Exploring Sexual IntegritySample

Repentance Is Necessary

Friends, there is a difference between being sorry we got caught and being sorry that we hurt others and God. True repentance comes upon the realization that our sins have broken God's heart and have affected the innocent people around us.

The Word of God says, "For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death" (2 Corinthians 7:10). Sin will not only break God's heart, it will produce a domino effect and hurt our children, our spouses, or those who are closest to us. Furthermore, our waywardness produces more toxic thinking -- it leads to behaviors that poison our environment:

• selfishness

• self-gratification

• abandonment of Godly principles

• indulgence in temporary pleasures that lead to destruction.

Jeremiah 31:19 says, "After I strayed, I repented; after I came to understand, I beat my breast. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth." This shame is what distinguishes worldly sorrow from TRUE repentance. Sometimes our recognition of sin is ample punishment. But ... as we reap the consequences of our own disgrace and shame, God is ready to rebuild us. Amid our destruction and ruins, He makes us a beautiful temple that He can reside in. There is life after death, but we must die to ourselves to experience the fullness of life. That is why repentance is key!

How does Webster define regret? "To feel sad, repentant, or disappointed over (something that has happened or been done, especially a loss or missed opportunity)." True repentance will make us weep over lost time with our children; over failed relationships that we contributed to; and over times that we selected our pleasure over the wellness and good of others. It will cause remorse over an addiction to pornography, over a desire for drugs, over a desire to steal.

When our eyes are opened to the truth of God, our broken hearts should be receptive to CHANGE. True repentance is what causes us to go in the opposite direction when we find ourselves in a situation that has caused heartache. Worldly sorrow will lead us right back to an unending cycle of despair.

We cannot hide from God. We cannot pretend He doesn't know the depths of our hearts. He created us and we cannot deny we were made in His image, but He also gave us free will to choose whom and how we will serve. God allows us to repent and have an amazing life filled with sexual integrity. Will you reach for him today?