Remorse is Not Repentance

Godly Grief and Worldly Grief in 2 Corinthians 7

If you have your Bibles, I'd like to invite you to open them with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 7, and Lord willing, this morning we're going to complete chapter 7, which completes a section of the book.

The next section that we find ourselves in, beginning when we open this book again, will be chapters 8 and 9, which deal specifically with the subject of giving. We're going to spend two whole chapters looking at Paul's admonition to the Corinthians in regard to their giving, and in support of a church that is in need.

So we look forward to getting to that portion. But today we'll be closing, as I said, Lord willing, the 7th chapter, as we have been going verse by verse through this book now these many months. So let us stand and read the Word of God, beginning at verse 10, and we will read down to verse 16.

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment.

At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God.

Therefore we are comforted, and besides our own comfort we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. For whatever boasts I made to him about you I was not put to shame, but just as everything we said to you was true, so also our boasting before Titus has been proved true.

And his affection for you is even greater, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. I rejoice, because I have complete confidence in you.

Let us pray.

Our Father and our God, we come to you in Jesus' name. I pray now that you would keep me from error as I preach, as I pray every time I step behind the pulpit, Lord, for the fear of bringing dishonor to your name, for the fear of discouraging or confusing your people, and for the fear of imperiling my own heart.

I pray, O God, that you would keep me from error, and I pray, Father, that you would in the moment of the time of the preaching of your word fill me with an extra measure of your spirit, and that the spirit would be the teacher today, that I would decrease and that Christ would increase, that the words that go out would reach not only the ear, but also the heart, and that it would be mixed with faith, and, Lord, that your people would be edified, and those who are not yet your people would be drawn to Christ as Savior.

And, Lord, whether it be that you win them through your loving kindness or you terrify them in your wrath, Lord, it is you who saves, it is you who changes hearts, and you choose the method by which you do that.

So, we trust you, O God, and we ask that today that your word would be the lamp unto our feet and the light unto our path as we seek to study it together in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Remorse Is Not Repentance

The title of today's message is Remorse is Not Repentance. Remorse is not repentance. Paul is, in this chapter, as we have discussed over the last few weeks, Paul is rejoicing over his reunion with Titus.

It was Titus who had gone to Corinth, and I believe Titus had delivered the severe letter that Paul mentions in chapter 2, but even if he was not the person who delivered it, he is the person who's been tasked with delivering the results.

Paul has been waiting for Titus. He was first waiting in Troas, but then decided to move over to Macedonia, and when he went to Macedonia, he was waiting on Titus. We read about this in the early part of 2 Corinthians, how he looked forward to Titus'.

Coming.

He was concerned about Titus' well-being, and he was also concerned about how the people of Corinth had received his rebuke. Paul had sent a letter, which he himself identifies as a severe letter, and it was severe because it was a letter of rebuke.

Now, we no longer possess this letter. Some people believe it's 1 Corinthians. I am of the mind that it's actually a letter in between 1 and 2 Corinthians, one that we no longer possess, and a letter which was harsh in its language to the people of Corinth because of their dismissal of Paul's message for the message of what would later be called the super apostles.

He mentions that in chapter 12 of this book. He references those who identified themselves as those who were higher than him, those who knew better than him, those who had a message which was a message which not only was in opposition to him but contradicted his message and said that Paul's message was insufficient.

So Paul sends a letter, and he challenges them. He challenges them to receive back the one who has repented, and we learn about that again earlier in the book. He challenges them to hear his gospel and not receive another gospel.

We have a similar message at the beginning of Galatians when he's talking to the Galatians, and he says, oh foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? Who has brought you another gospel? Not as if there is another gospel, for there is only one gospel, and if any man comes to you preaching a gospel other than the gospel that you received, let him be anathema, which means to be put under the curse of God.

So Paul has written a stinging letter to the people of Corinth, and he's concerned with how they will receive it. Well, Titus has returned here in chapter 7, and Titus has returned with good news, and the good news is they have received it with repentance.

As we've said often over the last three weeks, there is many different ways that people can receive a rebuke. Often people receive rebukes in anger. Sometimes people receive rebukes in ambivalence. But the best way to receive a rebuke, if it's a proper rebuke, is to receive it in repentance, to recognize that you have sinned and that you need to repent and be restored.

And that's what has happened. Titus has returned. He has brought the message of restoration back to Paul, and Paul and Titus, in their reunion, are rejoicing over that fact. So Paul writes in verse 10 something hugely important, and this has been pretty much the hub of what we've been studying over the last few weeks.

Because in verse 10 he says, Paul is admonishing them, and he's encouraging them, and he is telling them, I'm thankful that you had godly grief and it led you to repentance. Now you have nothing to regret.

Now you are in a state of reconciliation and restoration. That is good. But there is also something called worldly grief. Some translations say worldly sorrow, and worldly sorrow does not lead to repentance, but rather, as Paul says, leads to death.

So the two competing ideas are godly grief and worldly grief. How can we know the difference? Can we discern the difference between godly grief, which leads to repentance, and worldly grief, which does not?

Godly grief that leads to Christ, and worldly grief that leads merely to remorse. Can we know the difference? Well, two weeks ago we looked at verse 11. Verse 11 gives us seven marks of genuine repentance.

Those marks are earnestness, defense, indignation, fear, longing, zeal, and vindication. I put those on the board the last few weeks so that you would remember what they are. Earnestness means that there is a sincere desire to repent.

It is a determination, a care, a diligence. In some translations, a haste. You had an urgency to repent. You understood it was a serious thing. You understood it was not a flippant thing. You understood it was something that deserved your attention.

I'm always concerned when people treat repentance as if it's nothing. Oh yes, I repented. Have we truly felt the weight of sin when we come to repentance? Number two, defense. Not defending the sin, but defending the reality of your repentance.

Is it genuine? You're standing and saying, yes it is. I'm willing to defend that I have repented. I'm willing, that's what the word here in the ESV, it says, eagerness to clear yourselves. The word in the Greek is apologion, which is where we get the word defense.

It's also where we get the word apologetics. And so Paul is saying you're giving a defense, not of what you did, not of the sin, but you're giving a defense of your repentance. It is genuine and I'm willing to stand up before anyone and repent.

Indignation. Anger. Not at someone else, but anger at the sin.

You're not blaming others.

You're not using the word but. You're not saying, yes I did this, but it was this person's fault. You're not like Adam in the garden who said, the woman whom thou hast given me, she gave me of the fruit and I ate.

No, when we repent, we take responsibility. And we stand in awful reverence of God. That's where fear comes in. We understand that we stand before a holy God. Isaiah stood before a holy God and he did not laugh and cheer.

What did Isaiah do before the holy God in Isaiah chapter 6? He put his hand over his mouth and he said, woe is me. Longing and zeal. Longing is a recognition for the need of restoration. Longing means you're lacking something.

And what they're lacking is restoration. And zeal is a vehement desire for that thing. And then finally, the word vindication. The root word of vindication is decao, which is justice. It is a readiness to right the wrong.

So these are the seven things which accompany repentance. And again, if you want a longer and more robust understanding of this, please go back two weeks and listen to the message again. I don't want to repeat everything that I've said.

But those are important things to consider. And as I said, and just to be clear, not every one of these things will always accompany every sin and every act of repentance. But a person who is genuinely repentant will typically manifest these things in one way or another.

And depending on the weight of the sin, many of these things would be the things that prove that their repentance is not genuine. I can't help but use the illustration again because R .C. Sproul was so good.

He said, if you steal a man's watch and you say, I repent, but you're still wearing the watch, you haven't repented. I mean, it's just simple, right? There are fruits that come with repentance. In Matthew's gospel, when John is preaching to the Pharisees and the Sadducees, he says to them, bear fruit in accordance with repentance.

What are the fruits of repentance? These are the fruits of repentance. This is it. And so we asked ourselves, what does it look like in Scripture? What does repentance look like in Scripture? Well, we looked at case studies.

Zacchaeus, David, and Peter as Examples of Genuine Repentance

Last week, we looked at these three case studies. We looked at Zacchaeus. You remember Zacchaeus? He was the one who was the tax collector who had defrauded people, who had misused people's money, who had taken people for granted and used them as a way to enrich himself.

And when he came in contact with the Lord Jesus Christ, he became convinced of his own sin and the need to repent, and he repented not only in word, but he repented in deed. His repentance came out as what?

I'm going to take half of what I have gotten, which has been gotten through ill-gotten gain, and I'm going to take half of it, I'm going to give it to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone, I'm going to repay them four times as much.

So Zacchaeus demonstrated his repentance by his willingness to seek justice for his sin. And I remind you, please remind you, in case there's anyone new here and maybe has never heard this before, I'm not saying that Zacchaeus was saved by giving the money back.

We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Amen?

But the action of giving the money back demonstrated that his repentance was genuine. As what Paul says when he talks about the desire to clear one's name, the giving of a defense for your repentance, that's what it was.

It was the action that accompanied repentance. If our repentance does not bear fruit in our life, we do have to be honest with ourselves and ask us, what does it mean to repent if it does not mean to have a change of our life?

That we'll be imperfect and we will struggle and there will be besetting sins that we battle with. All of these things are true, and I've preached on those at other times and in other places, and I do not want to confuse anyone again with thinking that you were saved by what you do.

Please don't leave this place thinking that. But our repentance is not mere words. That's what I'm saying. Repentance is not mere words. And we see that with David. David couldn't give it back, could he?

David could not restore Uriah's life, neither could he restore his wife. David had committed murder and adultery. So David takes it before the Lord and says, before you and you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.

And I love the thinking of Uriah going, what about me? But Uriah, as an image-bearer of God, when we strike an image-bearer of God, who have we really struck? God Himself. And so David says, against you I have sinned.

He hated his sin and he feared God. One of the marks of repentance. Lastly, we talked about Peter. Peter denied Jesus three times. The man who said, I will never, even if they leave, I will never leave.

Even if they go away, I will never go away. Just a few hours later, I don't know the man. Willing to curse and say, I don't know the man. And Jesus so sweetly comes to Peter and says, do you love me more than these?

Remember when they were on the beach together and they're having breakfast together? Peter had jumped off the boats and come to Jesus and they're sitting there. And Jesus says, do you love me more than these?

And Peter says, yes, you know I love you.

Do you love me?

Yes, you know I love you.

Do you love me?

And it says, and Peter wept at the third question, knowing that he had denied Jesus three times and had then been restored by having been called to repentance three times. Do you love me? Yes, Lord, you know all things.

You know what I've done. And I love you. Well, today, after that somewhat lengthy introduction, we are now going to look at three more case studies. And these case studies will take us into a different realm, a realm which I almost shudder to go into because I don't really like this side of it.

I loved last week. I want you to know I felt great when I ended last week because we ended on the love of God in Christ to a man who was truly repentant. And we knew at that moment we were leaving on the heels of restoration.

What a joy. Well, today we're going to look at three people who were not restored. Three people who Scripture and history tell us were not genuinely repented. One from the Old Testament, one from the book of Acts, and one from Jesus' own band of twelve.

Esau and the Difference Between Repentance and Lost Blessing

The first one is Esau. Now, Esau's story is contained for us back in the book of Genesis. But the passage I want us to examine is actually in the book of Hebrews. So if you have your Bible, I want to encourage you to turn over to Hebrews 12 and look at this passage with me.

In Hebrews 12, verse 15, and we're going to read down to verse 17, the writer of Hebrews is talking about those who fail to obtain the grace of God. And he chooses, as his example, the person of Esau.

Now, again, if you are perhaps young in your faith or maybe you just don't remember the stories of the Old Testament, Esau was the brother of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham. Remember, Abraham had Isaac and Isaac had Jacob and Esau.

And the Bible tells us that before Jacob and Esau were born, God had prophesied that the older will serve the younger, which means that even though Esau was the older brother, he would not receive the birthright, which was the blessing of the firstborn.

But that that firstborn blessing would actually go to Jacob. And later, Esau tried to get that blessing because Isaac wanted to give it to him. But Jacob fooled his father and received the blessing in his place by dressing in his clothes and putting hair on his arms because he was a hairy man.

Remember the story?

Well, the writer of Hebrews gives us a divine interpretation of this. It says in verse 15, See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled, that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.

For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. Now, I want to say from the outset that this particular passage is apt to misunderstanding.

The first way that most people misunderstand this passage is they think that somehow Esau wanted to repent of his sins and be right with God and God held him back. I want to tell you right away, that is not how you understand this passage.

But also, I want to say this, that has never happened in the history of the world. There has never been a person who genuinely wanted to repent of their sins, who God held them back. Now, I understand you all realize we are reformed in this church, meaning we hold to a Calvinistic understanding of salvation.

And people say, oh, well, what Calvinism is, is everybody wants to get saved, but God only chooses a few. That is not what Calvinism says. Calvinism says nobody wants to get saved, nobody wants to come to a knowledge of the truth, because the Bible says there is none who fears God, there is none who seeks after God, that all have turned aside, all have gone their own way, there is none who fears God.

But God opens the heart and draws the person in. The only person who genuinely wants to repent, the only person who genuinely wants to come to Christ, is the person whose heart has been changed by Almighty God.

That is what we believe. So, what does it mean, then, when it says, Esau, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. Well, the word that is in question here is the pronoun, it.

And if you remember from grammar school, when you were learning how language works, you will remember that a pronoun has to have an antecedent. I understand today pronouns are a big deal of conversation, and we don't want to get into that conversation right now, but there used to be rules for grammar, and a single person couldn't be a they-them, because there was a rule.

If it was a plural pronoun, it had to have an antecedent that was plural. If it was a singular pronoun, it had to have an antecedent that was singular. You guys understand how that works? The antecedent is the noun which is connected to the pronoun.

Now, Greek is a little different than English, in that Greek has what are known as genders, interestingly enough. And the genders tie the pronouns to the preceding noun. So you have a masculine gender, and if a masculine pronoun is connected to a masculine noun, then you know those two are connected.

Or if it's a neuter noun and a neuter pronoun, you'll know they're connected. Or if it's a feminine and a feminine pronoun, you'll know that it's connected in that way. And it's not always about men and women.

It's more in line with just how the grammar works, how the words work. Like, for instance, the Holy Spirit, the word pneuma, is a feminine word in the Greek. But always, always, always, the Holy Spirit is given a masculine pronoun, he.

So it's interesting that even though the word pneuma is feminine, because the word is, the Holy Spirit is he. Well, in this case, the it has two possible nouns that could be connected to it. The first noun is the word repent, and the second is the word blessing.

So reading it again, For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. Is it pointing to repentance, or is it pointing to the blessing?

I am convinced, based upon grammar and upon the fact that I've read Genesis, that it's talking about the blessing, because the blessing is the thing he wanted. It was the blessing that he wept over after he did not receive it.

He was not repenting of his sins before God. He was weeping over the fact that he had lost the blessing he believed he deserved. Understand the point? So it is worldly grief, because he has lost a worldly blessing, a worldly benefit.

It is not godly grief that is leading him to repentance. It is worldly grief that is leading him to remorse. That's the distinction, and this is a picture of the difference between godly grief, which leads to repentance, and worldly grief that leads to death.

So Esau is a picture then of worldly grief or remorse, not godly grief. So that's number one. Now, number two is the story of Simon from Acts chapter 8. This is not Simon Peter. There are many Simons in the Bible.

In fact, the name Simon is very, very common. There was even more than one Simon in the group of Jesus' followers. There was Simon Peter, and there was also the one called Simon Zelotes or Simon the Zealot.

Simon is a very common name. Well, in the book of Acts chapter 8, go to verse 9 if you're going to read along, because we are going to read a lengthy section here, because I want to make sure you remember this story.

In Acts chapter 8, Philip has gone into Samaria, and he has preached the gospel, and he has come upon this man named Simon. And so the story goes, beginning at verse 9. But there was a man named Simon who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great.

Just stop right there. This is why sometimes in your Bible it will have the heading Simon the Magician, or you might hear me or one of the other elders when we're talking about Acts. And just to mention, just in case you don't know, our academy is about to begin a new class on Acts.

Bert and Andy and Mike and I are meeting today to finalize the plans for that class. Bert, do you call him Simon the Magician? Or what do you call him, Simon the Sorcerer? Sorcerer, yeah, okay. Brother Mike, how do you normally?

Simon Magus, okay, yeah, there you go. So this term comes up because of the name that's used of him in Scripture. This is a man who has had some ability to convince people that he has great power, that he has great ability.

It says in verse 10, They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the power of God that is called great. And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.

But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Even Simon himself believed. And after being baptized, he continued with Philip.

And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed. Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.

For he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Now, I don't want to belabor this point, but it is interesting. In the early church, there was a distinction at times between the receiving of the Holy Spirit and the believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and being baptized.

Whereas today we would say that when you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you're filled with the Holy Spirit. That's the moment that takes place. You're regenerated and filled with the Holy Spirit. But there was, in the early church, this distinction of time that separated between those who were believing and then filled with the Holy Spirit.

So it's just an interesting distinction that we see. Verse 17, Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.

But Peter said to him, May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money. You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.

Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiving you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.

And Simon answered, Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me. Now, that last line sounds like repentance. But here's what we know. We have what's known as internal and external evidence.

And the internal evidence we've just read. Internal evidence is what does the text say. External evidence is what does history say along with the text. What is outside the text that we can look to. Internally, we have a man who the text says he believed.

But let me ask you this. Can a person... I'll make sure this question comes out right. Can a person believe in Jesus and not be saved?

Do this.

Yeah, intellectually. And I'm getting there. But can a person believe in Jesus and not be saved? The answer is yes.

Here's why.

In James chapter 2, he says, You believe that God is one. You do right. For even the demons believe and shudder. Simply intellectually believing the truth about Jesus does not save. And this is not...

I'm not denying that we are justified by faith alone. What I am denying is that faith is limited to only intellectual assent. And the reformers denied that. The champion of sola fide was Martin Luther.

In fact, it was he who included in his translation of the Bible where it says the just shall live by faith. He included alone. Which I think is a proper way to understand it. But it was an inclusion because he wanted to point to the fact that justification is by faith alone.

But clearly Luther would say that justifying faith is never alone. But it's always accompanied by the marks of faith. It is accompanied by those things which demonstrate the faith to be true. As I said, I have a debate coming up in a month on this very subject.

Because the man I'm debating believes that intellectual assent is saving faith. And I don't. And I believe that all throughout the Bible we can see this to be true. Even the very parable of Jesus where he told about the soils say that this is true.

Because what do the soils tell us? He says the sower went out and sowed his seed. And the seed fell among the pathway. And that was taken away. The seed fell among the rocky soil. And that sprung up for a time.

But it did not live because it had no root. And others fell among the weeds and it was choked out. Which one was the saving faith? It was the one that fell in the good soil and it bore fruit. So what do you call the people whose seed falls in the rocky ground and it springs forth for a time?

For all intents and purposes they look like believers. And on the outside they would look like any other believer. But 1 John 2 tells us they went out from us for they were not of us. For had they been of us they would have remained with us.

But they went out from us to demonstrate that they were not of us. Saving faith not only produces fruit. Saving faith produces perseverance. Because it's the work of the Holy Spirit within you to persevere.

The Bible says work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works within you both to will and to do His good pleasure. So having said all that I come back to the story of Simon and I ask the question.

It says Simon believed but does that mean he was saved? Well let's ask Peter the answer to that question. Go to what Peter says when he asked for the power to lay hands on and give the Holy Spirit. He asked to be able to pay for that verse 20.

But Peter said to him may your silver perish with you because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money. You have neither part nor lot in this matter for your heart is not right before God.

That's the answer. Was Simon's heart right before God? No. It says he believed but does that mean he was a believer? No. That sounds like a contradiction but it's not. You understand what I'm saying. Your heart is not right before God.

And you want to know what the external evidence says? According to the writings of the early church fathers and these men are not perfect and these men are not beyond question. The early church fathers just like any of the men that came after them could be wrong.

But they were much closer to the incident than we are. And writing about the life of Simon. Justin Martyr and Irenaeus insist that not only did he become opposed to the gospel. But he also went on to lead in the Gnostic movement.

Which was a false Christian movement in the 1st and 2nd century. So Simon's story ends tragically. In fact his very name became the name by which a very specific sin is named in the church. Have you ever heard the term simony?

Do you know what simony is? Simony is the attempt to purchase a place in the church with money. And it is a legitimate problem. Particularly in the history of the church. Where people wanted to rise to special positions within the church.

And so they would offer the church money. Brother did we charge you to become a deacon? I'm still waiting on your check. You understand that's what simony would be. If you came to me Gary and you said I want to be a deacon.

And I'm willing to bypass all that testing and waiting. I'll just throw a little money your way and the church takes the money. That's simony. And it's named after him. Simon faced Simon.

Peter.

Peter called him to repentance. He said pray for me that the bad things you said won't happen to me. That's what he said. He didn't pray a prayer of repentance. He prayed a prayer of remorse. He said pray that the bad things that you have said will not happen to me.

And I will tell you my beloved friends and beloved members of this church. That is not the same as praying for repentance over sin. God don't let the bad things happen to me is not repentance.

That's remorse.

Judas, Betrayal, and Worldly Grief That Leads to Death

Third and finally is probably the saddest story of these three. And that is the story of Judas himself. Now Judas even the very name is synonymous with traitor. We need really not tell his story because it is known so well.

He betrayed the Lord of glory with a kiss. But if you do turn to Matthew 27 we'll at least see his end. In Matthew 27 verse 3. By the way just about every time the name Judas comes up in scripture. It's always accompanied by the phrase the betrayer.

The one who betrayed him whatever. It's almost and by the way you may not ever notice this. If you ever read about Bathsheba. She's always called the wife of Uriah. Like that sin never quite went away.

Same thing with Judas. He was called the betrayer. And it says in this text. It says then when Judas his betrayer saw that Jesus was condemned. He changed his mind and brought back the 30 pieces of silver.