Don’t Regret… Repent!

Simon Peter and Judas Iscariot were both disciples who betrayed their allegiance to Jesus and deserted Him. But Judas ended his life by hanging himself, while Peter went on to become the leader of the apostles. Why such a drastic difference in the destinies of these two men?

Both disciples knew they had sinned, and both felt remorse for what they had done. Judas declared, “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4a). After Peter denied Jesus three times, he “remembered the Lord’s words and how He had told him, ‘Before the cock crows today you will deny me three times.’ And Peter went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:61-62). The difference was in how each man chose to deal with sin. Judas was filled with regret, while Peter repented.

Regret is worldly sorrow. It’s a sense of loss or grief over something we’ve done or failed to do, something we wish had never happened. We feel sad and ashamed, easily falling into a hopeless rut recycling our despair. Our perception is focused on ourselves as well as the negative consequences in the situation.

This is what happened to Judas. Once he realized his sin, he was unable to look beyond his despair and shame. In fact he tried to correct the situation by taking the betrayal money back to the Temple. When he couldn’t rectify the situation, he lost all hope. Unable to redeem himself, Judas committed suicide by hanging himself.

In contrast, repentance is godly sorrow. It’s the active choice of letting God direct the pain of our sin to lead us to change our perspective. We turn from our way of thinking about our life and knowing ourselves, and we adopt God’s way of thinking about and knowing us. We abandon our self-assessment and allow God’s goodness to lead us to a redemptive view of ourselves that produces a change in our actions. Only by being set free through Abba God’s love can we receive this unconditional self-acceptance.

In 2 Corinthians 7:10-11 we are told that regret (worldly sorrow) is deadly, breeding hopeless despair and ending in death. Repentance (godly sorrow) never brings regret but instead leads us to forgiveness of sin, a change in perspective and deliverance from evil.

Abba God wants to set you free from all regret, for regret is a useless emotion that will keep you in the bondage of despair. Let go of your self-assessment and change your perspective. Let your Heavenly Father show you who you truly are—His beloved child—and how your life can reflect this reality!

Come and be a part of our HRock family at our 9:30 & 11:30 AM services this Sunday. Our “The Light of the World” Series will continue as I share how “The City Set on a Hill Cannot Be Hidden”!