Featured Repentance

Sorrow "after a godly manner" is true biblical repentance. "...repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." (Acts 20:21b).

 

This is foolishness.
A depraved ungodly man cannot have "God-like" sorrow.
It is an impossibility. One cannot tear Scripture that speaks about believers and apply it to unbelievers. Do not torture the Scriptures so.

 

DHK,

Is a depraved, ungodly man unable to respond to the Gospel, be convicted by the Holy Spirit of God to be made "sorry after a godly manner", then turn to God from his sinful ways and trust Jesus Christ for salvation?

 

AMEN! :thumbs:

Praise the Lord!

 

Praise the Lord!

Now could you tell us if you have ever committed the same sin twice after your conversion?

 

A depraved ungodly man responds to the gospel under conviction of the Holy Spirit. That conviction will cause him to turn from his rebelliousness and turn toward God and submit to him.

Sorrow is a feeling which may or may not come at the time of salvation. It is not necessary. We do not run our lives on our feelings.
At that same time many feel very joyful, some great peace, and some very little emotion. The emotion is extra. We don't live our lives based on emotion.

Salvation is by faith in Christ. It is the Holy Spirit doing a work in man's heart through the Word of God. Being sorry for one's sins is irrelevant.

 

This is correct. The first definition of repentance is simply "changing one's mind". When one repents unto salvation, sorrow may or may not be part of it, it could be, but sorrow for sins will certainly follow or there was not a true conversion.

 

Luke 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

This man was extremely sorrowful for his sins. So sorrowful, in fact, that he beat upon his chest and wouldn't even lift his eyes to look into heaven.

He knew his sinful condition and was sorry for it.

The Pharisee, however was not sorry for his pride.

It is clear who God accepted.

I have given definitions from two different Bible Dictionaries that state that sorrow is a part of repentance. I'll continue to believe the Word of God on this one, godly sorrow worketh repentance TO salvation.

Now, one could say that godly sorrow that works repentance is added to Salvation, but that makes no sense, especially in light of the fact that Jesus said in Luke 13:3,5 Except ye repent, ye shall also likewise perish.

It is clear that one must repent in order to obtain Salvation. The question is, do they have to be sorry for their sins to repent? I believe they do. In the New Testament, we learn that "God heareth not sinners." This could literally be translated as "God will not hear the prayers of those who take delight in their sin."

One must be sorry for their sin or their prayers will be just as ineffective as that prayer of the Pharisee in Luke 18.

 

I say Amen to what you said here.

 

Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, and Praise the Lord!

 

It was more of an admission of guilt. He knew that he was a sinner, as he said. He was guilty before God.

We can't read more into the passage then there is.
Also we must take into consideration the culture. Both of these men were raised as Jews. If this man wanted to show true grief and sorrow he would have wailed and put on sackcloth and then ashes on his head.

Listen to the sorrow and grief expressed by Mordecai:
Esther 4:1 When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;
--That is sorrow, when expressed by the Jews.
[quote[He knew his sinful condition and was sorry for it.[/quote]
He knew his sinful condition. He knew he was guilty. He approached God in great humility. The humility of the publican is contrasted to the pride of the Pharisee.

Yes, one was arrogant and self-righteous; the other was humble, coming to God as a sinner.

It is for believers only
The unsaved cannot show Godly sorrow. It is impossible. They are ungodly.

Repentance has nothing to do with being sorry for sins.
Repentance is a change of mind with respect to one's attitude to God.

No Biblical evidence for it. Sorrow is just an emotion. Some have it and others don't. We don't run our lives by our feelings. That would be disastrous.

OK, who is arguing with that?

NO! One must be repentant of their sin, not sorry for their sin.

Often in my life I witnessed my children as they grew up, being sorry for their sin. They were sorry for their sin because they thought it would get them out of trouble, and often it did. But not until they repented did was a change effected in their lives. Simply being sorry was just a temporary band aid to get out of trouble--a get out of jail card. It wasn't really a change of heart.

 

Can someone tell me how I can make myself feel sorry?????

 

Actually you can and it is called "worldly sorrow." We may call it self-pity, depresssion, or sorrow due to some other motive than the glory of God.

Gospel Repentance is inseparable from Gospel faith and trying to isolate it from faith can only result in perverting it altogether and that is what is being done on this thread.

True gospel repentance is turning from sin but that is impossible without also at one and the same time turning to the answer or provision to remove sin and that is faith in Jesus Christ. They are inseparable truths and that is exactly why the Great Commission in Mark 16:15-16 command them to preach the gospel and call the hearers to beleive in the gospel while Luke 24 words the same thing like this:

Lk. 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

If you deal with repentance apart from gospel faith then you will only distort and pervert it as it is impossible to deal with it isolated from gospel faith simply because there is no turning from sin if there is nothing to turn to that resolves sin - period!

Hence, repentance and faith are inseparable, simeltaneous and instantaneous in time rather than a long drawn out.

What preceeds repentance is "godly sorrow which worketh repentance." Paul did not say godly sorrow IS repentance but it worketh repentance "unto salvation."

There is a general convicting power in the Word of God which is what Jesus referred to when telling Paul "it is hard to kick against the pricks" or "goads" (Acts 9:5). There is power in the truth/light. Paul had heard the witness of the gospel over and over again since he held the coats of those who stoned Stephen.

Apart from regeneration this "sorrow" is "always resisted" (Acts 7:51; Jn 3:18-20). However, in the elect the gospel comes not in "word only" but in "power and in the Spirit and in much assurance" (1 Thes. 1:5) as a CREATIVE CALL producing LIGHT out of DARKNESS (2 Cor. 4:6). Thus "godly sorrow worketh repentance UNTO SALVATION not to be repented of."

 

I don't see it as a possibility. In order to feel something , something has to cause it. One cannot order another person to feel something, however, one can do something to cause another to feel something. It would be the Holy Spirit who causes a person to feel sorry for sin, then, that person can follow the command to repent of that sin. Can I command you to feel sorry Biblicist?

 

Have you ever heard of a guilt trip? Haven't you had others expose and humiliate you for something you did? There is a thing called conscience that acts independent of the Holy Spirit in lost persons. Remember the woman caught in adultery and when Christ invited them to cast the first stone if they had no sin, and the eldest to the youngest went out! They were convicted by their own consicence but not one word about repentance unto salvation, or convicted by the Holy Spirit. The conscience can convict all by itself.

 

Try hitting your thumb with a hammer.