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The Right Kind of Sorry
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”
2 Corinthians 7:8–10
Pete Rose was one of baseball’s greatest stars, amassing more hits than anyone who had ever played the game. Rose became the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. But in 1989, he was banned from baseball for life for betting on games. Though Rose denied the allegations for fifteen years, he eventually admitted in an autobiography that he had indeed placed bets on baseball games. Though he has asked to be reinstated to baseball, the ban remains in place. In 2006, stores began selling baseballs which read, “I’m sorry I bet on baseball.” They were signed by Pete Rose and sold for around $300 each. It’s hard to see monetizing wrongdoing as an expression of genuine sorrow.
As Christians, God calls us to a repentance that is far more than merely saying we are sorry, while still planning to continue in sin. True repentance is far more than just feeling bad about what we have done. It leads to a change in how we live. It is impossible to hold onto God with one hand while we hold onto our sin with the other.
2 Corinthians 7:8–10
Pete Rose was one of baseball’s greatest stars, amassing more hits than anyone who had ever played the game. Rose became the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. But in 1989, he was banned from baseball for life for betting on games. Though Rose denied the allegations for fifteen years, he eventually admitted in an autobiography that he had indeed placed bets on baseball games. Though he has asked to be reinstated to baseball, the ban remains in place. In 2006, stores began selling baseballs which read, “I’m sorry I bet on baseball.” They were signed by Pete Rose and sold for around $300 each. It’s hard to see monetizing wrongdoing as an expression of genuine sorrow.
As Christians, God calls us to a repentance that is far more than merely saying we are sorry, while still planning to continue in sin. True repentance is far more than just feeling bad about what we have done. It leads to a change in how we live. It is impossible to hold onto God with one hand while we hold onto our sin with the other.
Today’s Growth Principle:
When we sin, God calls us to have the genuine sorrow that leads to forsaking that sin.
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