Who Said It
Ken Sande

Ken Sande is the president of the Billings, Montana-based Peacemaker Ministries, which provides resources, training, and assistance in biblical conflict resolution. An engineer and attorney since 1982, Ken has helped resolve thousands of disputes outside the courtroom. His The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict is in its third edition.

What He Said
Two Ways to Be Sorry

Repentance is the first step in gaining freedom from sin. The Bible describes it as coming to one's senses—waking up to the fact that you've been deceiving yourself. Just feeling bad or apologizing doesn't prove that one is repentant. Paul explained to the Corinthians (2 Corinth-ians 7:9-10) that there's a world of difference between mere remorse and genuine repentance.

"Worldly sorrow" means feeling sad because you got caught doing something wrong or because you must suffer unpleasant consequences for your actions, such as financial loss, a broken marriage, a damaged reputation, or merely nagging guilt.

In contrast, "godly sorrow" means feeling bad because you've offended God. It means sincerely regretting what you did, regardless of whether or not you must suffer unpleasant consequences. It involves a "change of heart" because you understand that sin is a personal offense against God himself. This sorrow won't necessarily be accompanied by intense feelings, but it will lead to outward changes in behavior.

Adapted from The Peacemaker (Baker, 1991, 1997, 2004) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Prod me, Lord, to own up to my sin, deal with its consequences, and alter my behavior.

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