When You Say, "I'm Sorry"

Read: Hosea 6:1-6

Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted. --- 2 Corinthians 7:10

The Bible In One Year:
Jeremiah 13-16

With tears in his eyes a man said tome, "I told my wife I was sorry, but she says she won't continue to live with me. First John 1:9 says that God forgives us when we confess our sins. Please talk to her and tell her that if God forgives, she should too."

I knew this man had "repented" several time before, only to revert to his abusive behavior. So I said, "No, I'm not going to tell her that. In your case, saying, 'I'm sorry' isn't enough." His wife insisted that he receive counseling and give evidence of a genuine change before returning home. She was right.

Just saying "I'm sorry" is not enough for God either. The leaders of Israel, in the face of trouble brought on by their sin, thought that merely returning to prescribed sacrificial offerings would solve their problems. But God rejected that kind of "repentance." It was as fleeting as "a morning cloud" and "the early dew" that fades away with the first rays of sunlight [Hosea 6:4].

Merely saying "I'm sorry" is no different than the empty rituals of the Israelites. God said, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings" [v.6]. He meant that repentance must result in a change of heart and a change in behavior. That's "godly sorrow" [2 Corinthians 7:10]. --- Herb Vander Lugt

Repentance is to leave the sin
That we had loved before,
And showing we are grieved by it
By doing it no more. --- Anon.

REPENTANCE MEANS HATING SIN ENOUGH TO TURN FROM IT.