The Need For Repentance Unto Holiness
Reading: 2 Corinthians 7v1; 9-11
I can remember well when I was a little boy,…that my parents used to measure my growth on the wall in our kitchen.
Every now and then we three children used to line up against the wall,…and our measurement would be taken to see how much we have grown.
It’s a tradition that was continued with my some of nephews when they came down on holiday when they were small.
My parents would measure them against the wall,…mark it with a pencil,…and next year they would see how much they have grown.
I’m sure many of you have done that as well.
“Why did my parents do that?”
Well,…had they not been interested in our growth,…there would have been something wrong.
If we weren’t growing,…they would have been alerted to the fact that something was wrong with us.
So they were very interested in us growing up.
That’s often how we discern if we’re growing or not.
…but tonight I don’t want to focus not on growing up,…but growing down.
No,...I’m not going to talk about growing older!
“Have you noticed as people get older they get smaller?
I’m not going to talk about that!
I want to talk about growing down,…something that every Christian must learn to do.
Now,…this is not a common phenomenon in our culture today.
We often celebrate the fact of growing up physically.
We urge people to grow up emotionally.
We even urge people to grow up spiritually.
We are even commanded to grow up in Ephesians 4v15, “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” (NIV).
God asks us the same thing in 1 Peter 2v2, “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation.” (NLT).
…and if we look at these verse,…talking about growing down does not seem to make any sense.
However,…what I want you to underline in your mind this evening,…is that we grow up in Christ by growing down into humility!
In other words,…we grow mighty by getting smaller!
That’s what I believe John the Baptist said in John 3v30, “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” (NLT).
In other words,…pride blows us up like balloons,…but grace punctures us,…and lets out the hot, proud air of our souls.
That’s the only time we see ourselves as we really are,…less nice,…less able,…less wise,…less good,…less strong,…less steady,…less committed,…less than we ever thought we were!
That’s when we stop kidding ourselves that we are of great importance to the world and
to God.
…and when we are low,…that’s the only times we can be trustful and obedient and dependent and patient and willing to serve God correctly.
That’s when we give up on our own dreams of being admired and doing wonderfully well.
That’s when learn we are not likely to ever appear successful in the eyes of the world’s standards.
That’s when we accept our weaknesses and look to God’s strength to operate in our weaknesses.
This is then what I would call growing downward!
Scottish preacher James Denney once said,…that it is impossible to let people have the impression that you are a great preacher and that Jesus is a great Saviour all at the same time!
In the same way,…it is impossible to let people have the impression that you are a great Christian and that Jesus Christ is a great Master!
That’s why we have to grow downwards to go upwards.
That’s the only way that I can let Christ show to be great in my life that He is indeed great and mighty!
…so the life of holiness is one of downward growth all the time.
In other words,…when Peter writes in 2 Peter 3v18, “Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (NLT),…when Paul writes that we must grow up into Christ,…they mean to say,…that our spiritual progress comes from growing smaller that allows the greatness of Christ’s grace to appear!
This is what they wanted to say that we are nothing and that God in Christ has become everything.
“How do I grow downwards?”
…by consistent repentance!
In other words,…continues repentance always leads to holiness!
In 1571,…Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the Wittenberg Cathedral door.
The first one read like this, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’, he willed that the whole life of believers should be one of repentance”.
Here’s how I can describe what I’m saying.When you drive through the streets of major cities,…you will notice that they all have major drainage pipes next to the roads to easily let flood waters flow away and not damage the roads.
If there are no drainage pipes,…the roads would be damaged and become unserviceable.
In the same way then,…repentance is the drainage system on the highway of holiness on which God calls us all to travel!
Repentance drains away the sin in our lives that threaten to damage our lives.
“Why repentance?”,…because where there is no repentance from sin,…real spiritual growth stops!
…and what I’m talking about is not a once off repentance,…but a daily continues repentance from sin.
I’m also not talking about a kind of repentance that just flows from our lips automatically every morning,…like changing gears in a car takes no thinking about.
Repentance is a very personal thing and every act of repentance will be a separate thing from other sins.
In other words,…you can’t just mumble every morning generally saying, “Lord forgive me my sins”.
You must be specific!
…and by the way,…repenting is never a pleasure!
It is always a pain and it will always continue to be a pain as long as we live!
This is what God teaches us in His school of holiness!
…and repentance means going back on what you did before and renouncing your misbehavior.
It means abandoning the courses of action in which we defy God by embracing what He dislikes and forbids.
It means changing your mind so that your actions in life also changes for good.
Repentance means altering your habits,…your thinking processes,…your attitudes and your behaviour.
In other words,…repentance is a spiritual revolution!
Listen to what it says in 2 Corinthians 7v1; 9-10, “Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God…Now I am glad I sent it [previous letter], not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent [metanoai – a change of mind and life] and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow [lupeo] God wants His people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. For the kind of sorrow [lupe] God wants us to experience leads us away from sin [metanoia] and results in salvation [soteria]. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow [lupe – just regret or remorse], which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.” (NIV).
Its interesting to note,…that the people Paul was writing to were already saved.
“So what could he have meant that Godly repentance leads to salvation?”
“Did these people need to be saved again and again?”…No!
The word Greek word for “salvation” here means more than simply being born again.
When the Bible talks about this salvation,…it speaks of the full sphere of God’s blessing—not only of being born again,…but of being saved from bondage and present pain,…which of course comes through Godly repentance!
In other words,…we need to understand that the key to unlocking the full blessing of salvation is found in repentance!
Contrary to popular belief, repentance is not an emotion,…- it’s an action.
Most people think repentance means feeling bad,…but to repent simply means to change direction—not a quarter turn, but a total about-face.
…and “Godly sorrow leads us away from sin,…which comes through repentance,” God says,…“but worldly sorrow which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.”
Here’s an example of what I’m talking about.
Every month a team from this church goes to the Kirkwood prison to go and minister to those men in jail.
If you get talking to many of them,…obviously not all of them,…many of them will tell you that they regret the crimes they have committed.
They are really sorry that they have committed a crime.
Question is, “Have they repented of their crimes?”
“Have they repented of their sins?”
In other words,…those who are truly sorry for their crimes but have not repented,…have a worldly sorrow.
Those who are sorry and have repented of their sins have come to a Godly sorrow that leads to salvation.
“Do you see the difference?”
So there are two kinds of sorrow,…a worldly sorrow that leads one to be hung up with guilt,…and godly sorrow that leads to repentance.
…and these two types of sorrow can best be illustrated by looking at the stories of two men remarkably similar in many ways—both having left everything to follow Jesus,…both having walked with Him for three years.
After failing on the same exact day, however,…one experienced worldly sorrow that led to spiritual death,…and the other to godly sorrow that led to repentance and salvation and his ultimate restoration by Jesus.
Judas cut a deal with the Temple priests to betray Jesus for 30 pieces if silver.
However,…once he sold Jesus out with a kiss,…sorrow filled his heart—not the godly sorrow that leads to repentance,…but the sorrow of the world that would culminate in his death.
Here’s what it says about Judas in Matthew 27v3, “When Judas, who had betrayed Him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse [regret without repentance].” (NLT).
Now,…Judas didn’t repent,...he regretted everything.
So he took the silver to the temple and tried to return it.
The priests, however, would have nothing to do with it,...and so Judas tossed it to the floor of the temple.
Then, after forcing the priests to deal with the blood money,…he was hung up by guilt, hanged himself on the branch of a tree.
Now watch this: At the same time Judas was betraying Jesus,…Peter was denying Jesus.
In fact,…there’s a remarkable parallel between Judas and Peter.
Both were called devils by Jesus.
Jesus warned both Judas and Peter they would fail.
Both were given opportunity to turn from their sin.
Both repented.
It says in Matthew 27v3 of Judas, “When Judas, who had betrayed Him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse.” (NLT)
It says of Peter in Matthew 26v75, “Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: "Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know Me." And he went away, weeping bitterly.” (NLT).
Yet one man goes down to the bottom of the heap in the history of humanity,…while the other one is elevated to a position of admiration, a pattern for spiritual leadership, an inspiration to you and me.
“What’s the difference?”
Simply this: Judas’ repentance was the sorrow of the world that says, “Look at the mess I’m in.”
Peter, on the other hand repented to the Lord and changed his direction,…and was later fully restored by Jesus into ministry.
…and so true Godly sorrow works repentance!
Repentance means you rip her name out of your address book.
It means you go to the cupboard and throw away those things which you were keeping as a little something to help your next celebration on a special occasion.
It means you turn your back on the magazines or movies, people or activities you know that compromise your walk with God.
Judas went down to his death,…while Peter went on to greatness.
Yes,…both repented.
One felt bad because of the mess he was in,…but the other turned his back on the sin that compromised his holiness in Christ.
“Does that mean that Peter’s life was easy after that?”,…no,…not at all!
…but he did live an empowering life of incredible impact and ministry and of holiness!
…and look at the result of their repentance in verse 11, “Just see what this godly [theos] sorrow[lupeo] produced in you! Such earnestness [speed], such concern to clear yourselves [apologia], such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right [innocent].” (NLT).
These are the effects of Godly sorrow,…of Godly repentance!
It produces a great diligence to deal with the sin in their lives.
In other words,…there needs to be great speed involved when dealing with your sins,…which means you need to deal with them very quickly.
Don’t wait for the right moment to appear.
Old time Bible commentator Albert Barnes says, “When people are thoroughly convinced of sin, they will set about removing it with the utmost diligence. They will feel that this can be done, and must be done, or that the soul will be lost.”
In other words,…be quick to clear yourself of the sin that ruins your holiness!
Be quick to clear yourself of any blame as quick as possible through repentance.
Be apologetic with Godly repentance about your sins.
Then,…then decide to hate that sin that’s ruining your walk with God!
…and hate it so much that you fear its return to your life!
Hate it so much that you fear any of its remains in your life!
Fear any attachment of that sin to your heart!
…and then pursue God with all of your heart and mind and soul.
That’s how you will show you have done everything necessary to make things right with God in your heart.
That’s how you keep your heart pure!
This is what will bring holiness to your life!
Now I know some people will say this is too much to do.
“How come God asks us to live this way?”
“What right does God have in wanting us to live in continual repentance?”
Well,…God is the Creator who brought everything into being.
Everything then depends upon Him for its existence,…therefore,…God then has a right to prescribe to us how we,…His creation,…should behave.
It is God who requires us to live holy lives, just as He is holy.
In other words,…He wants us to live in His character and His conduct and His desires and His decisions and His delights!
Therefore we are to invest our lives in the faultless and sinless character of Christ!
We are to recognize that we are required by God,…- in all circumstances,…- to be honest, godly, single-minded, passionate persons who behave at all times in a Jesus-like manner.
Nothing less will do!
Failing to practice holiness with all of our heart and soul is a major issue for God.
There are no small sins against a great God to repent of!
Holiness demands no more moral casualness and unconcern for sin as to whether or not we should please God.
“Why does God want us to live this way?,…to glorify Him!
Holiness glorifies God,…and God likes to be glorified!
He is worthy to be glorified!
Therefore you and I need to pray this prayer in Psalm 139v23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (NLT)
“Will you do that with me tonight?”
