True Repentance

6 · Uses Mary Queen of Scots' legendary statement about having 'Calais' inscribed on her heart to illustrate the concept of having someone or something so central to one's affections that it defines the heart itself

Every Scottish schoolboy knows, or at least in the good old days used to know, that Mary, Queen of Scots, who loved France, indeed loved France and things French more than she loved Scotland and things Scottish, once said that when she died, if they opened up her heart, they would find inscribed on her heart the single word, 'Calais.' It was an expression of her total devotion to France and to the French.

7 · Applies the Mary Queen of Scots illustration to Paul's relationship with the Corinthians, asserting that despite their mistreatment of him, the Corinthian church was inscribed on Paul's heart—they were 'in' his heart, not merely 'on' it

Surprisingly, perhaps, as we have read through 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul would have been able to say something rather similar. When I die and you open up my heart, one of the things you'll find written on my heart will be the words, 'The Corinthian church.' And he says this, doesn't he, here in verse 3? You are in our hearts. We might say to one another, 'You're on my heart.' He says, 'You're not just on my heart, but you're in my heart.' in our hearts to die together and to live together. And this to a group of people who, at least in some instances, had given the Apostle Paul an absolutely miserable time.

8 · Develops the nature of Paul's devotion by identifying it as maternal rather than merely paternal—an unconditional, unbreakable love comparable to a mother's promise never to give up on her child regardless of behavior

And we've spent these weeks in the earlier half of 2 Corinthians noticing how miserable they'd made his life, how burdened he was for them, how anxious he was about their spiritual condition. Condition. And yet in the middle of all that, we discover in this passage he was absolutely devoted to them. Often Paul describes himself as a spiritual father to his congregations. And he uses father-like language. But sometimes he employs mother-like language. And this really is spiritual mother language. He had been the the one who had brought many of them to spiritual birth. And he was absolutely devoted. Did your mother ever say to you— I don't know what fears my mother had about me, but she said to me on numerous occasions, 'No matter what you do, no matter where you go, no matter how disastrously wrong Life turns out no matter what you do. I am your mother. I will never give up loving you.' And the same was true of the Apostle Paul.

9 · Establishes that Paul's devotion extended to boasting about the Corinthians despite their failures, then draws an applicatory principle about church fellowship—chronic complaining about one's church contradicts the New Testament spirit modeled by Paul

He was so vigorously devoted to the Corinthians. And perhaps even more surprising, he wasn't slow to boast about them. Now that's fascinating, isn't it? Because Paul had every reason simply to complain about them. And that gives us a little clue to spiritual growth in our fellowship together. Watch the person who never does anything but complain about the church to which he or she belongs, and you can be absolutely sure that is not the New Testament spirit. Because here is the Apostle Paul, and he is in anguish about the situation and the lifestyle of some of these Corinthians. And yet when he sent Titus, his friend, his colleague Titus, to them to try and sort out some of the mess, he had actually boasted to Titus about them.

10 · Reconstructs the emotional dynamics of Paul's relationship with Titus, showing Paul's relief that his boasting about the Corinthians proved true and that Titus's visit produced even greater transformation

He had said, 'God has done a great work among them. God has given them marvelous gifts. There are so many things about the Corinthians that I love to death.' Mind you, when he writes this second letter, he is obviously a little relieved that when Titus has come back, he has come back with a smiling face Paul, you were right. God has done amazing things among the Corinthians. And he's done even more amazing things during my visit there. And so Paul is like a mother as Titus returns with good news about his spiritual sons and daughters.

11 · Exposits verse 8, reconstructing Paul's internal emotional struggle—his maternal anxiety about whether he should have sent the painful letter, his temporary regret, and his ultimate confidence that the grief produced repentance

And the reason he's so relieved is, of course, as he says here, because he had sent them a letter that he was fairly sure would grieve them. Do you notice how he speaks about that? Verse 8: 'Even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it.' And you see how like a mother he was. 'Though I did regret it,' he says. 'Though I did regret it.' There he is. He's trying to get to sleep, and he's burdened for the Corinthians, and he's thinking to himself, 'Should I have sent that letter or should I not? What's their response going to be?' Oh, perhaps there was a moment when he said, 'Oh, I wish I'd never sent that letter.' But now that he sees that the pain that letter has caused has borne its own gracious fruit, it's been the Lord's pruning knife, In Corinth he says, 'I do not regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you for a while into true repentance.'

12 · Pivots from the narrative of Paul's emotional journey to the theological heart of the passage—the distinction between godly and worldly grief that was Paul's deepest concern for the Corinthians

Into what he calls, you notice in verse 9, a godly grief that produced repentance. And that brings him really to bring out the deepest anxiety of his heart about the Corinthians.

13 · Sets up the sermon's central pastoral question by reconstructing Paul's anxiety—not whether the Corinthians would feel sorrow, but what kind of sorrow they would experience and where that sorrow would lead them

He had sent them a letter, rather a strongly worded letter, obviously, that he knew was going to be sore when they received it, when it was read out in the congregation. It may even have mentioned specific people by name, as some of Paul's other letters do. And he knew that it was going to be tremendously sore. And so he was concerned about their response because he knew that they would feel sorrow when they read that letter. The question in Paul's mind was this. The question was, will they experience what he calls a worldly sorrow that leads to death? Or will they experience a godly sorrow that leads to repentance and life?

14 · Exposits verse 10 to establish the theological stakes—godly grief leads to salvation without regret while worldly grief leads to death—and universalizes this as the heart of all genuine pastoral ministry

And you notice he refers to that here in verse 10. Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces only death. So this lies at the very heart of Paul's concern. In fact, it lies at the very heart of all real pastoral concern.

15 · Frames the pastoral and theological problem for the congregation by acknowledging universal recognition of sin and sorrow while establishing that spiritual discernment distinguishes between two fundamentally different kinds of sorrow with opposite eternal outcomes

We are all sinful. We have been confessing that sin. We have been singing about that sin. We all recognize sin. And we all recognize that we need to be sorry for our sin. It is one of the things you teach your children. If you have young children, But Paul is saying when we have real spiritual discernment, we understand that there are actually two different kinds of sorrow. There is a sorrow that can lead to spiritual death. And there is a sorrow that can lead to spiritual life. There is a worldly sorrow and there is a godly sorrow. What does he mean? By this.

16 · Defines worldly grief by cataloging the Corinthians' actual sins and identifying worldly sorrow as shame focused on damaged reputation and social embarrassment rather than on the broken relationship with God

What does he mean when he speaks about this worldly grief or sorrow that leads to death? Well, it is fairly obvious. In the Corinthian situation, there had been sin of different kinds. There had been sexual sin and sexual scandal in the church. There had been personal alienation in the church. There had been pride in the church. There had been cliques and groups in the church. And he knew that when he pointed this out, there would be shame and embarrassment for what had been done. There would be a feeling of damaged reputation. But what Paul was really interested in, concerned about was When we feel that shame, when we understand that we have sinned, what's our basic response to that?

17 · Makes the theological claim that worldly sorrow can lead to hell despite genuine regret because it remains focused on temporal embarrassment rather than broken relationship with God, using Psalm 51 as a cross-reference showing David's God-centered understanding of sin

And one of his fears was that if there was not a real work of grace being done among the Corinthians, their response would actually be the response of people of this world. We are ashamed of what we have done in this world. We are deeply sorry we have done it and even more deeply sorry that having done it we were found out. We are ashamed of the embarrassment it has caused to our society or our political party or whatever. But Paul is saying that actually at the end of the day is the sorrow of this world, worldly sorrow. And its end actually is death. It's as though he's saying this staggering thing. It's possible to be sorry about the wrong things you do and that sorrow to lead you to hell, to death. Why? Because it's purely about this world. It's purely about the embarrassment that I've caused in this world. And now I wish I'd never done it and I don't know why I did it. But I haven't come, as Paul is concerned here, to the very root of the issue. And that is the nature of my relationship with the God against whom I have sinned. Isn't that one of the striking things about the 51st Psalm that we were singing earlier on in the service that has puzzled many people? When David says after his complicity in the murder of Uriah, his adultery with Bathsheba that preceded it, the whole cover-up operation that he had done, the damage he had done to his reputation, to other families, to Bathsheba, He says, 'O, against You and You only have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight.' You see the difference? The difference between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow is that worldly sorrow has only worldly concerns. Whereas godly sorrow understands that what I need first and foremost is forgiveness and pardon from God and a right relationship with God and restored fellowship with God because it is possible for me really to be sorry for what I have done., and for that sorrow to lead to death.

18 · Provides Esau as a biblical example from Hebrews 12 of worldly sorrow—profound regret for foolish action that nevertheless remained disconnected from relationship with God

And there are several, several illustrations of that in the Bible, very famous illustrations. Remember how Hebrews 12 says that was true of Esau. He was profoundly sorry for the foolish thing he had done, says Hebrews 12. But it was not in relationship to the Lord.

19 · Provides Judas Iscariot as an even more dramatic biblical example—Matthew uses actual repentance vocabulary for Judas's response, yet his sorrow led to suicide and hell because it remained self-focused rather than God-focused, literally illustrating that worldly sorrow produces death

An even more striking case is found at the end of Matthew's Gospel. When describing the response of Judas Iscariot to what he has done, Matthew actually uses one of the big Bible words for repentance in Matthew 27:3. When Judas realized what he had done, we are told that he was sorry about it. And that sorrow sent him to hell rather than to heaven. Why? Because it wasn't sorrow in relationship to the Lord. It was only sorrow in relationship to what he had done and how stupid he had been and how embarrassing the whole thing was. And it led him to death. He's a literal illustration of this principle. There is a worldly sorrow that leads to death. Because it never brings forgiveness and pardon and joy and restoration and reconciliation and transformation.

20 · Returns to Paul's situation with the Corinthians to show that his relief came from seeing that they moved beyond mere social repair to genuine God-centered repentance producing transformation, which occasions celebration between Paul and Titus

And so one of the things Paul was concerned about was that the Corinthians might be embarrassed about the scandal might do a cover-up job, might repair some of the relationships, but never get right with God through Christ. And he is so relieved. He's praising God. He's dancing around the room with Titus. They're hugging one another because God has done a work among the Corinthians that has gone way beyond the worldly grief leads to death and has produced a godly grief that leads to repentance towards God and then the marvel of a forgiven and restored and remade life.

21 · Introduces the seven telltale marks of godly grief from verse 11 and frames them as Titus's eyewitness report to Paul, setting up the exposition of what these seven characteristics reveal about true repentance

And it comes out, you will notice, in the telltale signs of this godly grief. Notice the way Paul describes it here. In verse 11, for example: See what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, and what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment. He actually mentions 7 different things that have emerged among the Corinthians. He sat Titus down. Tell me all about it, Titus. And Titus said: Paul, you should have seen their sense of indignation. You would have seen their eagerness to clear themselves. Their eagerness to live a wholly new life. Their zeal. Their longing. What is he talking about?

22 · Begins systematizing the seven marks into three dimensions of godly grief, identifying the first dimension as taking sin seriously before God rather than merely being embarrassed about social or ecclesiastical consequences

Well, very simply put, he is saying that when we experience godly grief that leads to repentance and to the joys of everlasting life, that always has three dimensions. Dimension number one is this: that we take our sin seriously before God. That we hold up our hands before God and we say, 'God, I am a sinner. Be merciful to me.' And he'd seen that. It looks as though his fear was that all the Corinthians would be concerned about was the social or ecclesiastical embarrassment of the whole situation. That they'd fallen out with Paul and that they had things happening in their church that shouldn't happen in churches. But do. But do. And you see, they had come to God with it. They had become blood earnest about the reality of their own sins. And they had been grieved by their sins. They had been earnest about their sins. And that godly, God-centered grief had been produced.

23 · Identifies the second dimension of godly grief as producing lifestyle transformation—not denial of Paul's accusations but a longing to live so differently that those accusations would never again be true

And then it had this other dimension. The godly grief produces a restoration to God, and it also produces a transformation in our lifestyle. He says they were eager to clear themselves. What does that mean? Does that mean we're not as bad as you say we were? No, it means this. All that Paul has said about us is true. And now we long to live in such a gloriously different way that it will never be true about us again. By God's grace, we will be different men and women here in the church at Corinth.

24 · Identifies the third dimension of godly grief as restoration of relationships, noting that Paul applies to the Corinthians' relationship with him the same language Scripture typically reserves for relationship with the Lord, showing that vertical reconciliation with God produces horizontal reconciliation with others

And then there was this other dimension. Because it seemed to break down their alienation with the Apostle Paul himself. Curiously, you notice, when Paul speaks in verse 11 about their longing and about their zeal, now those are words that ordinarily the Bible uses about our relationship to the Lord. But actually, they are used here about the Corinthians' relationship to Paul. And he uses them elsewhere in the passage. 'Your longing for me, your zeal for me.' What's he saying? He is saying one of the great marks of true repentance that's produced by a godly grief is that now that my relationship to the Lord has been restored, I want every single relationship in my life to be restored to what it ought to be, including my relationships within the life of the body of Jesus Christ. And he had begun to see that.

25 · Addresses the common failure of selective reconciliation (with God and people we like but no further) and introduces Luther's first thesis to establish that true repentance is not a past event but an ongoing posture defining the entire Christian life

I suppose one of the things he feared, and I guess we all feel it and fear it about ourselves, would be that our repentance would go so far. Great to be reconciled to God and great to be reconciled to the people of God that we like. But not much further. And the glorious thing that he has come to see was that in Corinth the work of grace was going further and relationships were being restored because this grief, this repentance had got down into the very roots of these Corinthian Christians. Had gloriously transformed them. Almost all of us in this room have heard of Martin Luther's 95 Theses. 95 propositions that Luther, according to the tradition, nailed to the door of the church in Wittenberg, written in Latin to be debated by scholars, and they they marvelously caused what we called the Protestant Reformation. I wonder if you know what the very first of those theses was that transformed Europe. It was when our Lord Jesus Christ said, 'Repent,' He meant that the whole of the Christian life should be repentance. You ever heard anybody say, 'Yes, I'm a Christian. I repented 20 years ago'? That's not repentance. That might be sorrow. That might be regret over a mistake. That might be bowled along in the emotion of the moment. But a repentance that took place 20 years ago that hasn't been an ongoing repentance through those 20 years is actually not the godly sorrow that leads to life of which Martin Luther and the Apostle Paul and the Lord Jesus were speaking.

26 · Defines biblical repentance as fundamentally different from momentary emotion—it is a sorrow for sin that brings the person to grace and produces lifelong transformation and devotion to Christ

Repentance in the Bible is not the raw emotion of a moment. It is the sorrow for sin that brings us to grace, that transforms the whole of our lives and turns us round, devoted for the whole of our lives to live for the Lord Jesus Christ. And all this had marvelously appeared and flourished among the Corinthians.

27 · Pivots from theological definition to narrative illustration by introducing Zacchaeus as the exemplary New Testament case of what genuine repentance looks like in action

I suppose the great New Testament illustration of this is Zacchaeus, isn't it?

28 · Narrates Zacchaeus's encounter with Jesus to illustrate that genuine repentance produces radical restitution, establishing the crucial order—grace precedes transformation, not the reverse, as Jesus enters the mess and then produces change

People elbowing him out of the way as he wanted to see Jesus, as Jesus had become an attraction of grace to him. 'Get out of the way, you little man, tax collector. Go with the sinners.' And when Jesus calls him, in grace. Jesus produces in him, notice, not a worldly sorrow that led to death, but a godly sorrow that led to life. And so when salvation comes to his house, what does he do? He gives back everything he has stolen with substantial interest to the needy. That is repentance. Now notice the order. We do not change our lives in order to clean ourselves up for Jesus. Jesus says, 'Zacchaeus, I am coming to your house no matter what a mess you left it in. But when I arrive in your house, That mess will not remain much longer. And the man was gloriously transformed and changed because he discovered, as the psalmist says, that there was forgiveness with the Lord that he might be feared.

29 · Applies the sermon's central distinction directly to the congregation through a series of diagnostic questions about the nature of their sorrow, demonstrating that worldly concerns about human relationships can coexist with the pathway to death

Are you sorry for your sins? But in what way are you sorry for your sins? I'm sorry because I let people down. I'm sorry because I was found out. I'm sorry because somebody might still find out who doesn't know what my life has been like. I'm sorry because I caused embarrassment to my colleagues. I caused embarrassment to my church. I caused embarrassment and shame to my family. My dear friends, I can feel all that and still be on the pathway that leads to death.

30 · Provides the positive counterpart to the previous unit—models what godly sorrow sounds like in direct address to Christ, emphasizing Christ's finished work and the comprehensive transformation it produces, and highlights Paul's promise that this path leads to a life without regret

But when I say, 'Lord Jesus, I have sinned against heaven and in Your sight, and I am not worthy to be called one of Yours. But You have died for me on the cross and risen again to be my Lord and Master, and I hold on to You.' I give You everything I have. Come, clean me, change me, transform me. Radically transform my love for You and my relationships with others. Then that's the godly grief that leads to repentance, that leads to life. And do you notice what Paul says about that in verse 10? He says, 'You will never, ever, ever, ever regret it.' Isn't that great? He pains us to bless us. He grieves us to transform us. He speaks to us. And bids us to come.

31 · Poses the final diagnostic question as a binary choice, then provides Peter as the closing illustration of godly repentance—bitter weeping that led to restoration and lifelong fruitfulness because it was rooted in Christ's intercessory prayer and promise

Well, is my sorrow for my failure leading me to death? Jesus, I was so foolish to betray you. Or is my sorrow from my sin, leading me to life. Jesus looked on Simon Peter, and Peter remembered the word of the Lord: Peter, I have prayed for you. And when you are turned round, strengthen your brothers. And Peter went out and wept bitterly for his sin. But it was godly repentance, and the fruits of that grace are with us still.

32 · Provides Peter's denial and restoration as the final biblical illustration, showing that godly grief produces lasting fruit still evident in the present church, contrasting implicitly with Judas's worldly sorrow

Jesus looked on Simon Peter, and Peter remembered the word of the Lord: Peter, I have prayed for you. And when you are turned round, strengthen your brothers. And Peter went out and wept bitterly for his sin. But it was godly repentance, and the fruits of that grace are with us still.

33 · Closing prayer confessing the congregation's need for the same transformation the Corinthians experienced, acknowledging that their grief often remains worldly, and requesting that God's Word produce godly grief leading to reconciliation with God and one another

Heavenly Father, how we need this deep work of Your grace of which Your Word speaks. How we see, Lord, in our lives, in our social connections, and sometimes in the churches to which we belong. Such shame brought upon the name of our Lord Jesus. And yet our grief is still worldly. And we need Your Word as the Corinthians needed Your Word right into our hearts that our grief might become godly. And that as we weep for our sins find that way back to God in Jesus Christ, we may be embraced by him and then may embrace one another with great joy that your word has done its glorious work of saving grace. Hear us and help us in this, we pray, as we give ourselves to you. In Jesus' name. Amen.