Transcript

Repentance Without Regret - Part One

2 Corinthians 7:8-16
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Pastor Randy Smith

This sermon, composed in two parts and spread out over two weeks will deal with one of the most important aspects of the Christian life. It's a necessary component that will identify every true child of God. Without it, Jesus Himself said we will perish (Lk. 13:3, 5). The necessity for this particular action was stressed in the first words that were uttered from our Lord's lips when He first began His public ministry (Mt. 4:17). Without it we have no salvation. With it we have peace and fellowship with God. It is indispensable for the Christian life, and today's passage which I just read deals with it possibly better than any other section of Scripture. The word is repentance.

We'll examine this more in a moment, but we need to begin by establishing the context to better understand our verses from 2 Corinthians 7. Understanding Paul's correspondence with the Corinthian church is imperative to make any sense of the verses before us.

He planted the church in AD 51 on his second missionary journey. He lived among the people for 18 months in an effort to see the church established (Ac. 18:11). He wrote them two corrective letters; one of them (the second one) is preserved in our Bibles called 1 Corinthians.

After hearing of false teachers who infiltrated the church causing a mutiny, Paul made an emergency visit from Ephesus to remedy the situation. The visit was horrible as some falsely accused Paul to his face and others did nothing to stand by his side. He leaves totally dejected promising never to come back to them in sorrow again (2 Corinthians 2:1).

With the church about to implode, his converts being pulled away from Christ, and being unwelcomed himself, Paul decided to write a letter to the church, a third overall letter. We call it the severe or tearful letter. He spoke of it in 2 Corinthians (which was really his fourth letter to the church). 2 Corinthians 2:3-4, "This is the very thing I wrote you, so that when I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice; having confidence in you all that my joy would be the joy of you all. For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you." He also speaks of this letter in 2 Corinthians 7:8, "For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it - for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while." The letter is sent to the Corinthian church with Titus.

Paul was an emotional wreck as he waited to see how the church would respond. Not able to take it any longer, he departed toward Corinth to a town called Troas hoping to rendezvous with Titus who was now returning from Corinth. 2 Corinthians 2:12-13, "Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord, I had no rest for my spirit, not finding Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I went on to Macedonia." This becomes one of the lowest points in Paul's life. Is Titus okay? Did the church respond favorably to the letter or did the letter push them further away? As he said, there is no Titus in Troas so Paul leaves Troas and moves on to Macedonia on his way to Corinth still hoping to intersect with Titus.

2 Corinthians 7:5 from last week, "For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within." But just when Paul reached his deepest despair, Titus arrives and Paul gives God all the glory. Verse 6, "But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus." One burden has been lifted. Titus is fine! "And? What about the church, Titus, how did the church respond to my letter?" Verse 7, "And not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more."

The church repented! They reaffirmed their love for Paul. They disciplined the divisive critic. They again embraced the true Gospel. Paul is doubly rejoicing, "rejoiced even more" (2 Cor. 7:7) in God's goodness!

So what Paul is doing now is addressing the majority of the church that was now right with him and right with God. And this discussion directly to them will span from chapter 7 through chapter 9. Others are still on the fence. Others are still disruptive (chapters 10-13). But this group has repented. So in this section of Scripture we will see characteristics of people who truly love the Lord. First we'll look at Paul's love (in three parts) today and then we'll look at the church's love (in three parts) next Sunday.

1. PASSION FOR THE LORD AS SEEN IN PAUL (verses 8, 12-16)

Paul's passion for the Lord. First we see a willingness by Paul to say the right thing.

A willingness to say the right thing (verse 8)

We have all been there before, have we not? A broken relationship with someone else. Adding to the situation is the professing Christian's sin against the Lord. And the more their sin persists, the more they pull away from the Lord. And the more they pull away from the Lord, the more they pull away from the relationships they have with you and other believers. We know the strain in our hearts. "If I say anything I'll probably receive a scathing response." "If I say anything I'll only push him further away from me." But, "If I do not say anything our relationship might be over." "If I don't say anything this person might drift further into spiritual danger." What do I do?

It's effortless just to watch believers self-destruct spiritually and do nothing about it. It's effortless to do nothing and watch a relationship with others that took years to develop just vanish in a matter of days. Few enjoy confronting others or the often hostile responses from hard hearts we often receive in return, but confronting others with the right spirit is the evidence of our love and according to Scripture must not be neglected. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend" (Pr. 27:6). This was Paul's predicament with the church in Corinth.

In verse 8 of chapter 7 he said, "For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it - for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while."

Paul didn't enjoy writing this letter. He said he wrote to them "out of much affliction and anguish of heart…with many tears" (2 Cor. 2:4). No doubt Paul was grieved over the potential backlash from the church. "He's judging us." "What, is Paul without sin?" "Is he trying to pull rank on us?" "His letters are mighty, but he's unimpressive in person." "Why does this guy keep badgering us?" But it appears that his primary pain was not for his own ego, but rather the emotional state of the church when they read his strong and confrontational rebuke. He knew that even in the best case scenario - a completely repentant heart from the church - would not come until they first realized their sinful ways which would then bring by necessity a sorrowful heart, an indispensable response before true repentance is achieved. The goal was good, but the road to get there through his tough words and their broken hearts was a painful one for Paul to endure.

Are you tracking with me on this one? Do you love other believers in the church? Do you realize that sin is a destructive cancer in our spiritual lives? Do you see the loving need to go after other believers if they fall into unrepentant sin? Do you then approach these folks with gentleness, humility, patience and blameless in that area in your own life? Most of you probably just checked off all those boxes. But the box we are eliminating is the one Paul just expressed to us right here in verse 8. Do you leave the confrontation broken that although their sorrow over their sin is good, you are heartbroken that you were the tool God used to make them sorrowful? I think many of us, unlike Paul, might skip that step.

Confronting other believers in unrepentant sin is an obligation for all Christians (Mt. 18, Gal. 6, Jas. 5, many Proverbs), but it is not a mechanical obligation that should be approached in an impersonal matter. You are dealing with a living soul. Their heart is being held in your hands. You are a fellow sinner yourself. It's not about winning a duel. It's about bringing a person back to fellowship with the Lord, back to a place of safety. Like Paul, we don't regret the outcome of repentance and their restoration with the Lord, (that's our goal!), but we do regret the momentary period of the pain we inflicted as we share Scriptures, expose sin and call to repentance.

Any parent who has rightly disciplined their own child should know what I am talking about. Even though we know it's the right thing to do, how often do we agree with the saying, "This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you."

A willingness to desire the right thing (verse 12)

So Paul had a willingness to do the right thing. He also had a willingness to desire the right thing.

Look with me as we skip down to verse 12. "So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the offender nor for the sake of the one offended, but that your earnestness on our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God."

Here Paul expresses his motives, his desires for writing that severe letter.

First he makes it clear that he did not primarily write because of "the offender." This was the ring leader that was responsible for the vicious attack against Paul when he made his emergency visit to the church. We know from chapter 2 that the church eventually disciplined him, but Paul's primary reason for writing was not to simply get the church to even the score so to speak on his behalf.

You see, anytime we are wounded by another person, regardless of their motives, there is a tremendous temptation to settle the account and get the person back for the wrong they inflicted. We might give them the silent treatment or speak negatively behind their backs or destroy their property or even lash out in anger or sarcasm to their face. You see, if we are not careful, personal wounds have a tremendous ability for us to protect our pride and retaliate. When we are walking in the flesh, this will be our only response. "I don't care about the relationship." "I don't care if I pull others into it." "I don't even care if I pull down a whole church in the process." "You hurt me and I am going to do everything in my power to hurt you back - that's my ultimate mission." We might not put it in those words, but those words I believe best capture the true motives of our heart.

Paul wanted to make it clear to his readers that this was not his goal in writing. Paul's primary motive in writing was not that the church would go out and stick it to the offender to satisfy his blood-thirsty quest for revenge and personal vindication. "You better get him!"

Paul also says in verse 12 that his goal in writing was not for "the one offended." That would be himself !

He wasn't like Saul (Israel's first king) when he publicly sinned against the Lord and then was rebuked by the prophet Samuel. His primary concern was his reputation before the people. He begged Samuel, "Please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and go back with me" (1 Samuel 15:30). It's like the people who refused to confess Jesus in the presence of others because "they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God" (John 12:43).

We've seen Paul's tremendous love for this church. 2:4, "That you might know the love which I have especially for you." 6:11, "Our heart is open wide to you." 7:2, "Make room for us in your hearts." 11:11, "Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!" 12:15, "If I love you more, am I to be loved less?"

Love demands a response and indeed Paul no doubt wanted this church to affirm their love for him, but that also was not his primary concern in writing. Paul wasn't trying to coddle support for his wounded emotions. Paul wasn't an insecure man who needed consistent reaffirmation of his greatness in order to make his way through life. He didn't need to use others to fill a low self-esteem. The letter was not ultimately about Paul, and here he made it clear that his purpose in writing was not to put himself in any way at the center of everything as people so often do.

Rather, his motives were driven by the glory of God. Supremely he cared to see this church right with him because in doing so they would be right with the true Gospel that he preached, the only one that saves through Christ alone, faith alone and grace alone. And when they are right with the true Gospel that saves, they would then be right with God. Or as he says at the end of verse 12, "But that your earnestness on our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God." In a nutshell, he wanted them to know who they really were in the sight of God. Remember 5:17, the new creations in Christ?

This is neat. Let's remember that Paul was writing right now to the repentant majority. These were the loyal and faithful members of the church. These are the ones that showed spiritual fruit of righteousness that they were true believers in the past. These are the people he addressed in his first letter as "sanctified in Christ Jesus" and "saints by calling" (1 Cor. 1:2). Paul had seen an earnestness in them as he says in verse 12. Yet it went away when they were deceived by the false teachers . But now by the grace of God, the Lord used Paul's severe letter to bring them back to Himself. The earnestness had returned. They were blinded for a season by deception. Yet they repented because the letter was able to peel back those layers of deceit and once again reveal who they really were as Christians. He wanted them to see this!

That was Paul's ultimate goal in writing. That in the sight of God for the glory of God this derailed church would once again get back on track where they needed to be with their Savior, the Savior that always forgives and gives a new start. Paul's confidence all along was not in the church, but in God, the Good Shepherd who will keep His true people close to Himself (Jn. 10) and faithfully finish the work He began in them (Phil. 1:6). In the end, Paul's confidence is confirmed.

So Paul's ultimate desire in writing was not himself, either indulging him with butterfly kisses or enacting the firing squad toward his enemy, but rather it was the spiritual state of the church all for the glory of God.

A willingness to feel the right thing (verses 13-16)

So we see in Paul a willingness to say the right thing, desire the right thing and now, feel the right thing.

Our responses to particular situations are often a good indicator of our desires. What makes us happy? What makes us sad? What do we think about throughout the day? What are we looking forward to? Where do we invest our money? Where do we invest our time? It's easy to say we love the Lord, but answering these questions will really determine if He's really first place in our lives.

Let's take a brief look at Paul's desires in verses 13-16.

Verse 13, "For this reason we have been comforted." The "this reason" looks back to the church's repentance spelled out in verse 12. So I ask myself, does the repentance of others, seeing people estranged from the Lord and now brought back to Him in joyful obedience really comfort my heart like it did Paul?

Let's move on. Continuing verses 13, "And besides our comfort, we rejoiced even much more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all." So I ask myself, do I really rejoice in the spiritual joy of other believers?

Let's move on. Verse 14, "For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I was not put to shame; but as we spoke all things to you in truth, so also our boasting before Titus proved to be the truth." It appears Titus was hesitant to deliver this letter to the church in Corinth. It was a stern letter to a hostile church. You've heard of shooting the messenger! I can imagine Titus, "That letter to that church? No way, Paul!" But Paul assured Titus, going on faith in God alone, that this would be profitable undertaking for his dear friend and younger missionary companion. So I ask myself, do I have the confidence in other believers whereby I will stake my reputation on their faithfulness to come through because I truly believe God is in them and working through them?

Let's move on. Verses 15 and 16, "His [Titus'] affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. I rejoice that in everything I have confidence in you." The church responded rightly to Paul's letter. They repented and in the whole process they did not hang Paul's messenger. They received Titus with fear and trembling. That is a sign of a truly repentant heart, evidence that one does not take sin lightly. All of this brought Paul more joy. So I ask myself, do I approach sin with "fear and trembling?" Do I rejoice when both myself and others make a clean break with sin?

We looked primarily at Paul's heart this week. In his love for them, he confronted the church in the right way and responded in the right way in repentance.

Next week, if the Lord permits, we will look at the church's heart. We will see how God worked within them to bring about true repentance and the fruits that give evidence of true repentance. You are not going to want to miss part two!