The Huge Difference Between Worldly Sorrow and Godly Grief

True Repentance

Just because someone gives lip service to saying that they’re sorry doesn’t mean that they’re truly repentant. And even if they are truly repentant, that doesn’t mean that the relationship is restored without conditions. There are times when Christian communities need to put up boundaries for victims so that they’re not required to enter into a dynamic again where they’re at risk or are traumatized.

It takes a lot of wisdom to evaluate repentance. There’s a huge difference between worldly sorrow and godly grief. This is one of our most important repentance questions, and we know it’s important because the Bible is full of examples and contrasts.

The Way of Repentance

Chris Brauns

Drawing on Scripture and the Westminster Shorter Catechism, this practical theology on repentance invites readers to experience abiding gladness by turning away from sin and toward Jesus.

We have the contrast between Judas, who was full of remorse, and Peter, who was truly repentant. We have the contrast between king Saul, who one moment was wringing his hands and clutching at Samuel’s robe and saying that he was sorry, and the next moment throwing a spear at his own son.

We have that contrast between Saul’s worldly sorrow and king David, who truly was repentant in his godly grief. We have to distinguish between those two, and it’s very important to do so.

But the question then becomes, How do we go about it? It’s very hard. It’s hard, in the first place, because only God knows hearts. We don’t have X-ray vision to see through to someone else’s heart. It’s also difficult because the hardest heart to evaluate is our own. Proverbs says, “All a man’s ways seem innocent to him.” We have to be very careful with this and work through it biblically. But we have to distinguish between worldly sorrow and godly grief.

Chris Brauns is the author of The Way of Repentance: Embracing God’s Gift for a Transformed Life.

Chris Brauns (DMin, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) is the senior pastor at the Red Brick Church in Stillman Valley, Illinois. He has served in pastoral ministry for over thirty years. His books include Unpacking Forgiveness and When the Word Leads Your Pastoral Search.

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