Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

Welcome to the final week of our series called Momma Said. We’ve spent the last three weeks remembering all the things that our mommas said to us.

I had one person tell me last week that, whenever something bad happened, her momma would always say, “It beats a sharp stick in the eye.” Kind of graphic, but pretty effective.

We all have those momma-isms. Things our mommas told us that we’ll never forget.

In this series, we’re revisiting three of the classics. Three things that your momma said over and over again. She constantly told you that you always say, “please,” “thank you,” and “I’m sorry.”

We kicked off the series by talking about the magic word: please. “Please” represents a humble approach to any relationship. And when we approach the other person from a position of humility instead of pride, we give God all the room He needs to do incredible things in that relationship.

Then last week, we remembered what “thank you” is really all about. It’s not just about saying thanks. It’s about giving thanks. It’s about living life with an intense gratitude. It’s about going the extra mile to honor someone for what they’ve done in your life.

Today, we’re wrapping up our series with “I’m sorry.” Oh, this is a good one! Your momma taught you to always say “I’m sorry” whenever you did something wrong. But as with all these other momma-isms, there is a much deeper principle here that can have a radical and godly impact on your life.

We’ll be in 2 Corinthians 7 today. I’m going to show you a verse today that is an absolute gold mine.

Let’s pray, and then we’ll get after it.

In 2 Corinthians 7:10, the Bible says, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10, NIV)

Even the godliest people will screw things up. No one is perfect. But when a godly person makes a mistake, what follows is godly sorrow.

There is a big difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow. The Apostle Paul contrasts the two in this verse. The differences are life changing.

The key difference between the two is repentance. Godly sorrow brings repentance.

The word repentance is a word that gets tossed around in the church a lot, but a lot of us don’t understand the full meaning. We think repentance just means saying, “I’m sorry.” That’s not repentance. That’s remorse.

The Bible gives us an incredible example of remorse without repentance. His name is Judas. Judas was responsible for betraying Jesus. He is the reason that Jesus was handed over to the Romans and crucified.

The Bible says, “When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse…” (Matthew 27:3a, NIV)

He was seized with remorse. Not repentance. Just remorse. And here’s what that remorse did for him.

“Then [Judas] went away and hanged himself.” (Matthew 27:5b, NIV)

Judas was sorry for what he had done. He had remorse, but he didn’t have repentance. And this is the end result.

Our verse in 2 Corinthians tells us that worldly sorrow brings death. You don’t need to look any further than Judas. Judas understood sorrow. He understood remorse and regret, but he didn’t understand repentance. And it resulted in death.

Just feeling sorry is not enough. Just saying “I’m sorry” is not enough. It has to be godly sorrow. Godly sorrow comes packaged in repentance. Repentance does contain remorse, but it goes much further than that.

Repentance is remorse AND redirection. To repent literally means to make a 180° turn. To go in the exact opposite direction.

When I do something wrong, I can just experience remorse. That means that I’m sorry for what I’ve done, but nothing else has really changed. That is worldly sorrow, and it’s pretty easy to see why that leads to death. Because eventually, the same thing is going to happen again.

But for the person of God, it looks different. When I do something wrong, I experience remorse. I am sorry for what I’ve done. But I also repent, which means that I commit to go in the other direction.

Remorse says, “I’m sorry.”

Repentance says, “I’m sorry, and it will not happen again.”

That’s the key difference. Remorse is all about a change in demeanor, but repentance is all about a change in direction.

That’s why remorse leads to death, but repentance leads to life.

For someone who is following Jesus, the phrase, “I’m sorry,” is really a power-packed statement. It encompasses remorse and repentance. So when you tell someone you are sorry, you are really making a commitment to change your life. You are making a verbal contract with this person that, not only do you feel bad about what you’ve done, but you’re going in a new direction and you will never do this again. Ratchets up the intensity, doesn’t it? But it’s worth it, because look at what happens next.

Read our verse again. “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10, NIV)

When godly sorrow is packaged in repentance, it leaves no regret.

Breathe this in for a minute…a life with no regrets. It’s hard to imagine because we’ve been carrying big-time regrets on our shoulders for most of our lives. We are consumed by guilt.

I am convinced that guilt is the single most destructive emotion that we can ever experience. It is poison. It is absolutely deadly.

Psalm 38 is an incredibly vivid description of the ravaging effect that guilt can have on us. See if you can relate to some of this.

Starting in verse 4. “My guilt overwhelms me—it is a burden too heavy to bear. [sound familiar?] My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins. I am bent over and racked with pain.

All day long I walk around filled with grief. A raging fever burns within me, and my health is broken. [Keep in mind that David is not physically sick. This is all a description of what his guilt has done to him.]

I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart.

You know what I long for, Lord; you hear my every sigh. My heart beats wildly, my strength fails, and I am going blind. [all because of his guilt]

My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease. Even my own family stands at a distance. [guilt will drive people away. Guilt can even make you keep your family at arm’s length. It makes you feel like you are incredibly and totally alone. You ever been there? But now, listen to this.]

For I am waiting for you, O Lord. You must answer for me, O Lord my God. I am on the verge of collapse, facing constant pain.

But I confess my sins; I am deeply sorry for what I have done. Do not abandon me, O Lord. Do not stand at a distance, my God. Come quickly to help me, O Lord my savior. (Psalm 38: 4-11, 15, 17-18, 21-22, NLT)

Did you see the shift that happened? David was racked with guilt. It was destroying him. It robbed him of his health. It drove his friends and even his family away from him. Guilt is a wrecking ball that can hit you so hard that you feel like you can never get up.

But then, David shifted his focus. Instead of focusing on the incredible guilt that was ruining his life, he turned his focus to God. He expressed remorse and repentance for his sin. He knew he couldn’t help himself, so he begged God to respond. To do what he couldn’t do…remove this crippling guilt from his life. That’s what God did for him and that’s what God does for us.

The Bible tells us that godly repentance leads to no regrets. No shame. A life with no guilt.

“Well, that sounds good but that’s impossible.” If you don’t believe this is possible, then you don’t believe the Bible.

The Bible says in Romans 8, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2, NIV)

There are a lot of people in this room who don’t believe this verse. You might claim to believe it, but you really don’t believe it. You say it’s true, but you live like it isn’t.

You might believe that the Bible says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, but you live that it doesn’t apply to you. That somehow, in some way, you are the exception.

That leads to a lifetime of guilt. Lugging around a ton of guilt baggage everyday of your life. There is baggage all over this room. We can’t see it. It’s invisible. But there is guilt baggage all over this room. If we were an airline, we couldn’t take off because we wouldn’t have enough room to stow all the baggage that’s here today.

And that is pure insanity. We are people who have supposedly been set free by the blood of Christ. All this guilt baggage has no business here. There shouldn’t even be a carry-on bag of guilt here. If you are in Christ, there is no condemnation on your life. The Bible says it point blank.

If you are in Christ, then God has cleansed you, purified you, and forgiven you. He has forgiven your abortion and your addiction. He has forgiven your lust and your lies. He has forgiven your anger and your anxiety.

Why are you holding onto it? Why are you holding onto something that God has let go of? Why are you remembering something that God has forgotten about?

I love these verses from Isaiah 43. God says, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. Review the past for me, let us argue the matter together…” (Isaiah 43:25-26a, NIV)

God blots out your sin and then forgets about your sin. How does an all-knowing God forget? I don’t know. All I know is that this is what He says in the Bible.

And then He issues a challenge. “Review the past for me, let us argue the matter together.”

God says, “Alright, if you’re determined to live in the guilt of your past, let’s talk about it. Review it for me.”

And that’s when we start saying, “I did this. I did this. I did this.”

And, because of His grace, God responds, “I don’t remember that. I don’t remember that. I don’t remember that. Why are you hanging onto something that I have forgotten about?”

If you are in Christ…if you have been forgiven by the death and resurrection of Jesus…if you have been buried in baptism and rose to a new life through the grace and mercy of God…let it go. Let it go. Whatever your guilt, you’ve got to let it go.

The problem is that it feels more spiritual to hang onto it. It feels more spiritual to remain miserable because of the sinful choices that you’ve made. But it’s not spiritual at all. It is sinful.

It is sinful to wallow in guilt because it makes a mockery of God’s grace. When we won’t let go of our guilt, we are telling Jesus that His death wasn’t good enough.

Listen to this from Hebrews 10. This is a little long, but it is amazing stuff. Check this out. God says, “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. [That means that Jesus’ death on the cross is enough for us. Nothing more needs to be done. His sacrifice was complete and perfect to forgive all our sin.] Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,

by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,

having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:17-23, NIV)

We can enter into God’s presence because Jesus died in our place. We have a new and living way opened for us. Because Jesus died for us, we can approach God in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience.

That means no more guilt. No more shame. No more regret. We’ve got to own that. We’ve got to cling to it with everything in us. That’s why the writer of Hebrews passionately tells us to “us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

God promised to forgive us. God promised that He would forget all our sin. God promised that the death of Jesus removes all guilt from our lives. God promised that Jesus’ resurrection gives us a new life. And God is faithful. When He promises something, you can take it to the bank.

For someone in this room, God is going to change your life today. Maybe you are going to give your life to Christ and be baptized into Him today, leaving all your guilt behind.

Maybe you have already accepted Christ, but you’ve never let go of your guilt. Today is going to be the day. You will leave this building today, but you will leave without the baggage you brought with you because you will finally give it to God.

The guilt of your past doesn’t have to determine your future. Here’s the thing about your past…if you don’t let it die, then it won’t let you live. If you don’t let your past die, it won’t let you live. It will always haunt you. It will always keep you in prison. It will never let you go.

That’s exactly what Satan wants for you. He wants to keep reminding you of your guilt. He wants to keep using your guilt against you.

Listen to this from Revelation 12. This is off-the-chart good. In verse 10, the Apostle John writes, “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.” (Revelation 12:10, NIV)

How does the Bible refer to Satan in this verse? “The accuser of our brothers.” He is the accuser. That’s what he does. Satan uses your guilt against you. He is your accuser. He accuses you before God and he accuses you in your own heart. He constantly reminds you of your guilt because he knows that is how he can destroy you.

But what does the Bible say about him in this verse. He has been hurled down by the power and authority of Christ. He has been hurled down. Totally defeated by Jesus’ death and resurrection.

That’s why this verse says, “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God…” There is no guilt in the kingdom of God. No accusations. No shame. No regret. That’s what life is like in the kingdom of God. That’s the life that God wants you to live right now.

Now, this does bring up a good question. If we’re supposed to be totally free of guilt in our lives, does this mean that we should never feel bad when we sin? Not at all. But here’s the deal.

There is a huge difference between guilt and conviction.

In John 16, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit, "will convict the world concerning sin…" (John 16:8, NASB)

It doesn’t say that the Holy Spirit will guilt us about our sin. It says that the Holy Spirit will convict us about our sin.

There is a big difference between guilt and conviction. God doesn't deal in guilt. But his Spirit definitely convicts us when we're wrong. So how do you know the difference?

Guilt will always try to keep you down. Conviction will force you up.

Guilt will tell you, “You’ll never amount to anything. Look at what you’ve done.”

Conviction will tell you, “You messed up. It was wrong and you know it. So get it right next time.”

Guilt will keep you from moving forward in your walk with Christ. Conviction propels you to another level of spiritual maturity.

If you are experiencing guilt, from the mouth of Satan or even from your own mind and heart, dismiss it. Don’t give it another second of your time because it will destroy you if you don’t let it go.

If you are experiencing the conviction that comes through God's Spirit, listen to it. Remember it. Heed it. It is the source of life for you.

Guilt will make you a captive. Conviction will set you free.

It all comes back to our focus text today. “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10, NIV)

Godly sorrow is conviction that leads to repentance. It leads to a determination to go a different way, to do things different. And because of the blood of Jesus, it leaves no regret, no shame, and no guilt in its wake.

Sounds good, doesn’t it? It is. Life in Christ is complete freedom from guilt.

That’s why the book of Galatians says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1, NIV)

It is for freedom that Christ set us free. In other words, freedom is the whole point. The whole reason Jesus set us free is so that we would be free. The reason he died for our sin was to set us free from the guilt of our sin.

That’s why the Bible tells us to never again let ourselves be burdened by a yoke of slavery. We are not slaves. We are free. Why would we let guilt enslave us ever again? It is for freedom that Christ set us free!

I am free. Say that out loud with me. I am free. Say it again. I am free. One more time…shout it out. I am free!

Instead of regret, there is repentance! Instead of shame, there is salvation! And instead of guilt, there is grace!

Mike Edmisten

Tags: 2 Corinthians 7, guilt, Momma Said, regret, repentance,