How is worldly sorrow different from godly sorrow?
Don Hart explains in this video that every person has experienced worldly sorrow, but only Christians have experienced godly sorrow.
Worldly sorrow involves regret or remorse over committing sin, but there is no sorrow for grieving a holy God. Worldly sorrow does not involve sorrow over the sin itself – rather, it involves sorrow or sadness over the earthly consequences of the sin.
2 Corinthians 7:10 (NKJV) – “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”
I expect that just about every human being to ever live has at some time experienced worldly sorrow. Only the elect, only Christians, only children of God have experienced godly sorrow. What is the difference? Worldly sorrow understands I've done something wrong. It may even, there may even be a sense of regret, of remorse, of sorrow over having committed sin, and yet it is not a sense of regret that is tied to having grieved and sinned against a holy God.
It is a sense of sorrow that dreads the consequences of the wrong that we've committed, that says, oh, there is punishment coming my way. It is not sorrow for committing the sin. It is grief and sorrow at the consequence of the sin, at the punishment that may certainly be deserved and frankly is less than is what is deserved, and yet is nonetheless something which creates a sorrow in the heart even of an unregenerate man who is in enmity with God. You