Part 1 can be found HERE.
Secondary Introduction: A regret is something we wish we had or hadn’t done that resulted in emotional, spiritual, or psychological pain in our life. There are relatively small regrets and regrets the size of mountains. For the Christian I suggest that the emotional event of regret should be equated with the Holy Spirit’s work called conviction of sin. Those who live a life without regrets are described in 1 Tim 4:1-2…
The Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared…
A “seared conscience” describes a person who is spiritually cold and hardened. They care little to nothing of the fallout their actions have toward others. They are virtually incapable of remorse and tend to the ends justifying the means. They tend to be self centered, helping others only with the expectation of a return favor granted later. Those with a “seared conscience” are unable to know or realize their deplorable condition because they are either blind to it, or don’t care.
However, the Christian cannot… and does not… live such a life. In fact, a good indicator of a vibrant Christian life is the internal struggle with personal sin and the strong desire to be free of it. Consider what J. C. Ryle wrote in his book “Holiness” (Pg 25-26. {Emphasis mine}):
Sanctification (Holiness, Spiritual formation) is a thing which does not prevent a man having a great deal of inward spiritual conflict. By conflict I mean a struggle within the heart between the old nature and the new, the flesh and the spirit which are to be found together in every believer. (Gal 5:17). A deep sense of struggle, and a vast amount of mental discomfort from it, are no proof that a man is not sanctified. Nay, rather, I believe, they are healthy symptoms of our condition, and prove that we are not dead but alive. A true Christian is one who has not only peace of conscious but war within. He may be known by his warfare a well as by his peace.
From this point forward the fallout and minimization of regrets will be addressed. First, a very important element regarding sin… forgiveness… regret… and consequences.
3. Forgiveness does not negate temporal consequences, but does erase eternal punishment. The point is this, God forgives sin eternally but does NOT remove His loving discipline in this life. We don’t like this because we don’t like pain. We wrong think once we’re forgiven it all just “goes away” and life returns to normal. Consider two cases in point: A) King David, B) Temporal consequences prove God’s Love (Hebrews).
A] David committed adultery and premeditated murder (2 Samuel 11). Nathan the Prophet confronted him about his sin (2 Sam 12:1-9). David confessed his sin immediately and Nathan told him he was forgiven… that he would not die (2 Sam 12:13-14a), HOWEVER… the consequences of his sin would NOT be removed! The consequences would be (2 Sam 12:10-14): Vs 10-a, He would be at war the rest of his life… Vs 10-b, David’s wives would be raped in public… Vs 11, Members of his own family would rise up against him… Vs 14, David’s baby with Bathsheba would die.
B] Temporal consequences of forgiven sin prove God’s love! Read Hebrews 12:4-11, the synopsis is found below. God’s temporal consequences for sin is loving as described next… 12:6, God disciplines those He loves! 12:7, God’s discipline proves the family relationship with Him. 12:8, Lack of discipline proves an unsaved condition. 12:10-a, God disciplines us for our good. 12:10-b, God’s discipline results in sharing in His holiness. 12:11, God’s discipline ultimately results in temporal and eternal peace.
C] It is possible that God’s temporal consequence of a believer’s sin is death so they will not be condemned with the world (1 Cor 11:30-32).
NOW THINK WITH ME!
We are all somewhere along the process of dealing with the sin in our life. If we address it properly… as God would have us to (Confession and repentance)… we rest in 1 John 3:19, “By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God…” This means that the regret we have for our sin are informed by God’s love for us… that we won’t be condemned… that we are in His family… we are being made holy by Him… and He is moving us toward eternal overpowering peace. Thus the eradication of temporal regrets!
In other words, what I am strongly suggesting is that we press the emotion and thoughts of our heart to the eternal weight of God’s truth found in Scripture. I am pointedly pressing the point that when we take God at His Word and follow His commands the result is “the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension.” If we are without peace… if we have regrets… then we have chosen a path other than what God has set down in His Word for us to follow.
The last post will address Repentance and actively minimizing life regrets.
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