“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4)

I was reading a book by John MacArthur in which he was explaining the verse above. He said, “The context reveals that He [Jesus] is not speaking of the kind of mourning related to earthly bereavement; instead it’s grieving over one’s own guilt, the sorrow of repentance of sin.” As I read this, I began to think. I couldn’t remember the last time I actually felt true sorrow for my sins. I think I’ve become so accustomed to my God of grace and my usual routine of confessing sins, in a sense, to not feel sorry for them. Now I’ve always been taught that Christ paid the price for our sins, so we should not live our lives feeling guilty for them (Romans 8:1-2). While that is a true statement, it sounds like there might be a Godly sorrow that is necessary for believers to practice. So what does the Word say about it?

In 2 Corinthians, Paul talks about what Godly sorrow is. He is writing to the church at Corinth and mentions a previous letter he sent to them. “Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death” (2 Cor 7:8-10). So we see that there are two types of sorrow, and Godly sorrow produces repentance.

As I was trying to better understand this concept of Godly sorrow, I read something by John Piper that I thought explained it very well. “At least two things govern what makes sorrow good. One is the cause, the other is the outcome. The cause of godly sorrow for our own sin is the spiritual perception of its moral ugliness, not just its negative consequences. We see it as morally repugnant. This repugnance is owing to our spiritual preference for the taste of the truth and beauty of God. Therefore our sorrow for sin is rooted in our savoring of God. Sin is a revolting flavor in the feast of godwardness. Therefore, sorrow over this is a signal that we delight in God. That is what makes the sorrow good. The outcome of good sorrow for sin is repentance and holiness. In fact, repentance includes sorrow for sin and extends it to a more durable experience of holy living. This holy living is the outward form of delighting in God above all sin. Therefore delight in God is what makes the sorrow and repentance good” (John Piper).

Piper explains that this type of sorrow is closely related to our delight in God. John MacArthur says, “Realizing you are spiritually bankrupt is a truth you grasp intellectually. Mourning over your sin is the natural response of the emotions.” This Godly sorrow leads to repentance. It does not lead to guilt, shame, despair, depression, self-pity, or hopelessness; that’s what worldly sorrow leads to, which as Paul says, ultimately leads to death. This righteous type of sorrow leads to repentance: repentance leading to salvation. Scripture is clear that repentance leads to and is required for salvation (Matt 3:2; 4:17, Mark 1:15, Luke 13:5, Acts 2:38; 3:19; 11:18, 2 Tim 2:25, 2 Peter 3:9, Isaiah 30:15). But we are also commanded to confess and repent of our sins even after we’re justified by initial repentance (John 13:10, 1 John 1:9). And since “Godly sorrow leads to repentance,” we could conclude that we can’t properly come to repentance without Godly sorrow. If apathy exists in confession of sins, it’s not real repentance. In a prayer of David, he says “I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin” (Psalm 38:18). “‘Even now’, declares the LORD, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning’” (Joel 2:12).

It’s clear that God takes repentance very seriously, and He wants us to be sincere and completely broken so that He can make us whole. But this isn’t all depressing. It’s actually the opposite. We are to be sorrowful, but once it leads to repentance, the sorrow should stop. This is where we can apply the passage mentioned earlier, Romans 8:1-2, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death,” and Ephesians 3:12, which tells us, “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” There should be no guilt in our life; we should live free from that. And this should bring joy, and indeed will bring joy. So, true Godly sorrow will produce joy. We are commanded to be “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10). Our joy is made complete when we follow God’s commands, in this case, following in proper repentance. Christ said, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:10-11).

So instead of just “confessing” my sins, I must “repent”, and that’s correctly practiced through Godly sorrow over the sins. I don’t believe we will ever begin to get victory over a sin, until we begin to practice true Godly sorrow in repentance of them. In the same passage where Paul explains godly sorrow, he says, “See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter” (2 Corinthians 7:11). These are all signs of victory over sin, and they were all produced from genuine godly sorrow. All sin is an offense to God and should be viewed as serious to us in order to get victory over them. And in the victory, we will receive joy from Christ. So let’s delight in God. Let’s make His delight our delight also. And when we sin against Him, practice true sorrow for the sins: sorrow that will lead to repentance. God’s grace should not be taken advantage of (Romans 6:1-2). As God’s grace covers our sins, our undeserving hearts should be filled with thankfulness that leads to a change of heart. God is still teaching me this idea of true godly sorrow, and I pray that I might put into consistent practice what I’ve learned.