My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world. 1 John 2:1-2
One of the main parts of a genuine apology is to stop doing the thing that you are apologizing for. After all, a change of behavior is the physical evidence that you are truly sorry for what you have done. This is particularly true in our relationship with God. All throughout Scripture, we see that God desires repentant words; He wants a repentant heart, demonstrated by repentant actions.
1 John 2, explains to us the seriousness of our sin. You see, when we sin, Jesus himself pleads to God the Father on our behalf. He is the sacrifice demanded for our sin. He paid the price we owed. Make no mistake, my friend. Our sin is costly. It cost Jesus His life on Earth. This means that we are to take sin seriously. We are to apologize and repent of our sins, and then walk away from that sin. Signifying that we are truly repentant and sorry. Not only does John talk about the importance of repenting and turning away from your sin through your words and actions, but the Apostle Paul also talks about this in 2 Corinthians 7. "The kind of sorrow that God wants us to experience leads us away from sin," Paul writes. He knew that godly sorrow leads us away from our sins and to a change of actions.
Maybe today, you need the reminder that apologizing is much more than saying the words, "I'm sorry." Truly apologizing also means changing your behavior. It means we live differently and change our actions so that we live in such a way that we please God. As you think about your struggle with sin, have you found yourself just saying, "I am sorry," without actually living differently? Let's make a commitment to say that we are sorry and show that we are sorry by changing our actions.
After taking a look at your life, maybe it's time to make a U-turn. What are your sin struggles? Take steps today to turn away from them. Get someone to help hold you accountable, and with God's help, move in the opposite direction of these sins. Make a commitment to leave behind a lifestyle of sin.
Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.
Please open your hearts to us. We have not done wrong to anyone, nor led anyone astray, nor taken advantage of anyone. I’m not saying this to condemn you. I said before that you are in our hearts, and we live or die together with you. I have the highest confidence in you, and I take great pride in you. You have greatly encouraged me and made me happy despite all our troubles.
When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside. But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus. His presence was a joy, but so was the news he brought of the encouragement he received from you. When he told us how much you long to see me, and how sorry you are for what happened, and how loyal you are to me, I was filled with joy!
I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. 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.
