Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Christian Crier

Home
About

Home
Evangelical
Top 7 Bible Verses About Regret

Top 7 Bible Verses About Regret

Last updated on: June 23, 2015 at 11:57 am by Jack Wellman

Top 7 Bible Verses About Regret 2015-06-23T11:57:38-05:00 Jack Wellman

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Bible contains many verses about the idea of regret so what are my top 7 Bible verses regarding regret?

Philippians 3:13 “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, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Who among us can say that we have no regrets at all? I know I have many but I learned from my mistakes and I must move forward taking these lessons with me to not repeat the same mistakes and now the goal is the upward call of Christ and that is my focus. I don’t drive using the rearview mirror and so neither should neither should I live the Christian life with regrets.

Genesis 6:6 “And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him to His heart.”

The regret that God had was not so much that He didn’t expect mankind to sin with such profuseness but that He was grieved over their sin. The Hebrew word that most translate into “regret” is actually “to hurt, to pain” or “to grieve” which is what the Hebrew word “atsab” actually means and God took no pleasure in the tendencies of mankind to sin in such despicable ways.

Second Corinthians 7:10 “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”

The difference between regret and repentance is this; repentance leads to a change of behavior while regret only leads to guilt and remorse. Godly grief leads a person to repentance but a worldly grief full of regret only leads to eternal death. Conviction is from the Spirit of God and directs us to change and ask for forgiveness but condemnation from regrets leads to worldly sorrow where the end is only death.

Isaiah 43:18-19 “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

God is instructing Isaiah to tell the nation of Israel to forget the former things and many things in my life I’d love to forget like my former drug abuse, alcohol binges, and thievery. Since that time, I have paid for these crimes and repented of my former ways and confessed these things to God and He has forgiven me and cleansed me from all of them (1 John 1:9). God is now doing a new thing and it is His Spirit that effectually changed me from the old carnal self into a new creation or creature in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 5:17).

Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

If we truly understood that everything that happens to us works out for our best, I believe that we’d live with less regret. This means that even the bad things that happen to us will ultimately work out for our best because God always has the best of intentions for us, regardless of what happens. This means that even “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1st Pet 4:14) so that puts even the insults we receive into a godly perspective, and believe me, I receive plenty so I just thank God that I am worthy to be persecuted for His sake. Those who persecute me actually bless me, even if they don’t realize it just as Jesus said “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me” (Matt 5:11). I want that blessing, don’t you?

Second Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Paul had absolutely no regrets in his final hours before his martyrdom. He knew that his time was near writing “the time of my departure has come” (2 Tim 4:6) and he looked forward knowing that “there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2nd Tim 4:8). What about you? Do you feel that you have kept the faith, fought the good fight of faith, and look forward to the crown of righteousness that awaits you? That should dampen any regrets you have today.

Second Peter 2:9 “Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.”

Peter put his suffering into perspective writing that “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1st Peter 5:10). Christians look ahead and not so much backwards. We look forward to the glorious day in such a way that nothing that happens to us in this life can compare with the glorious future that awaits us (Rom 8:18).

Conclusion

I urge you to live with no regrets but look forward for your and my reward is coming and there will be nothing to compare with that day but for those who have not yet repented of their sins which means that they have never turned away and forsaken them, there is only a fearful expectation of the coming wrath of God (Heb 10:27) that will lead to an ultimate regret for time without end (Rev 20:12-15).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon.

Bible Verses

Regret

Remorse

Previous Post

June 23, 2015

Top 7 Bible Verses About Morality

Next Post

June 23, 2015 Top 7 Bible Verses About Revival

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Bible Answers Bible Definitions Bible Story Bible Study Bible Verses Christian Books Christian Entertainment Christian Fathers Christian Mothers Christian Quotes Devotional Famous Christians Music News Parables Prayers Quotes Sunday School Lesson Uncategorized Youth Sermons

Select a Month October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What city is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jerusalem Florence Vatican City Rome