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The
Seven Fruit of Repentance
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Are
we to judge? We often hear “Judge
not, lest ye be judged.” Is this biblically stating to leave sin
unchallenged? My fountain of wisdom
mother recently posed to me, “Why is it people in the church are not
afraid to judge the fruit of a person to be appointed an elder or deacon,
yet they feel it would be sinful to judge the fruit of a person abiding in
sin?” Very good question! Because we find that the word for “judge” in the Greek is Krino, which means to separate, put asunder, pick out, select, choose, to pronounce an opinion concerning right and wrong, to be examined and judged, etc. Quoting the book I Surrender, Patrick Morley writes that the church’s integrity
dilemma is in the fallacy “that we
can add Christ to our lives, but not subtract sin. It is a change in
belief without a change in behavior.” He further states, “It is revival without reformation, without repentance.” What
is church discipline? Did Jesus teach not to
confront sin, but rather forgive and forget? "Moreover
if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you
and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. Three practical steps: 1. Privately go to your brother (or sister) who has sinned against you. If he hears you, you have gained a brother. This would imply that he has verbally asked forgiveness/expressed sorrow and you will see fruit of repentance following. 2.
No fruit of repentance? Take
another witness or two and approach him again. Every word needs to be
established (witnessed) of his reaction before you go to the church. 3.
Still no fruit of repentance?
Go to the church with your
witnesses and now it is their duty to confront him. If he still will not
bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance, then it is time all the
brethren separate from him (and this includes you). We know that currently
we are called to judge (Krino)
those inside the church (1 Corinthians Do we confront sin
not against us? Also Paul told us in that we are to tackle sin even when it is not against us personally, for the purpose to see a brother restored (to God first and then to the Body of Christ). “Brethren,
if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such
a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be
tempted.” Galatians 6:1 Here is powerful
instruction on addressing sin in our brothers and sisters. First the word
for “overtaken in any trespass”
could also be rendered “detect
sin” or “before they flee or
conceal their sin” and the word “trespass”
could be “any fall, deviation from
the truth or uprightness.” We are encouraged to keep our eyes open
to detect if our brothers or sisters are sinning. We want to apprehend
them before they flee or conceal their sin so that they may be restored.
We seek to keep our spirit gentle and loving in the process! This is not
confronting sin in which they are repenting before an encounter. Rather it
is sin they try to conceal or that would drive them away from the body
from the guilt of choosing this conduct. Why should we consider
ourselves? Lest we become prideful and think we would not concede if
tempted; because God may allow a hard lesson to humble us. Furthermore,
someday we may need confronting. What is our motive? This spirit of
gentleness would be “speaking the truth in love” as directed in
Ephesians An example of this
approach is used by Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 5. Paul
was rebuking the church for not dealing with the brother remaining in sin
and it was said to leaven the entire lump (it affected everybody). He
assumes the authority they have neglected, judges the brother, and insists
they remove the man from the congregation for a season, that in the end
his spirit may be saved. Sound harsh? Yet, in 2 Corinthians 2:5-11 we read
the season has arrived for restoration of the brother! Proof that church
discipline worked! Have we separated
from the world? 2 Corinthians chapter
7 is one of the best illustrations of the fruit of repentance.
In 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 we have Paul reiterating the command of
the Lord to come out of the midst of the world and unbelievers and be
separate. What is the Greek definition for “separate?”
1.
to mark off from others by
boundaries, to limit, to separate a.
in a bad sense: to exclude as
disreputable b.
in a good sense: to appoint,
set apart for some purpose The Lord promises if
we will set ourselves apart from the world and unbelievers then He will
welcome us. He will be a Father to us. We will become His sons and
daughters. These are the promises Paul is in reference to in the beginning
of 2 Corinthians chapter 7. Since we have these promises Paul tells us to
cleanse ourselves from ALL defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God. Godly sorrow vs.
worldly sorrow In verses 8-13 Paul
deals with the discipline, sorrow, and repentance. Paul shares with us
there is a godly sorrow which leads to repentance without regret leading
to salvation and a worldly sorrow leading to death. Can you distinguish
the difference? The Scriptures give us
the example. Both Judas and Peter betrayed Christ. Both sinned against
Him. One sold him off and one denied he ever knew him. Both showed sorrow,
but there is a difference we must recognize. Judas felt remorse. He felt
such a deep remorse, that he even confessed his sin to the priests as he
gave back the bribe. How many of you would have been convinced at that
moment that he was genuinely repentant? Patience gave the result. Judas went out and
hung himself, which is the sorrow that leads to death. There was no fruit
of repentance. On the other hand, Peter denied our Lord three times and went out and wept bitterly. Where does this sorrow direct Peter? When the women disciples are given the very first commission to return to the eleven and share the gospel about the risen Savior, we note Peter ran to the tomb. Peter was seeking Christ. Peter ends up restored
three times, once for every denial. But not only is Peter restored to
Christ, he is now ready and willing to lay down his own life to serve the
Master and His body, the church. We know Peter did this very thing
throughout the rest of his earthly life, until he was martyred for his
faith. Judas was remorseful,
but did not turn away from sin and turn to Christ and His body; instead he
had the sorrow that leads to death (in this case it was immediately). In
contrast, Peter bore the fruit of repentance over time. What is repentance? Repentance denotes
changing one’s direction or to reverse direction. If you are in the
grocery store and skip the aisle with the bread what do you do? Do you
just continue pushing your cart in the opposite direction crying about how
sorry you are about missing the bread aisle and next time you will try to
do better? Will that get you toast for breakfast? No, you must STOP, and
turn the cart around to get to the bread aisle. Sorrow is a feeling
that can be either good or bad. Repentance is the response to the burning
of godly sorrow within. The fruit of repentance is produced when sorrow is
pollinated with godliness. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his article The
Cost of Discipleship, gave us this insight, “Cheap
grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of
forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church
discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without
discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living
and incarnate. “Costly
grace...is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out
the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at
which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.” Can you list the
seven fruit of repentance? We must be able to
identify the fruit of a person’s sorrow to discern if their repentance
is genuine. Fruit matures from a blossom that dies to itself, not in a
day, but rather over seasons. I now borrow from a
concept I once heard Pastor Ron Hindt teach on 2 Corinthians chapter 7. In
verse 11 the 7 fruit of repentance are labeled. Seven is the number
meaning completion or perfection. We have in one verse the 7 fruit of
complete repentance, following with a praise of commendation. 1.
New
carefulness: (what diligence it
moved/produced in you) We will now have diligence to be on our patrol so
as not to have future sins in that area. 2.
New
confession: (what clearing of
yourselves) The word for clearing in Greek is apologia, which in English
we derive apologize. We apologize for our sins, we don’t deny or justify
or we have not truly owned up. We confess it before God. 3.
New
concern: (what indignation it
caused in you) We will now be disgusted with our sin; we will have
indignation for sin; we will see our sin as God sees it and it will grieve
our hearts. 4.
New
conviction: (what fear) We will
now have a new fear of God, we will honor God, we will be concerned what
God thinks about our thoughts and actions. 5.
New
compulsion: (what vehement
desire) We will now have a heartfelt loving, as opposed to being cold and
indifferent; we will have a passionate desire to love God and to love
others. 6.
New
commitment: (what zeal) We once
had selfish lethargy, and that led to getting pleasure off worldly things.
Godly sorrow energizes us and gives us a new excitement to serve God. We
want to redeem the time wisely for Him. 7.
New
conscience: (what vindication)
We now have a desire for justice; we want to stay in God’s presence and
grow in holiness. We are quick to respond to the pricking of the Spirit
when we step off the path. And what is the by
product of this all-inclusive repentance? New
commendation: In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter. We now
live in such a godly way, that it becomes worthy of recognition by the
body! Please take note: they
had to PROVE themselves to be CLEAR in this matter through a COMPLETE
repentance with FRUIT. Then comes restoration and praise. Conceivably, we can be
a body walking in obedience to the Word; we too can learn to discipline
and inspect fruit of repentance reminiscent of our 1st century
brethren.
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