Sermon Tone Analysis

How to tell if someone is truly repentant:

Seven Identifying Marks of the truly repentant

2 Cor.

7:8-12

Intro:

Do Christians need to repent?

Jesus said that we do (Luke 17:3–4), and Paul agreed with Him (2 Cor.

12:21).

Four of the seven churches of Asia Minor, listed in Revelation 2–3, were commanded to repent.

To repent simply means “to change one’s mind,” and disobedient Christians need to repent, not in order to be saved, but in order to restore their close fellowship with God.

(Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989).

/The Bible exposition commentary/.

"An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt.

(2 Co 7:2).

Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.)

But another question is, “How do you tell if someone is truly repentant?”

In Matt.

18 Jesus tells us to forgive seven times seventy when the offender repents.

Most of us will read that and think the offender has not really repented.

So what do we look for in ourselves and in others regarding the marks of true repentance?

However, before we can get to those marks we have to address some preliminary issues.

First of all, we need to have an understanding of the word repent in our passage.

Paul uses two different words that are here translated repent by the KJV.

/metamelomai - /regret, really means to repent, on the part of man, means little or nothing more than a selfish dread of the consequence of what one has done

/metanoew/ - to change one's mind, not referring to being sorry at all.it means regret and forsaking the evil by a change of heart brought about by God’s Spirit.

Thus, when Paul says that he does not repent for writing the letter he sent by Titus to them he is using the word /metamelomai.

/He states he did not repent or change his mind for the letter, though it grieved them at that time.

Instead, he is rejoicing because of what their repentance produced in them.

Secondly, we notice that /godly sorrow/ has led them to repent~//metanoew/ of their sin.

v.9

The greek word /lupe/ means grief or sorrow.

It is the idea of making sad, like the rich man who after Jesus tells him what he must do to inherit eternal life by selling all of his possessions goes away sorrowing, Mark 10:22.

Or grief over the death of a loved one, 1 Thess.

4:13 or trials in 1 Peter 1:6.

Thus, it speaks of a sadness over ones own sin that leads them to a change in mind~/repentance.

The grief itself is not repentance, but it is the precursor of it.

The prodigal son of Luke 15 is an example of grief~/sorrow for sin that leads to repentance.

He came to himself, realized he had sinned against heaven and his father, and changed his mind about his life and dad and decided to go home and ask for mercy.

Third, note that their sorrow led them to see that Paul was not out to injure them by his letter of confrontation to them.

Rather, the truly repentent see that you were out to help them not hurt them.

Fourth, we need to understand the difference between godly sorrow that leads to repentance and worldly sorrow that leads to regret, v.10

/Grief from God~/according to God's standard leads ~/works to repentance from sin unto salvation without regret.

But the grief from the world works death.

/

            1.

Godly grief leads to repentance~/a change of mind and life in a person that leads to salvation for that person.

It produces reformation in the heart of the repentant person.

Worldly grief does not produce salvation or reformation, just regret for being caught.

cf. 2 Sam.

12:13 -David repents after being confronted by Nathan the prophet.

2.

Godly grief differs from worldly grief in what causes the grief, Godly grief is caused by recognizing that one’s sin has injured God and others.

Worldly grief is caused by the loss or denial of something we want for ourselves.

It is self-centered.

It laments such worldly things as failing to receive the recognition one thinks one deserves, not having as much money as one wants, not getting something one covets.

(Garland, D. E. (2001, c1999).

/Vol.

29/: /2 Corinthians/ (electronic ed.).

Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (355).

Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers)

An example of worldly grief - Rev. 18:9-13 the kings grieved over the loss of their ability to sell their cargo.

John Newton is an example of Godly grief a converted slave trader who penned the word to "Amazing Grace".

3.

Godly grief differs from Worldly grief in its its results.

The selfishness of worldly grief gives rise only to despair, bitterness, and paralysis.

It causes our souls to drown in self pity or turns the sorrow into a cankerous sore.

But godly grief does lead to repentance and hope.

(Garland, D. E. (2001, c1999).

/Vol.

29/: /2 Corinthians/ (electronic ed.).

Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (355).

Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers. )

A worldly sorrow is not really sorrow at all in one sense but it is not sorrow for its sin or for the hurt it may have caused others; it is only resentment that it has been found out.

If it got the chance to do the same thing again and thought it could escape the consequences, it would do it.

4978 Murderer’s Planned Revenge

 If there is no repentance, there can be no pardon.

Some years ago a murderer was sentenced to death.

The murderer’s brother, to whom the State was deeply indebted for former services, besought the governor of the State for his brother’s pardon.

The pardon was granted, and the man visited his brother with the pardon in his pocket.

“What would you do,” he said to him, “if you received a pardon?”

“The first thing I would do,” he answered, “is to track down the judge who sentenced me, and murder him; and the next thing I would do is to track down the chief witness, and murder him.”

The brother rose, and left the prison with the pardon in his pocket.

On the other hand, a godly sorrow is a sorrow which has come to see the wrongness of the thing it did.

It is not just the consequences of the thing it regrets; it hates the thing itself.

We must be very careful that our sorrow for sin is not merely sorrow that we have been found out, but sorrow which, seeing the evil of the sinful thing is determined never to do it again and has dedicated the rest of its life to atone, by God’s grace, for what it has done.

(/The letters to the Corinthians/.

2000, c1975 (W.

Barclay, lecturer in the University of Glasgow, Ed.).

The Daily study Bible series, Rev. ed.

(227).

Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. )

Judas is an example of one who repented (according to the world), he was full of regret, but not true repentence, instead he killed himself.

So also is Esau an example, he shed tears but produced no godly change in life.

A good example- the prodigal son, Luke 15.

Now that we understand that repentance implies remorse for sins that wound and anger God and the desire to make amends and to desist from sinning again we are ready to look at the identifying marks of one who is truly repentant.

Seven identifying marks of the truly repentant, v.11

These were ways in which their repentance was demonstrated.

Godly sorrow, true repentance always produces corresponding deeds.

Behold, this very thing, the being made to be sorry according to God works out:

A. An earnestness to make amends,

The word in the KJV is /carefulness.

/It means to take much diligence~/earnest care, fervency, it refers to a haste or urgency at making amends in this case.

Thus, the truly repentant are concerned to deal with their sin as soon as possible.

There is no hesitancy to deal with it.

No excuses of inconvenience, like “I need to think about it.”

or “I’ll deal with it later.”

No, this person wants to deal with it now.