by Steve Cornell
Do you know someone who has drifted away from God? The story Jesus told (in Luke 15:11-32) of the lost son offers a graphic picture of turning back to God. I observe five essential parts:
1. Circumstantial consequences of godless living:
11 "Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. 13 "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything."
Hitting the bottom is often necessary to help someone see the foolishness and emptiness of life without God. Sometimes people wrongly protect their loved ones from reaching this point of desperation. Note: God doesn't need to get people to Church to reach them. The pig fields will be just fine!
2. Conviction:
17 "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
The phrase "came to his senses" is synonymous with "repentance". It involves a recognition of the mess one has made of her life. Note (in John 16:8) the work of God's Spirit in conviction about sin.
3. Confession:
18 "I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you."
The son plans his full confession. True confession makes no excuses. It acknowledges sin against God and others.
4. Contrition:
19 "I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.'"
True turning back to God will always involve godly sorrow. This includes a recognition of unworthiness and a willingness to accept the circumstantial consequences sin deserves. If the father had taken the son up on his offer and made him as a hired man, the son (if genuinely repentant) would not have resented his father's decision.
5. Conversion:
20 "So he got up and went to his father."
Turning back to God is more than words and plans-it is action! It is repentance without excuses or hesitations! (See: Acts 26:20;Matthew 3:8;Titus 2:14;3:8)
Godly sorrow vs. Worldly sorrow:
II Corinthians 7:8-11 unveils the role that must be taken when reaching out to believers who are disobedient. It also contrasts two types of sorrow–offering a vivid picture of true repentance. This text is also important because it exposes the deception of false repentance. Some people display a show of sorrow or repentance to manipulate and deceive. We must not fall for this. Consider some of the principles in this text:
1. God's instruments of sorrow:
"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- 9 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."
Here is a true picture of how one feels when called upon to be an instrument of godly sorrow. People who care take no pleasure in bringing pain into the lives of others. Yet, sometimes this is the role love calls us to take. It takes courage and faith to embrace the pain and accept the potential of being misunderstood. Confronting others about their path of deception and sin is a ministry of love but it is risky. We must be willing to suffer a change or even a loss of relationship. Sometimes when we become instruments of godly sorrow, those we confront turn on us and malign us. This is what happened to the apostle Paul.
2. Godly sorrow comes from true believers
10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret,
This could be translated, "Godly sorrow brings repentance that points to the reality of salvation or indicates salvation. When confronted about error, sin or false doctrine, genuine believers will ultimately come to their senses and acknowledge the truth. They might respond with anger at first. If so, those who confront must not over-react or lower themselves to the level of anger. Don't take the bait and escalate. Keep it pastoral not personal. Trust God's Spirit to cultivate conviction.
Note: Genuinely saved people ultimately respond to their sin with godly sorrow (cf. Matthew 5:3; Luke 18:9-14;I Peter 5:6).
3. Worldly sorrow must be detected:
"….but worldly sorrow brings death."
Worldly sorrow is perhaps best understood when contrasted with the description of godly sorrow in II Corinthians 7:11.
Note: Worldly sorrow brings death because it is sinful and all sin ends in death (Romans 6:23a; James 1:14-15). Worldly sorrow is self-centered and is typified in Cain's self-pity over the consequences brought on by his sin.
4. Godly sorrow described
11 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.
How did godly sorrow demonstrate itself among the believers at Corinth? After Paul had confronted the congregation about their refusal to properly deal with a sinful member, they responded with godly sorrow. Consider the elements of godly sorrow.
Seven characteristics of godly sorrow: (II Corinthians 7:8-11)
See what this godly sorrow has produced in you:
1) earnestness- intense and earnest care
2) eagerness to clear yourselves -a desire to be exonerated
3) indignation -probably toward themselves for allowing sin to go unchecked in their
assembly ( or, toward the sinful member cf. 2:6-7)
4) alarm/fear - toward God for their failure to respond properly to his apostle (cf. 4:21)
5) longing- a desire to be restored to their proper place and to fellowship with Paul.
6) concern -a burning desire to do what is right
7) readiness to see justice done -i.e. to see things be corrected and made right.
Because of their repentance, the apostle could say to them, "At every point you have
proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter."
Note: This model of godly sorrow reflects a willingness to take seriously the offense/s committed. True repentance flows out of humility (Luke 18:9-17), and a readiness to accept responsibility. It then brings a change of behavior. John the Baptist said, "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance" (Luke 3:8a). The apostle Paul said, "I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds" (Acts 26:20b).
Additional thought about confirming genuine confession and repentance:
We must not allow superficial appearances of repentance to mislead us. Displays of tears or appearing to be sorry must not become substitutes for clear changes in attitude and behavior. Sometimes, an unrepentant offender will resent your desire to confirm the genuineness of his confession and repentance. He often resorts to lines of manipulation. "I guess you can't find it in yourself to be forgiving." "You just want to rub it in my face." "I guess I should expect that you want your revenge." "Some Christian you are, I thought Christians believed in love and compassion." These lines reveal an unrepentant attitude.
Don't be manipulated into avoiding the step of confirming the authenticity of your offender's confession and repentance. You must be as certain as you can of your offender's repentance. It is hard to genuinely restore a broken relationship when the offender is unclear about his repentance.
Remember, even God will not grant forgiveness to one who is insincere about his confession and repentance. Of course, only God can read hearts– we must evaluate actions. Jesus said, "By their fruit you will recognize them" (Matthew 7:16a).
Steve Cornell
See also: http://thinkpoint.wordpress.com/2007/07/18/five-things-forgiveness-is-not/
