This morning, I want to shift in our study of the Road of Life from talking about how to present the Gospel to how to respond to it. Sometimes, when you share the Gospel, people glaze over or seem disinterested. But many times, the Lord does a work in their hearts as you share. Regardless of how you feel the conversation is going, it is always good to ask, “Hearing all this, do you believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and would you like to receive salvation through him?” If they say yes to that, what comes next? To answer that, I want to continue our series by looking at five ways that we respond to the Gospel. We will consider those ways over the next five sermons.
We start at the beginning, with the change of mind and heart that we call repentance. To understand what repentance is, let’s study 2 Cor. 7:8-11. From this text, see three points: Repentance is Caused by God, Repentance is Continual, and Repentance is Challenging.
First, from verses 8-10, see that repentance is caused by God. 2 Corinthians is called that because it is the second or even third letter that Paul wrote to the church at Corinth. Most of the first letter he wrote to them (1 Corinthians) is a litany of rebukes of their sins. They were divided, prideful, and boastful of sin. It appears that the church received Paul’s letter with sorrow, because as we see in verse 8, they were grieved by his first letter and wrote back to him in remorse. Paul says that the grief they expressed over his rebuke made him rejoice, not because he grieved them, but because he knew that their grief would lead to repentance. Then, in verse 10, he makes a statement that I want to focus on: “For godly grief produces repentance that leads to salvation… whereas worldly grief produces death.” This statement makes three contrasts that I want to point out. First, there is a difference in godly grief over sin and worldly grief. So, there are two ways that we can respond to sin. We can grieve in a godly way, or a worldly way. Or, you might say, we can be sorrowful for our sin, or we can be repentant of our sin. Sorrow over sin looks like the alcoholic who comes face to face with the consequences of his addiction when he comes home to find his wife packing to leave him. In that moment, even if he is drunk, he might fall on his knees and beg her to stay. He might say that he will never touch another drop. He might even run through the house and find all of the whiskey and pour it in the sink to prove it. But, why is he doing it? Is he doing all of that because he has changed his mind and heart about his desire for alcohol, or is he doing it because he grieves the consequences of his sin? Most of the time, it’s the latter. He doesn’t really think that his desire is the problem, he just hates that it has brought his life to this point. Godly grief is different. Godly grief recognizes that our desires and our sins are the problem. The problem is not in the world around us and its failure to accept us for who we are. The problem is with us.
Second, there is a difference in the causes of godly grief and worldly grief. Worldly grief is caused by the consequences of our sins. We got caught and will face punishment or loss because of it, and so we grieve our loss. Godly grief is caused by God. It is grief that comes from a change of heart brought by God’s grace. Romans 2:4 says, “God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.” Christians today have a hard time with this. We tend to look at someone living a homosexual lifestyle or chasing after the next high and think, “Well, they really need to stop doing that and get their life right.” But they can’t. They are enslaved to sin. They are blinded by Satan. Their desires are set against the things of God. You will not change them by telling them, “stop that!” Only God can change them through godly grief for their sins.
Third, there is a difference in the consequences of godly grief and worldly grief. Worldly grief (just being sorry for the effects of your sin) will only lead to death. It will not change you. It will not produce righteousness in you. But, godly grief produces repentance that leads to salvation. So, here is our first response to the Gospel. We should repent because repentance leads to salvation. So, what is repentance? Again, Christians often speak of repentance in the wrong way. We often say you should repent of your sins, explaining that you should turn from your sins and stop doing them. But, that is not what repentance means. Repentance comes from the Greek word, metanoia. “Meta” means “beyond” or “above”, and “noia” means “to think”. In other words, repentance means to think differently about something. Repentance is not first a change of action towards sin, but a change of mind about who you are and who God is. Repentance is a turning away from the worship of self and desire, and a turning to the worship of God. As we read in Psalm 51:1-3, it is an admission that our sins are against God, that they are evil in his sight, and that we are worthy of the judgment that he makes on us.
It’s important to recognize, too, the connection that Paul draws between repentance and salvation. According to what he says in verse 10, there is no salvation without repentance. This is confirmed everywhere in the NT. In Acts 2:38, after Peter preached his first sermon, the people who heard it asked, “What must we do to be saved?” Peter responded first with “Repent.” Understand that, though we can only come to Jesus as we are, we do not remain what we are. We must come to him admitting that we are broken, sinful people and allow him to change us.
Next, see that repentance is continual. Paul goes on, in verse 11, to commend the Corinthians for their zeal in repentance. He admires that their grief was earnest, eager, indignant towards sin, fearful of judgment, and zealous for change. All of these words give a sense of continual fervor in repentance. Repentance is a lifelong commitment, not just a one-time decision. We do not repent at the evangelistic rally and then go back to our old mindset of sinfulness. No, we continue to hate sin and desire the things of God. Repentance is a lifelong commitment to bear the cross of Christ. As Jesus said in Luke 9:23, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Martin Luther had a helpful way of putting it: “All of the Christian life is one of repentance.”
Finally, repentance is challenging. As I said earlier, repentance is not a one-time decision. We don’t say, “I’m done with sin”, and then we are never tempted again. Repentance is something we wrestle with. In Rom. 7, Paul admitted his own struggles with sin,” For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” The NT is full of calls to put off sin, to continually repent and confess. Col. 3:5 says, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you…” Heb. 12:1 says, “Let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely…”. 1 John 2:1 says, “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” As John Owens famously said, “Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.” We are to put sin to death by the power of the Spirit. It is a daily work we are called to as we walk with Christ.
As a pastor, I often counsel people struggling with their salvation. I’m often asked how a person can know that he or she is saved. More times than not, this question comes up because the person is struggling with a temptation. They have a sin that they keep going back to, and they believe, because they can’t shake that temptation, that God will not forgive them. So, whenever I am asked that, I like to ask, “Do you hate your sin?” Usually, the person will say, “Oh yes I do.” With that, I will answer, “Well, there is evidence of your salvation right there.” If God has not changed your heart, you would not hate your sin. But, you must decide every day to repent. You must decide that your hatred of sin is greater than your desire for it. And, you must rest in the power of God to overcome that temptation.
So, how do we do that? How do we rest in the power of God to repent? I’ll give a more in-depth answer in the coming weeks, but one practical way that we can live in repentance is to follow the example of the Lord’s Prayer. First, we should confess our sins daily. That involves both confessing that we are a sinner, in general terms, but then also confessing specific sins. Confession is the act of agreeing with God about our sins. Second, we should ask God to keep us from temptation. Now, we can certainly do that during our daily prayer time, but I’ve found this prayer to be most effective when we are in the moment of temptation. When you are tempted to buy that fifth of vodka or go to that certain website or offer that flirtation at the office or share the little bit of gossip you heard, pray, “Lord, keep me from temptation.” I promise, the Lord will give you the strength to resist if you will pray.
This morning, I want to ask you, do you have worldly grief for your sins, or do you have godly grief. Are you sorry for the way your sin has messed your life up, or do you truly hate your sin because God hates it? Won’t you turn to Christ in repentance and follow him?
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