Historical Posts
Are You Sorry?
It has often been said that the two hardest words to utter in the English language are “I’m sorry.”
We all make mistakes, yet it is difficult to admit when a mistake is made. It is also hard to help others realize when they make a mistake.
But, a true friend “loves at all times (Proverbs 17:17).” Sometimes this must mean telling others that they are living in sin. Paul asked the Galatians, “Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth (Galatians 4:16)?” A true friend tells the truth, even when it is not popular.
Consider what happens when a person is told they made a mistake. The initial response may be disbelief and/or anger, but hopefully the attitude will turn to sorrow.
Is it wrong to make a person feel sorrow? Consider Paul’s words to the Corinthians: “For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted (2 Corinthians 7:8-10)…”
If we truly are sorry, we’ll repent! If we do not repent, we’ll perish (Luke 13:3,5). If we can help others to feel sorry in a godly way, leading to repentance, we can help to save many souls.
Content by Richard Dillon
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Brought About by Godly Sorrow
“I’m Sorry”
People say, “I’m sorry” all the time, but with varying degrees of meaning. Some say it to express sorrow for having been caught in wrongdoing. Next time, these people will be more carful, so they do not get caught. Some say it with no expression of meaning, at all. They are merely saying what they believe others want to hear, in order to appease them. Then, there are those who say it as an expression of deep and meaningful sorrow for the wrongs they have done. This is “godly sorrow.”
“For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” – 2 Corinthians 7:10
Godly sorrow will prompt us to fully repent.
In 2 Corinthians 7:10, “godly sorrow” is said to be the underlying cause of repentance. It is the kind of sorrow that Jesus indicated we must feel as we “mourn” for our sins (Matthew 5:4). It is the kind of sorrow Peter felt, as he “wept bitterly” over having denied the Lord (Luke 22:62). It is the only kind of sorrow, which will prompt us to repent – fully repent – of all our sins (Acts 17:30).
Worldly sorrow hardens the heart.
The text in 2 Corinthians 7:10 also mentions “the sorrow of the world,” which is said to be the underlying cause of spiritual “death” (Romans 6:23a). This is the kind of sorrow that Pharaoh expressed, as he hardened his heart against the Lord (Exodus 9:27-28, 35). It is the kind of sorrow that Judas expressed, when he tried to give back the silver he earned, when he betrayed Jesus Christ to His enemies (Matthew 27:3-5). Worldly sorrow does not result is repentance. It hardens the hearts of men and women, until the message of the gospel no longer has any effect upon them (Hebrews 3:12-13).
Has the sorrow of the world hardened your heart to the love of God?
If so, open it up to the gospel and let God’s love into your life!
Resulting in a Reformation of Life…
Content by Russell Kline
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On Mother’s Passing
Sometime ago I read Roland H. Bainton’s book, Here I Stand, A Life of Martin Luther. In it Bainton recorded the following regarding Luther’s daughter Magdalena.
When Magdalena was fourteen years old, she lay upon her deathbed. Luther prayed, “Oh God, I love her so, but thy will be done.” And turning to her, “Magdalenchen, my little girl, you would like to stay with your father here and you would be glad to go to your Father in heaven?”
And she said, “Yes, dear father, as God wills.”
And Luther reproached himself because God had blessed him as no bishop had been blessed in a thousand years, and yet he could not find it in his heart to give God thanks. Katie (Luther’s wife) stood off, overcome by grief; and Luther held the child in his arms as she passed on. When she was laid away, he said, “Du liebes Lenichen, you will rise and shine like the stars and the sun. How strange it is to know that she is at peace and all is well, and yet to be so sorrowful!”
I have conducted hundreds of funerals, been at the bedside of many a dying person, and often sought to comfort grieving families. I’ve felt the pangs of sorrow as others wept for a loved one called home all too soon. But nothing has affected me like the passing of my own mother. Mom had a long and good life. She and dad were married for more than 62 years. Until the onset of Alzheimer’s, she had been blessed with good health. In recent months the effects of the disease had become more pronounced. Still, she was at worship and Bible study each week, and though she slept a lot, was happy in her waking hours. Dad, my brother, and especially my two sisters, were attentive to her every need. The past year had been notably difficult for them, but they made certain that mom’s every need was met.
As a family we were exceedingly blessed. It could have been so much worse. Now she is gone. The struggles are over. Her mind is clear again. As I have often said to others, for Christians death is not frightening, foreboding, or final. I know that to be true of mom. Yet, there is a sense of sadness at her passing which I have never experienced before. I find Luther’s words to be expressive of the sentiments of my own heart: “How strange it is to know that she is at peace and all is well, and yet to be so sorrowful.”
To each of you who called, sent a card, came to the funeral home, or kept us in your prayers, I extend our deepest appreciation. Mom left us with the greatest gift a mother can give her family, the knowledge that she died in the Lord.
When our time to go the way of all earth arrives, I pray those who are left behind will find the same comfort which we now find in Christ. Yes, we sorrow, but not as others which have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
–Roger
OCTOBER 30, 2011
Content by Roger Rush
Visit Roger at the 6th and Washington Street Church of Christ in Marietta OH.
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