A Godly Sorrow - Part 2

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. When you think about the things that you've done wrong or you're not really proud of, are you sorry that you got caught?

Are you sorry that you made someone else upset or that it ruined this situation? Or are you sorry that you offended a holy God? That's godly sorrow. That's what brings true repentance. Just trying to patch things up with people, that could be the sorrow of the world, where you're just sorry that your actions made a mess that now I have to deal with it.

It's creating problems for you. Well, we're going to talk about that in a moment. But David's repentance was real. The church at Corinth, their repentance was real. They were not just made sorry, they were made sorry in a godly manner.

So have you ever been made sorry? With all that said, have you ever been made sorry in a godly manner? Well, if you're saved, you have because that brought about your salvation. You recognize what this is all about.

And you know that some people will do this. You know, they repent or they appear sorry and maybe a superficial kind of a way. Maybe they have a, quote, come to Jesus moment. And this helps to show people that, hey, I'm serious.

You know, I'm really trying to clean up my life. I remember there was a sports superstar years ago. He he got busted. He got busted big time. And it was it was top news. I mean, that's going to be embarrassing.

Whether this guy was guilty or not, that has to be difficult. Well, he got busted with some bad behavior. I think there were charges of sexual assault that were brought against him. Certainly there were claims.

It looked pretty bad. But within a very short period of time, he was back on the playing field. And some of you might know what I'm talking about. Every time the camera went on him, you know, he was doing he was on his knees praying like this.

Every time the camera was on him, that's what you saw. It was like, see, look, he's serious. He's doing the whole religion thing. He really means it. Now, listen, whether that was genuine repentance or not, I don't know.

It's not my place to judge that. I just remember that there was great skepticism about it. Whatever the case, the Lord knows. I hope that was true repentance. It could have been. But the point is, I know we all know that sometimes people do that and they're not sincere.

It's not genuine. You know, it's one thing to change your behavior, even if you do it under the banner of religion or giving credit to a higher power. You think of Alcoholics Anonymous. A lot of people have been helped.

A lot of people have changed their lives. A lot of great work, you could say, has been done. To get off heroin is a good thing. To turn away from a life of crime is a good thing that's going to benefit you.

Repairing broken relationships is just wise. But we should never make the mistake of thinking that that is necessarily one and the same with true biblical repentance before God. True repentance and saving faith is when you are sorry that you have sinned against your creator.

And we've all done it, right? This isn't me laying a guilt trip on you. You already know this. We're all in the same boat in that regard. Just some people have recognized it and repented and some have not.

So this is the sorrow that Paul is talking about in 2 Corinthians 7. Being made sorry in a godly manner. So if you are saved, that means you have experienced genuine repentance. So here's the statement.

Are you listening? Say amen if you're listening. Okay. Repentance is part of the gospel. Did you know that? Repentance is part of the gospel. You say, well, that's obvious. Well, it's not obvious to a lot of people.

One pastor I know that traveled to Eastern Europe, he said, over there it's different. Here in the United States we talk about people getting saved. So and so put their faith in Jesus Christ. He said over there they don't talk like that.

They say he repented. That's another way of saying he got saved. He placed his faith in Christ. He repented. Well, it's true because we're talking about the same thing. We're talking about the same thing.

I would say that repentance and faith are opposite sides of the same coin, but they're not really opposites. So here's the classic illustration for repentance and reconciliation. You know, you think of sinful man standing with his back to God, right?

And then you think of God because man has sinned and God has his back towards the sinner. But in Christ, God turns around and faces man. And now it's up to man to repent, to change his mind and to turn from sin, which is what they were looking.

They were into and following and turned toward Christ. And now they're face to face. That is reconciliation. That is what God has done in Christ. But it requires repentance. It requires a turning from sin and a turning to Christ.

Repentance and Faith in the Gospel

All right. So to prove this point, turn to Acts chapter 20 to prove this point that repentance is part of the gospel, that repentance and faith go hand in hand. Because if you don't get that right, it's going to lead to all sorts of problems.

We'll talk about a few of those problems as well. Acts chapter 20. Who's writing the book of Acts? Luke. OK, so it's Luke who is writing. And he's talking about Paul. Usually we're reading Paul, quoting Paul.

Now it's Luke writing about Paul. Acts chapter 20. Let's start in verse 17. Luke writes from Miletus, he that is Paul, sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. And when they had come in, he said to them, you know, from the first day that I came to Asia.

In what manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials, which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews. How I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews and also to Greeks.

Repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. He preached both. It's part of the same gospel message. So in preaching the gospel, Paul taught repentance and faith.

The two go together. Now turn to Hebrews chapter six. Hebrews six. And Paul says, I kept back nothing. I proclaimed and taught repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. So again, let me say it again.

Repentance is part of the gospel. When repentance is left out. This is often a sign of what is called many names for it. Obviously.

Easy.

Believe is a license.

Cheap.

Grace. Heard these terms. There's a popular book, probably the most popular book of this generation that Christians.

I don't know.

Is it 15, 20 years ago? Christians were eating this book up. You know what the book said? You know what the pastor said in the book? Repeat these words after me. Say this simple prayer. Repeat these words.

And you're a Christian now.

Congratulations.

Okay.

You didn't say today.

I added that part.

But no, he said, repeat after me. Congratulations.

You're a Christian.

Very popular book. I'm not saying there isn't anything true in it or that it didn't help people. I don't know. But it was critiqued by another pastor. You could probably guess who that other pastor was.

Some of you.

He pointed out a glare. What should have been a glaring error in the book. Glaring problem. You know what the problem was? Guess what? Wasn't mentioned at all.

Repentance.

No repentance. Just believe this concept. And it will make your life better. Christianity is a lot more than that. But how can you leave repentance out of the gospel? Well, you can't. Because it's an elementary part of the gospel.

Look at Hebrews 6 verse 1. Therefore, and I believe Paul wrote Hebrews. So if I say, Paul said, just bear with me. You can disagree with that if you want. Hebrews 6 verse 1. Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ.

You know what that means.

Elementary.

He wants to leave that. He says, let us go on to perfection. Not laying again. This is going back to the elementary principles. Not laying again the foundation of what? Repentance. From dead works. And of faith toward God.

So what does that tell you? Repentance. This is an elementary principle. You know, this is what you should learn in spiritual kindergarten. In first or second grade. Like this is so basic. Like how can you not know this?

And if repentance is avoided. You know, and I think it is avoided. Because it's one of those words that just seems a little too preachy.

You know.

Repentance.

I'm serious.

This is left out of many. The modern seeker friendly evangelical movement. Where the thinking is in order to reach people. You shouldn't use words like repentance or, you know, God's wrath or hell. These are words that you don't want to use in order to reach people.

Well, if you never talk or preach about repentance. How are you going to move on to perfection? You can't. If you left out the basics. Now turn back to 2 Corinthians chapter 7. And as you're turning there, I think it's important that I mention.

How like everything else, this concept of repentance. It can be distorted. It can be distorted. We talked about easy believism or cheap grace. As it's sometimes called. That's one distortion. Where repentance is often left out of the conversation altogether.

But then.

And I want you to listen. Don't react. Just listen to what I have to say. But then there are those maybe on the other side. Who say you must repent of all your sins to be saved. You must repent of your sins in order to be saved.

Listen, I don't have a problem with that statement. Depending on what is meant by that. Because hear me say it. You do need to repent of your sin to be saved. You heard me say it right. You do need to repent of your sin.

To be saved. But if someone means by that, that you must stop. You must just stop sinning in order to be saved. My first reaction is. Well, who are all these people that have stopped sinning? Now, on the one hand, there are things that you don't do anymore.

Since you came to Christ, there are things you don't do anymore. There are things I don't do anymore. Are you really going to stand up in front of people and say. I have repented of all my sin. I have just stopped sinning.

You're not going to make that blanket statement. Because you know better. So if somebody means that. They're talking about some sort of perfection. Or something close to it. Then no, we understand that's not the case.

However, if there's no change in your life. You know, if there's not any evidence of any change. And you're still thinking about sin the same way you did before. I guess there was no repentance. Thanks for listening.

I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Cornick Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message. Or if you'd like more information about the ministry. Visit our website. MorrisCornickChurch .com.

We'd love to have you join us. Some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time. May the grace of God be with you.