Sermon for Sunday Evening, December 1, 2024 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC)
Sermon Text:
[2 Corinthians 7:10 ESV] 10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
Introduction
Years ago someone got a tattoo and it was misspelled. They wanted it to say “No regrets.” But “regrets was spelled R-A-G-R-E-T-S. So it said “No Ragrets.” But you have to imagine they had at least one regret. One ragret.
We all have regrets.
And they impact us.
It makes sense to me to break down regrets into two categories.
1. There are the things that we wish we hadn’t done.
2. Then there are the thing we wish we would have done, but didn’t.
The first category includes sins of commission. Sinful things that we have done. We regret that, as we should. But this first category also includes choices we’ve made that were not in themselves sinful, but we later wished we hadn’t made. I wish I hadn’t said that; I wish I hadn’t done that.
The second category includes sins of omission. Failure to do good deeds when we had the opportunity. But it may also include choices we failed to make that were not in themselves sinful. I wish I tried my hand at spear-fishing or sky diving or pole-vaulting. Maybe I was the world’s best pole-vaulter and never knew it!
Well these two categories of regrets ought to be dealt with in different manners.
The first requires that we remember God’s grace of forgiveness.
And the second requires that we thank God for what He HAS brought us through.
So this is a sermon about forgiveness and about thanksgiving, as we look at the subject of “Dealing with regret.”
We want to “deal with regret” in a Biblical manner.
What does the Bible say about regret, and how can I apply that to my life?
There are various definitions of regret that I’ve found. Two of them are:
1. A feeling of sadness, repentance, or disappointment over something that has happened or been done.
2. The emotion of wishing one had made a different decision in the past
I. Dealing with Regret of Sin and Guilt
It helps to think of specific examples.
As for that first category of regret — things you wish you hadn’t done — what are some things that you regret?
– Intentionally tripping someone.
– Flattening a penny on the railroad track.
– Borrowing something from your neighbor and not bringing it back.
– Saying something that you shouldn’t have said.
With these kinds of regrets, you occasionally have them brought back to mind. Something you see or hears spurs you mind to think about your sin of the past. And even though you know the Lord and his forgiveness, the regret of sin crops back up. (and pops back up).
So I think we must first realize that regrets are real. They aren’t easily going away.
Then — because we each have a conscience — we must realize that regrets are a good thing, in that they are part of repentance. It is better to recognize sin than to be ignorant of it, or to avoid it. So your regret leads you to confession, to repentance.
Then, when you have such regrets come up, bring them to Christ.
Jesus sets you free from regret. We know that he forgives our sins.
What is helpful to remember though is what August Toplady said in “Rock of Ages.”
Christ is the “double cure” of sin. He saves us from its guilt and power.
We are “free from” sin and its power.
And we are, through Christ, free from its guilt; our regret of sins we’ve committed.
So look to Christ. Quickly move from regret to Christ. Don’t dwell on your regrets.
Our verse, 2 Corinthians 7:10, says “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”
I like the translation of the NET Bible which says “leaving no regret.”
Ours is a salvation without regret. No regrets are left. That is a great promise of the Lord.
When you are reminded of past sins, it is at that moment that you need to say I have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no condemnation for me.
Remind yourself of [Romans 8:1 ESV] 1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
You don’t have to hang on to your regrets.
Now is the time to give them to the Lord.
We have salvation without regret.
Your sin is serious.
But your savior is bigger.
Each of the major characters of the Bible were sinners, and yet they were called to be children of God.
You as well, you are his child.
Know that your sins of forgiven in Christ.
Know that your guilt, despair, and regret is forgiven.
There are so many Scripture verses that are comforting. When it comes to regret let us remember:
[Galatians 2:20 ESV] 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
New life in the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
II. Dealing with Regret of Missed Opportunities
But there is another form of regret. And, I think in someways it is more difficult to deal with.
Sin is more serious. Fortunately we have a savior.
But there are also the regrets of missed opportunities.
“If I only knew then what I know now.”
I should have bought Amazon stock 20 years ago.
I regret not pursuing some opportunity that presented itself in my younger days.
I wish I would have spent my time more wisely.
These are not so much a “fear of missing out” but a fear of HAVING missed out.
These types of regrets aren’t usually sins.
But the regret itself may be sin.
It is a sinful focus on things that didn’t happen rather than being thankful to God for what has happened in life!
And ironically, the time you spend regretting you wasted time, is itself wasted time!
Don’t spend your days wishing you did differently in your youth. Spend your time NOW doing what the Lord calls you to do.
In Economics/business there is an idea called a “sunk cost.” It is a cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered. And there is what is called the “sunk cost fallacy.” The fallacy arises when you focus on the past rather than the present. You need to look at the project underway and say “this will be profitable or worthwhile” rather than saying “we must go forward with this because we’ve already put so much money into it.” But if the project continues to be a loser, it is better if it you give it up sooner rather than later.
Regret is similar. If you continue to regret your regrets you continue down a path of ill-effect.
So what are we to do?
How might be find Biblical advice regarding these regrets of missed opportunities and ill-use of our time?
First we have to realize that we only have finite time. We can’t possibly do everything. And we can’t possibly have done everything in the past. There will always be things left undone.
Then, let us thank God for the time that we have had. Let us thank God for what He has brought us through.
We recognize, as the Psalmist said,
[Psalm 31:15 ESV] 15 My times are in your hand
So let us turn regrets into thanksgiving.
[1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV] 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Regret is focus on self. Let us instead look to the Lord.
Far better than living in regret is living in faith.
We can learn from the example of the apostle Paul. Despite all the troubles that beset him, he was able to say:
[Philippians 3:13-14 ESV] 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Forgetting what lies behind.
Forget it because you are forgiven in the Lord.
Paul, the great sinner. Yet he looked forward. He looked to Christ.
Let us do likewise.
And let us pray.