Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
If it was left solely up to them, they would have never repented, because human nature cannot, in any way generate true repentance. We might feel sorrow and remorse for the results of sinful deeds, but for us to repent of those sins in and of ourselves is way beyond our natural ability.
In fact, we often get the two things mixed up where on the one hand there may be regret for the wrong course of action taken, and the adverse results that follow. This is quite different from godly sorrow for sin, which is granted as a gift from God, and which causes a person to be sorry for violating God’s law, which ultimately caused Christ to die on the tree. The two are entirely different.
Sorrow for the mere deed is often manifested in a frenzied interest to have the adverse consequences reversed as quickly as possible. But godly sorrow for sin, which is a gift from God, focuses on the wounds and the damage done to the relationship with God. In fact, when persons repent after the godly sort, they usually do not seek to avert any of the adverse consequences that accrue; instead, they manifest a willingness to bear them.
Luke 23: 39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. 40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!