For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. – 2 Corinthians 7:10
There is such a thing as worldly grief. I may know that something I did was wrong, but be sorry for the wrong reasons. I may be sorry that I was caught or that there are negative effects of sin. I can be frustrated that I ruined a relationship, wasted time, that I am not having victory over sin, that my joy is not complete, or that God feels far away from me. This type of worldly grief does us no good. This is not the type of grief God desires us to have.
Godly grief is quite different. Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret. It says, I will trust in the blood of Christ to cleanse me from my sins. It says, from hence forth, I will live a life worthy of the gospel. Godly grief realizes that sin is primarily against God.
“How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” – Genesis 39:9
“Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight… ” – Psalm 51:4
In the first of his 95 thesis, Martin Luther reminds us that the whole of the Christian life is to be one of repentance. May God empower us to have this godly grief.
