 2 Corinthians chapter 7, we'll begin reading together at verse 1. I'll read to verse 10, we'll get into our study. 2 Corinthians chapter 7, beginning at verse 1, reading to verse 10. Apostle Paul writes, Therefore having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Open your heart to us. We have wronged no one. We have corrupted no one. We have cheated no one. I do not say this to condemn, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together, to live together. Great is my boldness of speech toward you. Great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts. Inside were fears. Nevertheless, God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you. When he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more. For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it. For I perceived that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. Now I rejoice not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted, but the sorrow of the world produces death. Now as we look at chapter 7, let's review a few of the things that led up to what Paul is about to say. Remember that in verse 16 of chapter 6, Paul had just commanded the church not to enter into what we would refer to today, as compromising agreements. And he was saying, do not enter into these agreements, these compromising agreements, because you belong exclusively to God. He had said in verse 16 that we are the temple of the living God. In other words, God's true dwelling place is within us. God's true dwelling place is not temples made by human hands. Now Paul made that very clear. When he was preaching in the great city of Athens, it's recorded in Acts chapter 17. And in Acts chapter 17, Paul was speaking to what we refer to now as Athenian intellectuals. And when you look at Acts 17, Luke who was used by the Lord to write the book of Acts, Luke said that the Athenians had been given completely over to idolatry. And so the apostle Paul was in the city of Athens. He was awaiting some traveling companions. And as he waited, his heart was completely stirred within him. Luke tells us because of the place being filled with idolatry. And it caused him to want to proclaim the gospel. And he began to preach and he began to speak concerning Jesus Christ and the resurrection. Now when these Athenian intellectuals began to hear him speak, they were confused at what he was saying. Because when they heard him speak of Jesus, they also heard him speak of resurrection. Now when they heard the name Jesus, they associated that with some man. But when they heard the word resurrection in the Greek, Anastasia, they began to think that he was speaking of God's. And that Anastasia resurrection was a goddess of some sort. And so they were confused. And so they said, let's hear what this babbler has to say. And they took him to a place called Mars Hill. And they wanted him to explain more fully the things that he was preaching and all. And so as Paul was beginning to speak to them, it's found in Acts chapter 17, verse 24, Paul said, the God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. So Paul from the beginning made it clear when he's preaching to Gentiles, God does not live in temples made by human hands. What God has chosen to do is make, if you will, his own temple. So the temple of God is us, our bodies. The church is God's living temple. And as his living temple, we have been set apart for his habitation. When Paul was writing to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 16, he said, do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the spirit of God dwells in you? To the Ephesians in chapter 2, verses 20 and 21, he said, we are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone in whom all the building, fitly framed together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. And that's what makes us different than people who practice world religions. People who practice world religions are not the temple of the spirit of God. God is not dwelling in the Buddhist because that Buddhist is so religious. He's not dwelling in that Muslim because that Muslim is so religious. He's not dwelling in anybody other than the believer who has received Christ as Lord and Savior. And to many that is such a backwards thing to say because people like to say that all religions are equal and that people are, all people are good. When in fact, all people are not good, all people are evil and that's why God sent his son Jesus Christ to dine across for us. See, we were not born naturally good. We are not good. There's none good. No, not one. The scripture says what happens is the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, righteousness and judgment. When we hear the gospel, we are awakened to the reality of our lost condition. And at that point, an invitation by God himself through the word of God comes to us where he says, open your heart and receive me. And so when you gave your heart to Christ, when you said to Jesus Christ, be merciful to me, I'm a sinner. God forgive me. God come into my life. When you did that, you became, the Bible says, the temple of the spirit of God and the spirit of God dwells in you. You were not a Christian before that. You were not a Christian because you went through certain church rituals. You did not become a Christian or follower of God because you tried hard. You became a Christian when you were convicted by God's Holy Spirit. Conviction of the spirit that awakened you to the fact that you were in need and being in need, you said, God help me. And that's basically what Paul is speaking about because he's saying, don't you understand you are the temple of the spirit of God and that God's spirit dwells in you. And that, by the way, again is what makes us different than religions of the world. God takes up residence in us by his spirit when we're born again. In John in chapter 14 verses 16 and 17, Jesus said, I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever, even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it sees him not. Neither knows him, but you know him for he dwells with you and shall be in you. So when you gave your heart to Christ, you became the temple of the spirit of God. And as his temple, we are set apart for him. And Paul is making that clear because if we've been set apart for God, we do not make alliances that compromise our relationship with him. That's because we've been ransomed and because we've been bought at a price, we don't participate any longer in what has been called the uncleanness of the world. Verses 17 and 18 of chapter 6 made it very clear that we're to live what are called separated lives. And he gave two basic aspects. When you read verse 17, it says, come out from among them and be separate. Sayeth the Lord, do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you. I'll be a father to you. You shall be my sons and daughters. Sayeth the Lord Almighty. So there are two basic aspects here that he reveals to us in verse 17. One, you come out and you're separate. And two, God receives you. But first you come out, you're separated. Separation speaks of being separated from the things of this world. This world, the word world is used very often in Scripture to speak of the satanically energized death system, a system in complete opposition to God hostile to him. And it is it is under the sway of the enemy. It's the world system. And so we're to come out from that system. In Ephesians 5 verses 5 through 8, Paul says it like this. He says of this, you can be sure. No immoral, impure or greedy person, such a man as an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. And then he goes on to say, let no one deceive you with empty words. For because of such things, God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore, do not be partners with them, for you were once darkness, but now you are a light in the Lord, live as children of light. So be separate, come out from amongst them and be separate, sayeth the Lord. And so you come out and then you separate or you're separate unto him. Separation, in other words from the world is to lead to fellowship with God. In Psalm 4 verse 3, the psalmist said, know that the Lord has set apart for himself, him who is Godly. And so you come out of and you come to. You come out of the world and you come to the Lord. And that's what Paul is speaking about. And that's what we were looking at last time we were together as we went through chapter 6. And that's what is leading us now as we're about to enter into our study in chapter 7 verse 1. Because he says in verse 1, therefore having these promises beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God. And so when he says having these promises, well these are the promises that he had just mentioned in verses 16 through 18 where God had promised to dwell in us, to walk amongst us, to be our God, that we would be his people, that he would receive us, that he would be a father to us. These are the promises that he's speaking about. Therefore having these promises, do you want to have those promises? Yes, well therefore having these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh. Because of these promises, we avoid defiling any aspect of our lives with sin. Now that should produce a holiness in our life. And when you're walking according to the things of the Lord by the Spirit of God, it actually reveals that God is your Father and that you're saved. There's this sense of I want to live a pure life. It's like what first John 3 verse 3 says, everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as Christ is pure. So this is what motivates us to live a life that is pure. We conscientiously avoid defiling any aspect of our lives and he says, come on out. He says, and you have these promises and therefore cleanse yourself, cleanse yourself from notice verse 1 chapter 7, from all filthiness of the flesh in spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Cleanse yourself from these things, from the flesh notice and the spirit. He's speaking of flesh and spirit purity. And when he speaks of that, he's speaking about something internal and something external. You see, holiness is separation to God. We dedicate ourselves to God and we do so as an act of faith. And there's a practical aspect of holiness that requires a decision of the will. Just because I got saved, in other words, doesn't make me automatically walk in holiness. I have to actually become a disciplined person. I have to separate myself from certain things. That's what Paul is commanding us right now to do and separate myself to something. I separate myself from the impurities of the flesh and spirit, the internal and external things that are driving me and are finding expression in the behaviors. And I'm drawing closer to the Lord and as I draw closer to the Lord, I'm walking more like him and I'm becoming more holy or separated. Like it says in 1 Peter 1, 15 and 16, just as he who called you is holy. So be holy in all you do for it is written, be holy because I am holy. And so I make a decision. We make a decision, guys. I'm going to separate myself from the flesh. I'm going to separate myself from the things that are impure and I'm going to follow the Lord. Romans 6 verses 12 and 13 makes this statement. Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life. Offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. And that's what you do. You're separating yourself from the world. You're walking with purity. You're cleansing yourself from filthiness of the flesh and spirit and you're walking in holiness. You're maturing in a holy life in the fear or reverence of God. So we progress toward spiritual maturity. We make determinations to do so and we want to live lives that are pure both externally in the things that we do and internally the things that we are. And so that's revealed by speaking of the flesh and the spirit, the external and internal. How does this happen? How can I have a holy life? How can I walk close to the Lord and be separated in that way? Well, it comes by faith and it comes through obedience to the word of God. It's faith and obedience because faith and obedience work together. Faith in the Lord, faith in His word and obedience to those things that He teaches me. And I leave the basic things so that I might walk deeper with Him and mature in my understanding. And I do that in what is called the fear of God. The fear of God is what provides proper motivation. And so as you're speaking concerning these things you have promises. You're to be separate. You're to not touch the things that are unclean but as you come out from amongst those things God receives you, blesses you, calls you as children. These are promises He gives to us. We want those promises so cleanse ourselves. We cleanse ourselves from filthiness of the flesh and spirit and we walk in the fear of the Lord with a life that is demonstrably holy. So as He's saying this He goes on into verse two and He says this open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one. We have corrupted no one. We have cheated no one. For those of you who've been with us and are taking notes you'll remember I mentioned to you that Paul throughout 2 Corinthians answers a variety of charges that have been leveled against him by false teachers. This is the 14th charge that he is going to answer. The 14th charge. And what they're saying is that he has wronged. He has corrupted and he has defrauded the Corinthians. That's the charge. Wronged, corrupted and defrauded them. So he's answering this charge. Now I want you to notice how he does this. Notice verse two again please it says open your hearts to us. Where did we see that recently? Well we saw that in verse 11 of chapter 6 when he had said we've spoken openly to you. Our heart is wide open. So we saw it there when he was speaking concerning his heart being open and then in verse 13 he had said in return for the same I speak to you as children you also be open. And so it's already spoken concerning the fact that he has opened his heart. He's already asked them to open their hearts and he continues that in verse 2 in chapter 7 when he says open your hearts to us. He's saying this is something I desire from you. In other words you can trust me. I'm asking you to open up your heart because you can trust me. In contrast to the false apostles who are untrustworthy you can trust me. I have not wronged you. I have not corrupted you. I have not defrauded you. When he says this is how I've treated you and that's what he's doing. He's reminding them of how he has treated them in contrast to the accusations that are being lodged against him. Notice how he says we have not wronged. That word wronged means to injure. It can speak of financially taking advantage of someone. We have not wronged you. We haven't injured you. We haven't taken advantage of you. He says we haven't corrupted you. We haven't ruined you. We haven't defiled you. The word corruption carries with it a sensual impurity. We have corrupted. We haven't taken sexual advantage of anyone. We haven't ruined or defiled anyone. And then he says we have defrauded no one. We have not taken unfair advantage for personal enrichment. We haven't taken advantage in that way at all. But these are the things that are being said of him by the false teachers. They're saying that Paul has taken advantage of them and has hurt them. And now as he says this, this shows you something. I want you to see it with me in verse 13. Notice how he says I do not say this to condemn for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. I don't say this because I'm, because I think you're guilty of practicing sin. I'm not saying that you're guilty of believing and listening to their gossip. I don't want to be misunderstood as if I'm condemning you because in fact I'm not. Whenever a minister preaches the word, there are passages in scripture that are taught that can be very difficult because you know that when you go out and teach, you know that somebody is going to take it personally in a way that is not spiritually personal but actually think that you're talking specifically to them and they get offended. They get hurt. They can take it personally. In this ministry that's happened more than once. They take it personally. He's talking about me. And sometimes people get really kind of different about that kind of little odd. I remember a lady who walked up to me after a church service one Sunday and how she had approached me after the service and had said to me, that message really spoke to my son. That was a message that really applied to my son. So next time could you not say the things that you said because he thinks that I told him everything that you just said and he's mad at me. And I said, you know, it's the Holy Spirit who leads us in our teaching and illustrations and cross-references. I said, so how would I know what anybody's doing in the church anyway? How would I know that? And you know, but some people take things personally. They think that you are specifically condemning them. They think you're saying something to them. You guys have discovered that you've experienced that. There are times you've had conversations with somebody and you know they think you're telling them directly something when in fact you're not, you're just talking to them. I had to learn that about myself. I had to learn that sometimes people think I'm speaking to them specifically. In fact, I'm just generalizing, just having a conversation, not even thinking that way at all. Happens all the time when I teach. Happens all the time when I teach. And Paul is saying, listen, I'm not telling you these things to condemn you. I'm not telling you that. I don't want you to think that I think you're guilty of these things in particular. Not all of you. There are some amongst you who are. But I'm not saying these things to be harmful to you or to hurt you. I'm not saying that I believe all of you are guilty of believing the things that have been said about me. I'm not saying that. And I'm concerned for you. And that's why he says in verse three, I don't say this to condemn. What he's actually saying here in a simpler form, if you will, is what he's basically saying here is I don't want to sound like I'm condemning you because in fact, I love you. In fact, I care about you. In fact, I'm telling you the truth because I love you. And I'm forever committed to you. I'm committed to you for the rest of my life. Notice how he puts that. He says, I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. I'm not going anywhere. And I'm not asking you to. I want to be with you. I love you. And I want to go to the end of this journey with you. I'm forever committed to you. Now, the false teachers who have come in, well, they are guilty of all of those things. They are wrong in you. They are corrupting you. And they are defrauding you. But I'm not doing that. A false teacher comes in. They'll take advantage of you. They'll go someplace else and take advantage of those people. And Paul's saying, I'm not doing that. I'm here with you. I'm here to die together, to live together. I'm here to enjoy life to the very end with you. When I was a young pastor, I was 28, 29 years old at the time, right in that area, about 29. I was an assisting pastor in another Calvary Chapel. And the senior pastor and I at that time were speaking to a secretary who worked at the church. We had rented a church building and she was a secretary who worked in the church building. And on a Sunday, she had come to open the doors of the church for us and all. And when this young pastor and I walked in, she began to speak to us. And again, she was older than us. And I, again, was about 29. And so as she was speaking to us, she said something I'll never forget. She said, you guys are young. And we were. And she said, this church that you're ministering in right now is that your stepping stone church. And I asked her, I said, what do you mean that by that? What do you mean? She said, you know what I mean? She came from a denominational background. So she said, you know what I mean? You know how you start out in a small church and then you move to a medium sized church and hopefully you can advance to a bigger church? Is this your opening opportunity? Is this your first church that you're pastoring so that you can move to something greater later on? I'll never forget that conversation with this woman. And I said to her, I'm a Calvary Chapel pastor. I said, Calvary Chapel pastors don't have this attitude. Most of us don't. Don't have an attitude to just come to start something, leave it and go somewhere else. I said, we start the church and we stay with it. And that's a fact. And those of you in this church, you know, you're aware of that too because I've been here 38, 39 years. 39 years now. And though you may want me to go, I'm not. I'm not going. I'm here to live with you and die with you and I'm going to outlive you. So stop praying that I die. No, we're we're here to live with you and to die. That's the way it is. And that's that's talking about commitment. We don't look at people as stepping stones to something greater. We look at them as God's children that God has graced us with the ability to minister to and to love. And that's what Paul was simply saying to them. I don't want to condemn you. I've said before you're in our hearts to die together, to live together. And this is in contrast to the false teachers who come and take advantage of you. You see, the false teachers have accused Paul of being unloving. It's a charge that he several times in 2 Corinthians actually deals with. As I mentioned to you recently, he'll say it again in a moment when he deals with this kind of thing in 2 Corinthians 11 verse 11. He had spoken to them and he had said, why? Because I don't love you. And they didn't went on to say God knows because again, they were saying that he didn't love them. He's saying, oh, God knows how deeply I love you. I'm here to be with you because that's what pastors are. And he's saying, I'm devoted to you. I don't want to condemn you. I don't want to make you sad. He says, you're the ones who make me joyful. Why would I want to break the hearts of those that I get so much joy from? When he was writing to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 8, he said, being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted onto you not the gospel of God only but also our own souls because you were dear to us. You know, a pastor, for those of you who may sense a call to pastoral ministry, a pastor does not take advantage of the sheep. A pastor loves the sheep. A pastor cares for the sheep and a true pastor lays down his life for the sheep. That's what he does. He lives with them and he goes to the very end with them. That's the way true ministry really is. A true pastor doesn't take advantage of them financially. He doesn't take advantage of them to become a great person on their back so he can boast about the amount of people that come to listen to him speak. He doesn't take advantage of them physically. These are the things that they're saying about Paul but Paul didn't do those things. He didn't wrong anybody. He didn't take advantage of anybody. He said, I'm here to live with you and I'm here to die with you because he truly was a minister of the kingdom. And so that's the point he's making in verse 4. He says, great is my boldness of speech toward you. Great is my boasting on your behalf. I'm filled with comfort. I'm exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. You see, I've just spoken frankly. I've spoken openly because I'm confident in you. Now why am I so bold? Well, I'm sure that God is at work in you and that you can receive what I've been saying for indeed, verse 5. When we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest. We were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. Nevertheless, God who comforts the downcast comforted us by the coming of Titus and not only by his coming but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me. So that I rejoiced even more. Now, at this point, if you're taking notes and I'm not going to belabor this, just let you know if you take notes. At this point, Paul is resuming where he left off in an earlier chapter. When we were in chapter 2, I had mentioned to you in verses 12 and 13 that we were going to have like a parenthetic portion of his letter while he's now returning to what he had been saying in chapter 2 verses 12 and 13. And so he's now telling them that he had expected to meet up with Titus while he was in Northwest Turkey in a place called Troas. But his hopes were frustrated when he got to that area because Titus had yet to arrive. Now, Titus had not come and that caused him great unrest. So he speaks of outer conflicts and inner concerns. And these are things that began to weigh him down. There were things going on on the outside and concerns and pressures on the inside because Paul as a minister was filled with antagonistic opposition as well as having to deal with inner pressures. And so Titus finally arrives, he says, and he brought good news. And what is he saying in verse 6? He says the Corinthians are strong. And so Titus comes with good news. There are guys that I've known over the years who seem to like to arrive with bad news. Well, thank God for the guys like Titus who come with good news. As it says in Proverbs 25-25, as cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a far country. And that's what's happening. He came with good news and he says this is what they're feeling about you. Paul, he says they have a zeal for you. They have remained faithful to God and loyal to you. That's what he's saying in verse 7. He says not only by his coming but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more. Paul was concerned that the enemies of him and the message had undermined his relationship with the Corinthians and was concerned that they no longer cared about him and the things he was teaching them and the people had followed after these false teachers. And so when he hears this, it blesses him because Titus arrived to say, no, they have a zeal for you. They've remained faithful to God and they're loyal to you and the news brings him comfort. They loved him. His work isn't in vain. Notice how Titus told Paul of their earnest desire to see him. Notice he speaks of their mourning. Why were they mourning? He speaks of their mourning. Why were they mourning? They were mourning because they had brought grief to his heart and he speaks of zeal. There's zeal on his behalf. They had a zeal for him as their father in the faith and they had a zeal for the message that he brought them. The other day, I'll illustrate it with something that just happened last week, something I read last week. I had mentioned on Facebook that my wife Marie and I come to the church to the grounds on Sunday. I'd mentioned that and I had said it'd be a blessing if some of you might come and just drive by and say hi because I like to see our church. I like to see the people. Come drive by and say hi and we'd love to see you. And so some people very sweetly began to respond and they were writing and they were saying, oh, we look forward to seeing you pastor and it'll be good to see you and we'll come and see you. That's nice. I'm reading that and I think that's kind. It's nice and then somebody who doesn't go to our fellowship but I do know who he is wrote and said, you're not supposed to be making pastor David and Marie into celebrities. They're not celebrities. They would rather you give honor to the law enforcement and all of the people who are caring for those who are going through this time, but they don't want you to be holding them up as celebrities. And so I responded. I said, yes, I am. No, I didn't. I didn't do that. I responded because I understand. He said because he says, I think Pastor David would agree with this and he's right. And I wrote and I said, you're right. I said, we're not celebrities. I said, but there's a difference and I wrote that so that he might understand this but so that others who are being shamed into feeling guilt about loving me and my wife because you can spiritualize things to the degree that you can actually cause people to not love their pastor by saying things like that. It's not hard to do. Oh, you shouldn't love him because he's just a man. Of course, I'm just a man. Of course, whosoever said I'm not so I wrote and I said, you know, you're right. We're not celebrities. But that doesn't mean that we don't love our sheep and it doesn't mean that the sheep shouldn't love us. That's what Paul is saying here. That's what Paul is saying here. He said, Titus came and gave me a report again. Notice what he says in verse 7. He told us of your earnest desire. Your morning and your zeal for me. So that I rejoiced. That's what he's saying. Your earnest desire. You wanted to see me. Your morning because you've brought concern to my heart. Your zeal for me because you love the word I'm giving to you and your dear to me and that concern and that joy reveals his heart towards them. It shows that he's a pastor because he understands that and he loves them. Now, after all of this, I'm only going to touch on this for a moment. He goes on to say in verse 8. For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it for I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry though only for a while. Now I rejoice. Not that you were made sorry but that your sorrow led to repentance for you were made sorry in a godly manner that you might suffer a loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance. Leading to salvation not to be regretted but the sorrow of the world produces death. And so Paul says in verse 8 even if I made you sorry with my letter he's referring to a previous letter and he'd already mentioned this letter in chapter 2 verses 3 and 4 and the letter he's referring to is the letter that dealt with a man who had been in sin with his father's wife. So he's speaking of this letter this letter that he had sent them and what he's saying is the letter had the desire to fact. They had been made sorry he says in a godly manner. Now we're going to look at that what does that mean being made sorry in a godly manner we're going to look at that in detail next time we get together because the verses that follow after this give us greater insight but I chose to stop it for his 10 today so I'll just refer to the fact that we'll look at that in more detail next time we're together. But what he's saying here and I want to touch this in verse 9 and 10 is I rejoice not that you were made sorry but that your sorrow led to repentance for you were made sorry in a godly manner that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. So I rejoice not just in the fact that you were made sorry but that you repented. Now when it says in verse 9 I rejoice that you were made sorry the word sorry in the original language speaks of grief or distress even being hurt. He said so I rejoice not that you were grieved or distressed or hurt I rejoice not that you were made sorry this is what I rejoice in that your sorrow led to repentance. I am blessed that you repented why because godly sorrow produces repentance that leads to salvation. Notice he says in verse 10 godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation not to be regretted but the sorrow of the world produces death. When he speaks of a godly sorrow that word sorrow in verse 10 speaks of pain in the mind a godly sorrow speaks of a painful mind this godly sorrow produces repentance that leads to salvation not to be regretted. This godly sorrow this pain that you had this mental pain if you will led to a change of mind that led to salvation speaks of a change of mind that resulted in salvation and that is not something that you'll ever regret. When you go through times when the conviction of the Holy Spirit and I'll speak to you about this for a minute. When you go through times when the Holy Spirit convicts you there are people today guys who don't want to preach the whole counsel of God and I'll tell you why. Because they don't want people to be hurt. I understand that. Paul has already said that. I don't want to condemn you. I understand that. Any minister understands that. You never go out to hurt people. You should never go out to proclaim a message intending to hurt people to use the Bible as a bludgeon to hurt people and cause them to get in line. We call that beating the sheep and we're not called to do that. We don't go out with the intent to cause people great pain. We don't want to cause them emotional distress. We don't want to give them pain in their mind. We don't want to do that. One of my dear friends that everybody who's familiar with Calvary Chapel Ministries knows him, Raul Reese. I can still remember my friend Raul as he was pacing in the back before he went out to teach muttering under his breath. He didn't want to have to teach what he was going to teach. I don't want to teach what I'm about to teach because he knew that some people would be hurt by what he was going to say. Because sometimes when you go on and you teach the word, you know it's like a sword. It's a surgeon's scalpel. It'll cut to the heart. You know that. And you know that. There are many times and when I as a pastor, I've been doing this a long time. I can tell you this that I'll be looking at the passage and I know that this is a passage that can cut. I know it. I know it. This is a passage that if it's not handled properly, it can come off like I'm condemning people in a self-righteous way. And I know that. Anybody who teaches the word knows that anytime. You're given the whole counsel of God. There are blessings and there are buffeting. There are blessings that come out where you say, oh, you're going to be blessed by the Lord. But there are also buffeting where a heart is exposed and conviction occurs and it can cause this pain in the heart. And that's what he's saying. He's saying, I didn't teach you this. I didn't come with the attitude to cause pain. I don't want to bring sorrow to you, but a godly sorrow. Well, it produces a repentance that leads to salvation. And so you have to be willing to give the whole counsel of God knowing that the fruit will be people's people being saved. And that's what I do. I've had people say in the past more than once they'll say, you have a boldness about you. And that's not true. It's not that I have a boldness. It's that the word of God is bold. And what I have is a desire to honor it. So boldness comes from a desire to speak what God says. Not because you've got some natural propensity towards speaking with firmness because the word of God guys when it goes out because the word of God guys when it goes out, it comes first through your heart. You have to be convicted by what you're bringing to other people or yourself righteous. You have to first look into the word yourself and the word needs to first look at you before you go out and speak it to somebody else. You don't go out with a self righteous attitude. You're supposed to go out with a humble attitude. And when he's speaking here and sharing, he's making it very clear that Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation. And isn't that what we want? Yes. We want people to come to faith in Christ. We want people to know Jesus Christ. And even if it's difficult when they hear it and even difficult when it's being spoken, the fruit is something that is wonderful because it produces a repentance when received by faith that leads to salvation and being saved is not something you should ever regret. But he contrasts that with the sorrow of the world. The sorrow of the world, he says in verse 10 produces death. So he's contrasting two attitudes towards correction. Human regret. You have human regret, remorse if you will, shame. So you have human regret being contrasted with biblical repentance. Never confuse regret or remorse with biblical repentance. Never confuse the two. They're not the same thing. You see, regret is a general sense of sorrow. And often people regret things because they got caught when they did wrong. It's not that they're repenting. There are a lot of people who just simply regret. They feel bad. I wish I wouldn't have done that. I'm sure every person in this room who's old enough could say, there are things I've done. I wish I never would have done. I regret that. I regret hurting that person. I regret saying that thing. I regret whatever. It's a regret. It's a sorrow that you have. It's a general sense that you have a pain that you did something. You regret doing it. But that isn't the same as repentance. Listen, when you look at Judas, he's a good example of somebody who regretted what he had done. Judas regretted that he had betrayed Christ. In Matthew chapter 27, verses three through five, it says when Judas who had betrayed him saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the 30 silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. I've sinned. He said, I've betrayed innocent blood. They said, what is that to us? That's your responsibility. And Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. Now, when you look at verse 10, notice again, Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted. The sorrow of the world produces death. What did it produce in the life of Judas suicide? Anxiety of heart and depression. Remorse and sorrow. Something he couldn't get past and he ended up killing himself. The fruit of simple regret very often is death because it doesn't lead to Christ and to forgiveness and no sense of forgiveness of sin, no joy, no sense of restoration to right favor with God. None of that is the fruit of regretting. Judas felt regret and the result was he went on and hanged himself and killed himself. Now, repentance is a change of mind. It's a change of mind or a purpose. It's a reversal. It's a reformation. It's a Greek word, metanoia, and it speaks of turning away, a turning away from sin. It's a total changing of the mind and disposition in regard to sin. And when you look at repentance in scripture, you'll see that there are elements to genuine repentance. One, you have an intellectual element because in true repentance there's a change of view regarding yourself. Sin is recognized for being sin. It's no longer excused as a mistake and error. It's an awareness that I have done wrong. It's like Psalm 51 verses 3 and 4 where the Psalmist said, I know my transgressions. My sin is always before me against you. You only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight so that you are approved right when you speak and justified when you judge. I'm aware of this. My sin is before me. I have sinned against you. It's got an intellectual portion to it. Secondly, it can include a true emotion, a genuine sorrow that can occur over sin. In Luke 18 verse 13, it speaks of a tax collector who stood at a distance. He wouldn't even look up to heaven. He beat his breast and he said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner so it can have a genuine sorrow of heart over sin. But then there's the volitional, their inward turning of your heart toward God. See, you can have a view that, well, I shouldn't have done that and I feel bad about that. But genuine repentance leads to a transformed life because you turn to God and you receive forgiveness and a new life is given to you through the power of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit is convicting you, it includes fact that you will confess your sin and you'll say, God, be merciful to me. It's a confession, an agreement with God. And if I confess my sin, he's faithful and just to forgive me my sin and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. So I confess, God, I have sinned against you and then there's the forsaking of that sin. Because see, sometimes people, oh, I hate the way that I am, but they go right back to doing it again. Oh, I hate the things that I do. Oh, I wish I wouldn't have hurt you. And then they go right back to doing it again. They're not repenting. They're regretting. They're feeling bad. They got caught or they feel guilt. No, true repentance is a changing. It's a turning away from sin. It's a confession of it as sin. In Proverbs 28 verse 13, he who conceals his sins doesn't prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. And so you confess your sin and you forsake your sin and then you turn to God. Isaiah 55 verse 7 says, Let the wicked forsake his way. The evil man, his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord and he will have mercy on him and to our God for he will freely pardon. That's how you got saved, right? That's how I got saved. I can still remember and I won't bore you with a lot of details and memories, but I can say this that just before I got saved, I can tell you this that I got to the point where I actually hated the way I was. I really did. I got sick of the way I was. I got sick of the way I was. And there's an old saying we used to say. I used to get, I was sick of being sick. That's what happened to me. Lord, I can't stand this anymore. I do not like what I am. No more excuses. No more. I just simply agreed with God. I can't do this anymore. By the way, that's an ongoing thing in repentance, true repentance. You know, I get saved then one day I have a girlfriend. I end up marrying that girlfriend and I can be a creep in our marriage and I start hating being what I am and how I've spoken or how I've done and that's how I changed. John is interviewing Marie and me for our Fridays that we do. My wife Marie and me are Friday. We have a Friday program where we answer marriage related questions and it's been a blessing because she's learning so much. Now it's such a blessing. That was a joke. They're all laughing. But anyway, there you go. John asks questions of us and I'm trying to be real and honest and I can say that after all of these years of being with my girl, I can say my life has changed to be really much different than I was when we first got married by far, by far. I've learned what love means. I've learned what tenderness is. I've learned what listening means. I've learned much of that. I didn't know those things when we first got married. I didn't learn those things and nobody does when you first get married. You know some things but you learn those things through marriage. I learned what it means to live with somebody who's unlike me, to listen to somebody who has opinions different than mine who has ways that are not the same as mine. I learned that in marriage and then you have your children and you relearn those things because every child has his own personality, their own way of thinking, their own way of doing and you keep learning, you keep learning and as you keep learning those things, you see things about yourself that you don't like and when you see the things that you don't like, you don't make excuse for them anymore. You don't say, well, that's just the way I am. That's how I'm wired. I don't do that anymore. I take it to Jesus and I say, I hate this. I want to be loving. I want to be kind. I want to be caring. I want to be like you and no, I haven't done anything recently. I'm just being real with you right now. I just want to be a good man and I don't want to be what I was and I don't want to return to the way I thought. I don't want that. I hate those things. I want to be new in Christ and you can be and you are because Jesus made you new but that's how it works. No excuses. You know, you can't. Judas, I have betrayed innocent blood. He had remorse but no repentance. The Apostle Peter, he betrayed Christ too, didn't he? He said three times, I do not know the man three times, three times and yet he was broken because what he did led to repentance and it broke his heart and Jesus had to restore him and bring him back and reconciled him and sent him off to learn lessons that he learned through his brokenness because he had failed. Judas killed himself. The sorrow of the world brings death but godly sorrow brings salvation and repentance and that's what we're speaking about here. Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation not to be regretted but the sorrow of the world produces death. The result of true repentance is joy. It's restoration. In Psalm 51, 7 through 9 cleanse me with hisip I'll be clean. Wash me. I'll be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness. Let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins. Blot out all my iniquity. You see the result of rejecting mercy leads to death. It can lead to a mental anguish like Judas's which led in him killing himself led to him killing himself. It can lead you to that and it also results in eternal death. So instead of just feeling bad and regretting, we repent. God be merciful to me. I'm a sinner. I turn for my wicked ways and I turn to you. Wash me and cleanse me with the blood of Christ. Fill me with your presence in your Holy Spirit. Transform my life. Make me like you. Cause me to know joy. Oh Lord, write my name in your book of life and thank you because your word teaches us that you do such a thing. And when you have a godly sense of repentance, there's the joy that results because God God does forgive you and God does transform you. We all need to keep that in mind every day. Father, I ask that you would work in us and that Lord we would live lives that bring pleasure to you and honor to you. For this Lord we're grateful. And Lord in Jesus name I lift up all of us who are listening to this right now to the many who are watching this program right now this Bible teaching. There are some in the listening congregation right now Lord we need to get right with you. May your Holy Spirit speak to them right now and even as our eyes are closed and our heads are bound. If you're watching right now the Holy Spirit is speaking to you. You got you regret things but you haven't repented. Well it's time for you to turn away from the sin. To have a change of mind. Metanoia a change of mind that leads to a change of direction. You need to have a change of mind and how to be right with God the way you're right with God is through Jesus Christ by saying God be merciful to me I'm a sinner. Jesus died on a cross to save sinners like me. Forgive me, wash me, cleanse me and make me new. And if you have a desire for that you can receive that now right where you're at. You're watching TV right now. You're watching your computer right now. And you can in the quiet of your own heart you can say God be merciful to me. I want to be born again. I turn for my sin. I turn to you. I don't want to just regret. I repent Lord. And if you have a heart for that I would invite you to come to faith in Christ right now to pray with me. And if you desire to get right with him and to pray and give your heart to Christ and in your heart why don't you repeat with me these words. Father, I know that I'm a sinner. Jesus died on the cross to save sinners. Jesus died to save me. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me. Give me a new life. I will follow you every day from this day forward in Jesus name. Amen. And if you prayed that just now with faith please contact us. Let us know so we can connect with you and encourage you. Please just contact Calvary Chapel of the Chino Valley and let us minister to you. And I'd welcome you into God's family. And then finally let's close by saying Father in Jesus name. I pray that you continue to move amongst us to work within us and Lord we will follow you. And Lord again I ask that you would make it possible for us to once again assemble as churches to worship you that this plague would be ended and that your church Lord will once again be able to be that light even as we are right now but even more so as we gather for worship in the word so that we can be used by you to reach this world. Lord we ask these things in Jesus name. Amen.