{"id":6695,"date":"2014-11-10T06:00:11","date_gmt":"2014-11-10T11:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=6695"},"modified":"2014-11-06T09:08:20","modified_gmt":"2014-11-06T14:08:20","slug":"the-difference-between-remorse-and-repentance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/11\/the-difference-between-remorse-and-repentance.html","title":{"rendered":"The Difference Between Remorse and Repentance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"smaller<\/a>John admits. He\u00a0\u00a0struggles with addiction. He is determined to beat his habit but gives in, feels bad, intends to make a change,\u00a0but ends up slipping time and again. When he does, it deeply hurts his wife. He sees the pain in her face and feels bad that he has hurt her. John is\u00a0remorseful but not repentant.<\/p>\n

Regret and remorse are different than godly sorrow noted in 2 Corinthians 7:10\u00a0For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death<\/span>\u00a0(NKJV). Godly sorry produces repentance. It is based on a belief that a behavior is wrong and must be stopped. It motivates one to make a turn in direction and change behavior.<\/p>\n

Regret and remorse have consequences, but do not necessarily address the wrong-doing of those consequences. People get caught and can feel remorse because there are consequences to their actions.\u00a0For example, you can speed down the highway, get caught and feel remorse. But you may not feel repentant over the speeding. You have remorse because you received a ticket. The ticket temporarily slows you down, but eventually you creep back up to that speeding level.<\/p>\n

And so is the problem with remorse vs. repentance. Remorse can be temporary. It doesn’t always lead to change. Remorse can leave you filled with guilt that\u00a0eventually leads to shame. This type of “worldly sorry” can eat you up emotionally. But repentance leads to confessing our sin to God, leaving it at the cross, and asking the Holy Spirit to change us. It brings a change in thinking and behaving. It is taking responsibility for our actions, not because they hurt people, but because they are sin. Ultimately, it leads to freedom.<\/p>\n

Repentant people change from their previous ways and don’t wallow in guilt. Repentance comes when we cry out to God and say, “There is nothing in me that can make this change. I need you.” When we do, God forgives us. We turn from our sin and allow His Spirit to help us overcome.<\/p>\n

To be free, repent and allow God to change you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John admits. He\u00a0\u00a0struggles with addiction. He is determined to beat his habit but gives in, feels bad, intends to make a change,\u00a0but ends up slipping time and again. When he does, it deeply hurts his wife. He sees the pain in her face and feels bad that he has hurt her. John is\u00a0remorseful but not…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[914],"tags":[3093,123,3094,3092,3091,2729],"class_list":["post-6695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-relationships-2","tag-godly-sorrow","tag-guilt","tag-regret","tag-remorse","tag-repentance","tag-shame"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Difference Between Remorse and Repentance<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/11\/the-difference-between-remorse-and-repentance.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Difference Between Remorse and Repentance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"John admits. He\u00a0\u00a0struggles with addiction. He is determined to beat his habit but gives in, feels bad, intends to make a change,\u00a0but ends up slipping time and again. When he does, it deeply hurts his wife. He sees the pain in her face and feels bad that he has hurt her. John is\u00a0remorseful but not…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/11\/the-difference-between-remorse-and-repentance.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doing Life Together\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-11-10T11:00:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-11-06T14:08:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2013\/04\/smaller-worry-300x225.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Mintle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drlindamintle\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Difference Between Remorse and Repentance","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/11\/the-difference-between-remorse-and-repentance.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Difference Between Remorse and Repentance","og_description":"John admits. He\u00a0\u00a0struggles with addiction. He is determined to beat his habit but gives in, feels bad, intends to make a change,\u00a0but ends up slipping time and again. When he does, it deeply hurts his wife. He sees the pain in her face and feels bad that he has hurt her. John is\u00a0remorseful but not…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/11\/the-difference-between-remorse-and-repentance.html","og_site_name":"Doing Life Together","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","article_published_time":"2014-11-10T11:00:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-11-06T14:08:20+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2013\/04\/smaller-worry-300x225.jpg"}],"author":"Linda Mintle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@drlindamintle","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/11\/the-difference-between-remorse-and-repentance.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/11\/the-difference-between-remorse-and-repentance.html","name":"The Difference Between Remorse and Repentance","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/11\/the-difference-between-remorse-and-repentance.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/11\/the-difference-between-remorse-and-repentance.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2013\/04\/smaller-worry-300x225.jpg","datePublished":"2014-11-10T11:00:11+00:00","dateModified":"2014-11-06T14:08:20+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/11\/the-difference-between-remorse-and-repentance.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/11\/the-difference-between-remorse-and-repentance.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/11\/the-difference-between-remorse-and-repentance.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2013\/04\/smaller-worry-300x225.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2013\/04\/smaller-worry-300x225.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/11\/the-difference-between-remorse-and-repentance.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Difference Between Remorse and Repentance"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/","name":"Doing Life Together","description":"Relationship Doctor, Mental Health, Emotional Wellness, Relationship Advice & Entertainment","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142","name":"Linda Mintle","description":"It is rare that a trained academic who speaks passionately to the heart of people providing real answers to real life problems is so relatable. Dr. Linda\u2019s fun personality and expertise comes through whether she\u2019s helping her audience stress less or make peace with their thighs! Dr. Linda has her Ph.D. in Urban Health and Clinical Psychology and is a national expert on mental health. She has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety, depression and pain management. With 30 years of clinical experience working with couples, families and individuals, she brings her common-sense approach to people who want to live in positive mental health. Dr. Linda is also a bestselling author with 21 book titles to her credit, a radio host of the Dr. Linda Mintle show, professor, national speaker, winner of the Mom\u2019s Choice Award, a national news consultant, featured writer for Beliefnet and hosts her own website. Her academic appointments keep her abreast of current research in her areas of expertise. Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family\u2019s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to everyday living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought-after speaker on college campuses, conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and integrate faith and mental health in everyday living. Check out her latest book Hope and Healing for Anxiety, a whole-person approach to eliminate anxiety. .","sameAs":["https:\/\/drlindamintle.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/x.com\/drlindamintle"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/author\/lmintle"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6695"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6700,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6695\/revisions\/6700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}