forgave him, even though he had to go through consequences of his sins. David’s humbleness is seen in the fact that he never murmured as he went through the consequences. Through that too, he expressed his willingness to pay the price needed to clear him off from his blame. His heart earnestly desired to stand before the Lord, spotless and blameless.

Thus we see the repentance of David as complete as it was readily accepted by heaven. His sorrow was Godly. He  did not linger in guilt neither did he ever repeat the sin. He took a big step into a deeper holiness of God. Dear friends, its true that we all have failures and shortcomings. But let our sorrow over the convicted sins be Godly that leads us to eternal life. May we discern our sorrow. Is it bringing us closer to the Lord or taking us away from him ? We can never play with fire and the holiness of our Lord is like fire that devours every thought and imagination of unholiness. Not all tears shall be wiped by our Lord as not all sorrows are Godly. Just as apostle Paul wrote, lets work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil.2:12). For God is holy and without holiness (Hebr.12:14), we cannot see God. As we are fast approaching our eternity with each passing day, lets choose life every day at every cross road and be the blessed people, waiting like the bride for her bridegroom. Amen.

 God bless us all

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