The objective of this lesson: to emphasize that conversion repentance and repentance in those in Christ begins in the same manner--the regret for sins known as godly sorrow.
The first expression of godly sorrow comes when the person whose life was ruled by an ungodly focus outside of Christ is converted to God through Christ.
We should be impressed with the fact that all that occurs in coming to God through Christ is the result of the conscious, knowing decision [choice] made by the one who comes to God through Jesus Christ. The decision is not made for that person by anyone else. The decision [choice] is made by the person for himself/herself. The decision to believe in Jesus' identity as God's son is made by the person (Romans 10:8-15). The decision to believe God's accomplishments in Jesus' death is made by the person (1 Corinthians 1:30). The decision to believe God's accomplishments in Jesus' resurrection is made by the person (Philippians 3:8-11). The decision to believe the resurrected Jesus Christ's role as mediator before God on the convert's behalf is made by the person (1 Timothy 2:3-6). The decision to redirect one's life through repentance is made by the person (Luke 13:1-5; 15). The decision to confirm covenant with God by being baptized thus participating in Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection is made by the person (Romans 6:1-11).
A "turning to God" involves the same awareness for everyone. The person who comes to God chooses to turn his/her life toward God. This decision is the choice of the person who regrets offending God in his/her heart and actions. This "turning" cannot be accomplished for someone by another concerned person. "I'' must choose to "turn"; someone else cannot make that decision for "me." Everything from believing to baptism must be the conscious choice of the person deciding to redirect his/her life. It is the decision of the person who comes to God. It is not a decision made by someone else other than him/her.
A person believes in Jesus as the Christ of his/her own decision. A person redirects life through repentance by his/her own decision. A person enters covenant with God through baptism by his/her own decision. Thus conversion to Jesus Christ is the direct result of the person's decisions.
Emphasis again is on the fact that conversion is "the direct result of the person's decisions."
What is the driving inner motivation throughout the entire decisions of conversion? Godly sorrow! When a person understands (1) who Jesus is (Matthew 3:13-17) and (2) the injustice inflicted on the suffering, crucified Jesus because of the person's evil attitudes and behavior, he/she is moved to godly sorrow (1 Peter 2:24,25). He/she genuinely regrets the grief he/she caused God. He/she genuinely regrets the suffering made necessary for Jesus. He/she deeply appreciates the unbelievable grace and love expressed by God in Jesus (Romans 5:8).
It is not merely a matter of "going through the right process" or "obeying the correct forms." For God, the reasons (motivations) a person has for surrendering himself/herself to Him and obeying Him is as important as the compliance (see Isaiah 1:10-17; Jeremiah 7:1-7; Matthew 6:1-15). The regret must be motivated by an awareness of injustice to God.
This sorrow is so deep, so genuine the person desires to do more than feel it. That is not enough! This sorrow must be expressed in actions as well as feelings! Thus he/she feels the sorrow and acts because the sorrow is there. It is not enough to inwardly believe! He/she is compelled to act in a manner that expresses this sorrow! His/her response is far more than a sense of duty! This response is an act of privilege! It is more than what he/she has to do. It is what he/she wants to do.
Godly sorrow produces feelings that result in action. He/she obeys God because of what he/she feels for God. The sorrow he/she feels expresses itself in action/behavior.
The second expression of godly sorrow occurs continually as Jesus' disciple makes his/her pilgrimage toward God's holiness.
Conversion to Jesus Christ does not end the reality of evil in the disciples' life. It merely begins the reality of forgiveness. This is one of the paradox's of being a Christian: the more mature a disciple becomes in Christ, the closer to God's holiness he/she grows, the more conscious he/she becomes of the evil within him/her (consider Romans 7:7-8:2; 1 John 1:5-10; Philippians 3:12-14.)
The person who enters Christ is not immune to temptation, immune to Satan's deceptions, or immune to the failure to allow God's will to be the ultimate guide in all matters. He/she [the Christian] will sin--daily! It may be in attitudes; it may be in motives; it may be in behavior; it may be in rebellion; or it may be in ignorance. What God does for us in Christ sanctifies us (makes us holy)! We of ourselves are not sinless! We are in constant need of God's forgiveness! This is the irony: the more mature we become spiritually, the more aware we become of our own evil [see Romans 7:14-8:2 and note the fallacy of seeking to become "good enough" for association with the Holy God through our own actions].
The disciple who makes his pilgrimage toward God's holiness knows he/she exists in a saved relationship with God only because God's incredible grace expresses itself in divine love and forgiveness (Ephesians 2:1-10). The disciple knows he/she is forgiven, not sinless. Conversion to Christ resulted in him/her being clothed in Christ (Galatians 3:26,27). Just as God looked on Jesus' body as he died on the cross and saw it covered with sin (1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:20, 21), God looks at the person who has entered covenant with God and sees the righteousness of the sinless Jesus (Galatians 3:27; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus wore our sins so we could wear his righteousness!
In the knowledgeable Christian there should be the continual awareness that "in Christ God forgives me." He/she ceaselessly has appreciation and joy in the reality of God's grace. Salvation is God's gift to us in Christ! God through Christ makes our forgiveness reality! Both exist because of God's "eyes of grace," not because of our "ideal" human hearts and behavior! It is impossible for human hearts and behavior to achieve the "ideal" status before the Holy God! Every Christian must be committed to obeying God, but he/she knows human obedience is insufficient to merit salvation or forgiveness.
No matter how "good" we become as disciples, we are never of ourselves "sinless!" It is only by God's grace expressed in the redemption made possible by Jesus' death (Ephesians 1:7). Disciples are forgiven on a continuous basis! Every disciple (man and woman!) would wither in the glare of the sinlessness of God's holiness any moment of his/her physical existence. Our finest expressions of holiness are woefully inferior to the absolute holiness of God! The supreme arrogance is the conviction of any disciple [in this life] that he/she does not need the continuing forgiveness of God! To hold such a conviction makes God a liar; Jesus' death unnecessary, and the disciple self-deceived! (See 1 John 1: 8, 10.)
When humans compare themselves to other humans, they can declare themselves good [there is always someone with worse attitudes and behavior than "I" have]. When humans compare themselves to the Holy God, they are never good no matter how obedient they are or what they accomplish. We are incapable of achieving "goodness" before the Holy God. We obey not to merit but to express appreciation for what God continually does for us through Christ.
The disciple's pilgrimage toward God's holiness is filled with "midcourse corrections." The journey is begun as a new born spiritual infant (1 Peter 2:1-10). The more this disciple matures, the more he/she becomes aware of (1) what evil is and (2) what godliness is. With every advance made by spiritual development, he/she becomes more aware of his/her inner evil and more aware of God's holiness. As maturity increases, he/she frequently discovers personal evils [in heart, emotion, attitude, motive, insensitivity, unconcern, and behavior] that he/she previously did not see or understand.
The more we mature in Christ, the more capable we become of (1) identifying evil and (2) seeing evil for what it is. Maturity in Christ does not merely see evil in the godless world, or merely see evil in imperfect Christians. It also sees evil in self. When spiritual maturity recognizes evil in self [whether attitudes, motives, or behavior], spiritual maturity repents because it wants to come closer to God's holiness. The person who belongs to God does not want to cause God grief. Anytime he/she sees evil in self, he/she is filled with godly sorrow. The Christian's repentance comes from his/her heart!
With each new awareness, there is godly sorrow. With godly sorrow, there is repentance. Repentance produces "midcourse corrections" in the pilgrimage. These "corrections" do not produce the arrogance of self-produced righteousness. They produce the joy of knowing God's forgiveness. The promises John made Christians are incredible! If disciples (1) walk in the light God makes available to us in Jesus [see John 1:4, 5] and (2) maintain supportive, encouraging relationships with others in Christ, the blood of Jesus CLEANSES such disciples from ALL sin (1 John 1:7). If disciples confess their sins [to God], God forgives (1) the confessed sins and (2) CLEANSES from ALL unrighteous. That is the perfect solution for those in Christ! If godly sorrow moves a disciple to confess his/her failings to God when he/she realizes the failing, God will not only forgive the failure he/she is aware of, but will also forgive all the failures he or she is not aware of! That is the only way we flawed people can be in relationship with a flawless God. Through the combination of human repentance and divine forgiveness we unholy people can be in a continuing, living relationship with the Holy God!
The perfect solution is produced by God's grace, not by some "ideal" human achievement that rises to a level that equals God's holiness [a literal impossibility!]. God's solution through His grace expressed in Jesus Christ is (1) absolutely workable, (2) addresses our need, and (3) is perfect for the problem of evil in human lives.
Thought Questions Regarding Godly Sorrow In Those Out of Christ and Those in Christ:
The person turning to God makes the decision. No one else can make that decision for him/her. The explanations will be as individual as are the students. Explanations should include the awareness that the only one who can make the decision to come to God through Christ is the person himself/herself.
The driving inner motivation is a sorrow [regret] produced by the awareness that the person has unjustly hurt [offended] the Holy God Who loves him/her. The explanations will be as individual as are the students.
The person sees that his/her evil attitudes/motives/behavior directly contributed to the necessity of Jesus' suffering and death. He/she realizes that he/she plays a role in the greatest injustice humans committed. He/she begins to realize how his/her sins are an unjust grief to a loving God. He/she regrets the hurt/grief he/she inflicts on a loving God and compassionate Savior. This sorrow moves him/her to respond to God. Repentance, the decision to turn life around and redirect it, is a primary expression of this sorrow.
Thought Questions Regarding Disciples and Godly Sorrow:
If we speak of evil from the perspective of the human never being sinful/evil again, conversion does not end the reality of evil. God's forgiveness is complete, but human attitudes/motives/behavior are never ideal, never equal to the holiness of the Holy God. The explanations will be as individual as are the students.
God's solution is simple. If the Christian confesses to God the sin [evil/failure/immorality] he/she becomes aware of, God not only forgives the confessed sin, but also forgives all his/her unrighteousness. God's forgiveness does not depend on a perfect knowledge and understanding. It depends on an attitude of repentance that continually lives in the Christian. What God does in His forgiveness sounds "too good to be true." What God did in everything from the deliverance of Israel from Egypt to Jesus'' death on the cross was "too good to be true." Yet, it was true. God specializes in doing the "too good to be true." That is one reason the foundation of relationship with God always is based on faith.
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 9