I invite you to turn with me tonight to 2 Corinthians chapter 7. 2 Corinthians chapter 7, as we read verses 8 through the first part of verse 13. We do so in connection with our consideration of the fourth head of doctrine and the canons of Dort to where we will turn in just a moment after we have read from 2 Corinthians chapter 7. 2 Corinthians 7, as we begin at verse 8. Please bow in prayer with me. Father, as we come before You again in this evening hour, we do so expectantly, thanking You for Your Word. Thanking You for Your promise to show us beautiful truths from Your Word, which we depend upon You in order to see. And so, Father, we pray that You would open our eyes, our eyes of faith to understand and believe. Illumine us by Your Holy Spirit. Strengthen us in our spirit that we might rejoice in You and Your work of grace in our hearts and lives. Hear us, we ask for Jesus' sake, and in His name, Amen. 2 Corinthians 7, beginning at verse 8. Hear now the Word of God through the Apostle Paul. Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it, I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while. Yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. But worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you, what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. So even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did the wrong or of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are. By all this, we are encouraged. May God add His blessing to the reading and consideration of His Word. I invite you to turn with me in the back pages of the Psalter hymnal to page 104 and page 105. In our consideration of the canons of Dort, we had already entered into the third and the fourth heads of doctrine, which are considered together the title given to the third and fourth heads of doctrine being the corruption of man, his conversion to God, and the manner thereof. We have considered total depravity and we have begun to consider irresistible grace. Tonight, we read together Articles 9, 10, 14, and 16. Article 9. It is not the fault of the Gospel, nor of Christ offered therein, nor of God, who calls men by the Gospel and confers upon them various gifts, that those who are called by the ministry of the Word refuse to come and be converted. The fall lies in themselves, some of whom, when called, regardless of their danger, reject the Word of life. Others, though they receive it, suffer it not to make a lasting impression on their heart. Therefore, their joy arising only from a temporary faith soon vanishes and they fall away, while others choke the seed of the Word by perplexing cares and the pleasures of this world and produce no fruit. This our Savior teaches in the parable of the sower, Matthew 13, article 10. But that others who are called by the gospel obey the call and are converted is not to be ascribed to the proper exercise of free will whereby one distinguishes himself above others equally furnished with grace sufficient for faith and conversion, as the proud heresy of Pelagius maintains. But it must be wholly ascribed to God who, as He has chosen His own from eternity in Christ, so He calls them effectually in time, confers upon them faith and repentance, rescues them from the power of darkness, and translates them into the kingdom of His own Son, that they may show forth the praises of Him who has called them out of darkness into His marvelous light, and may glory not in themselves, but in the Lord, according to the testimony of the apostles in various places. Article 14. Faith is therefore to be considered as the gift of God, not on account of its being offered by God to man to be accepted or rejected at His pleasure, but because it is in reality conferred upon Him, breathed and infused into Him, nor even because God bestows the power or ability to believe and then expects that man should, by the exercise of his own free will, consent to the terms of salvation and actually believe in Christ, but because he who works in man both to will and to work, and indeed all things in all, produces both the will to believe and the act of believing also. Then turning over to article 16. But as man by the fall did not cease to be a creature endowed with understanding and will, nor did sin which pervaded the whole race of mankind deprive him of the human nature, but brought upon him depravity and spiritual death, so also this grace of regeneration does not treat men as senseless stocks and blocks, nor take away their will and its properties, or do violence thereto, but it spiritually quickens, heals, corrects, and at the same time sweetly and powerfully bends it, that where carnal rebellion and resistance formally prevailed, a ready and sincere spiritual obedience begins to reign in which the true and spiritual restoration and freedom of our will consist. Wherefore, unless the admirable author of every good work so deal with us, man can have no hope of being able to rise from his fall by his own free will, by which, in a state of innocence, he plunged himself into ruin. A beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ over the past several months as you know we have been considering together the doctrines of God's grace revealed to us in the Bible in his word and summarized in our confession of faith called the canons of Dort. We have considered those doctrines of grace including unconditional election that God has chosen before the beginning of time, that He has chosen a certain number of people to save without any conditions that they could or would fulfill on their own part. And we have also considered the second head of doctrine, that limited atonement, that His Son, Jesus Christ, actually came, actually gave His life and accomplished that salvation for those whom God has chosen. And we have considered the third head of doctrine there why we needed this unconditional election, why we needed this atoning work of Jesus Christ, and that is because of man's, because of our total depravity. And as you recall, I trust total depravity means very simply that man is dead in sin, that man is a slave to sin. But now, having said that man is dead in sin, that does not mean that man is deprived of his human nature as we just read from Article 16. It does not mean that man is deprived of his human nature as if he no longer thinks, as if he no longer desires, as if he no longer acts on his desires, as if his will is dormant or at best neutral. Man's will indeed is totally corrupt, sinful through and through, but not lost. Man's will is still very much active. Not in the sense that he is free to choose or to reject the Lord as he desires, but that in sin he will always choose against God. Man needs to be converted. If we look at the title again that I mentioned a moment ago that come along with the third and fourth heads of doctrine. The corruption of man, which is what the third head of doctrine deals with. And then the fourth head of doctrine deals with his conversion to God and the manner thereof. The corruption of man, his conversion to God, and the manner thereof. Man needs to be converted. Conversion, we know, is what we might call a U-turn. Boys and girls, I suspect that you are familiar with what a U-turn is. When you're driving with your parents and you come to an intersection, there might be a sign that says no U-turn. Or there might be a sign that shows that a U-turn is allowable, and that's exactly what it is. Sort of in the shape of a U, turning around and going in the other direction. Man needs to be converted. Man needs a change in direction in his will, his will moving and acting in the opposite direction that it once was. And the manner of man's conversion, as we have already considered, is God's irresistible or effective grace in giving new life, in regenerating man, in man being born again. Giving his mind that was blind to see and understand the truth of God's Word as Article 11 taught us. And to see and to understand the horror of sin and at the same time the preciousness of Jesus Christ. Giving the heart that was dead and hated God a newness of life to love God and His truth and to desire Jesus Christ and giving man's will that only would follow the desires of the sinful heart. Giving that will to follow and carry out the desires of that born-again heart. Now, we know that regeneration and conversion are closely tied together. In fact, sometimes they are used synonymously, they overlap, they're used interchangeably. But regeneration and conversion are not identical. Conversion is commonly understood to be that conscious act. That conscious act by which the regenerated person turns to God in repentance and faith. Notice it is a conscious act. In regeneration, the Holy Spirit giving new spiritual life to that which was dead spiritually, that is, in a sense, that is unconscious as the Holy Spirit does that and becomes conscious in conversion. Conversion involves the will of man in action. The call of the Gospel has always been to action. As John the Baptist in Mark 1, verse 15 says, Repent and believe. That is the call that comes to mankind. Repent and believe. That is our responsibility to repent and believe. Now, having considered that, we ought to remember that Arminianism teaches that not only is man responsible, well, let me go back and first say that the question is, how does man carry out his responsibility? How is he able to repent and believe? And now we remember that Arminianism teaches that not only is man responsible, and we do say that man has a responsibility, God is sovereign, but man is still responsible. But Arminianism teaches that not only is man responsible, but man must decide of his own free will to let Jesus in to work in his life. And only then, only when man has decided to let Jesus in, only then can man be regenerated, given new birth. Only then can man be converted. But man decides, and man can still reject regeneration and conversion. Of course, we know how illogical that is because one who is dead can't do anything. One who is dead can't decide to let Jesus in his heart. And Arminianism also says that our belief, the Reformed belief in irresistible grace, or also we call it effective grace, means that some can be brought kicking and screaming and made to believe when they really don't want to believe. And if it's irresistible, then of course, according to the Arminians, it removes man's responsibility. And therefore, they say, this means that God deals with men as senseless stocks and blocks as Article 16 mentioned. Now, one confessional commentator explains these senseless stocks and blocks this way, that it, quote, denotes a creature without intellect, without will, one without any self-consciousness, and without any self-determination. In other words, Arminianism says that our doctrine of irresistible grace teaches that God deals with man and man is utterly passive, that man is completely under the control of another, kind of like a Barbie doll or a G.I. Joe where our boys used to play with those rescue heroes, those figurines that are up to us to move their arms, to move their legs, to turn their head. And Arminianism says that irresistible grace means that that's how God deals with man, simply like a log picking us up from facing one direction and setting us down to face the other direction. Now, beloved, we have already seen how foolish and impossible and unbiblical it is to say that man's will is free. It is only by the irresistible grace of God that man is born again, that man is regenerated, that his mind and his heart and his will are made new. And the irresistible effect of regeneration, then, is conversion. Conversion is rooted in regeneration. There is no conversion without regeneration. And those who are regenerated will be converted irresistibly, effectively, and consciously, not because we are senseless stocks and blocks, not because we don't know what's going on, not against our will as article 16 says, but pleasantly with a desire. Because what is involved in conversion is now the direction. It is now the desire of the renewed heart and mind and will. The child of God will respond, not because he is forced to, but because he wants to. It is not God who repents and believes for man, but man does, enabled and enlivened by the power of the Holy Spirit to respond to the call of the Gospel. Now, after that long introduction, being reminded again that God's irresistible grace is needed for new birth. And being reminded, hinted at about conversion, we consider irresistible grace in the Christian's life of conversion. Now we can talk about initial conversion when one first turned to the Lord. You may have an idea when that was, like Paul could probably give the time and the date when he was on the Damascus Road. Or like many of us, you may have no idea. Like Timothy, who was born and raised in the faith. But even more, since conversion is that conscious act, even more I would like to focus our time on that daily conversion, that continual conversion that is necessary as we travel the narrow road still struggling with sin. Indeed, that initial conversion never needs to be repeated. That is done once for all. But there is also, as we grow, as the Holy Spirit works in our hearts and lives, there is ongoing, there is daily conversion. And therefore, I would have us ask ourselves, as we consider irresistible grace and the Christian's life of conversion, to ask ourselves, am I converted? Again, it's a conscious activity. And therefore, it's an appropriate question for you and me. Am I converted? And we have a beautiful example of this ongoing conversion with the Corinthian believers in 2 Corinthians chapter 7. Irresistible grace in the Christian's life of conversion. Therefore, considering, first of all, the elements of conversion. Well, what does it include? What characterizes conversion? Very simply, there are two elements involved. Faith and repentance. It seems simple. We know these things. Faith and repentance, which are given by God. Article 10 says, God, who as He has chosen His own from eternity in Christ, so He calls them effectually in time, confers upon them faith and repentance. Article 14, faith is therefore to be considered as the gift of God, not on account of its being offered by God to man to be accepted or rejected at His pleasure, as Arminianism teaches, but because it is in reality conferred upon Him, breathed and infused into Him. Nor is it to be considered a gift even because God bestows the power or ability to believe and then expects that man should, by the exercise of his own free will, consent to the terms of salvation and actually believe in Christ, again, as Arminianism teaches, but because He who works in man both to will and to work and indeed all things in all produces both the will to believe and the act of believing also. We had already considered in article 12 that this regeneration is certain, it is infallible, it is effectually, and man does actually believe those who are regenerated. Wherefore also man himself is rightly said to believe and repent by virtue of that grace received. Repentance in faith, the elements of conversion given by God, Ephesians 2, Paul says, faith is the gift of God. Well, the Arminian would say, well, yes, of course it's the gift of God. The Bible says it's the gift of God. Yet, it is a gift that man can choose to not use. And even though this may be a mystery to you and me, it's not true. Faith is an instrument given to the believer's new nature. And just as the old nature could only follow its desires and follow the path of sin, The new nature follows what is natural to it. And faith is a part of that new nature. That new nature wants to. That new nature will exercise that faith consciously. Article 9 points out that some who are called do not come. And it points out that it's not the fault of the call. It's not the fault of God. It's not the fault of Jesus Christ. it's the fault of the person himself or herself. And it points to the parable of the seed, the sower sowing the seed, some falling on the rocky soil, some on the path, some on the weed, some on the good soil. And what we gain from that too is that only the heart prepared by God enjoys that gift of true faith. Repentance and faith make up that U-turn. Repentance and faith go hand in hand. Repentance is the conscious act of turning away from sin. And faith is the conscious act of turning toward God. And both repentance and faith contribute to that new way of thinking, that mind that was darkened is open to see. And that new way of feeling a heart that was dead and hated God is given new life and loves God. And a new way of willing, no longer following the way of sin, but following the desires of the born-again heart. Both repentance and faith are initial to be sure, and again, that never needs to be repeated, but both also take place continuously throughout our lives, and both are a response to the enlivening work of the Holy Spirit, a response exercised by the regenerated man. Beloved, God doesn't believe for us. God doesn't repent for us. He gives the gift of faith to see the truth of ourselves, to see and understand the truth of the Word of God and of Jesus Christ. And He brings that one to repentance. So that is answer 90 of the Catechism. The Heidelberg Catechism says to be genuinely sorry for sin, to hate it more and more, and to run away from it. And in its place, to believe and trust in Jesus Christ alone for full forgiveness and reconciliation with God with, as answer 91 says, with wholehearted joy in God through Christ and a delight to do every kind of good as God wants us to. These things take place simultaneously, continuously in the child of God. The negative aspect, genuine sorrow, hating sin, running away from it. A wholehearted joy in God through Christ. A delight to do every kind of good as God wants us to do. Conversion. Repentance and faith are necessary. Necessary for our temporal life, for this life, because without faith, as Hebrews 11.6 says, we are not able to please God. Necessary in order to live in fellowship with Him. Necessary because there is no assurance of being Christ's own possession apart from repentance and faith. And necessary, of course, for eternal life. As Paul says again in Ephesians 2, for by grace you are saved. Through faith. Necessary in order to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Repentance and faith. Beloved, is this the character of your life? This question is not out of place. We might say, well, we're all professing believers here, or at least most of us. This question is out of place. This question is not out of place, but is very much in place for me. And very much in place for you. As there is to be a daily, ongoing conversion in our lives. Are you converted? Do you hate your sin more and more? Do you understand its offense to God? Do you understand what your sin truly deserves? And do you love the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you believe that He is the only Savior and trust in Him and His saving work alone? You see, beloved, this is a matter of life or death. Eternal death. Conversion, you see, is necessary. And for those who are born again, it is an unfailing part of God's irresistible grace because it is only by God's grace that we can say, yes, we are converted. Yet, how can we know? Indeed, faith, one definition says, faith is a deep-rooted, undoubted assurance. of all that God reveals in His Word, of all that Christ has done, and that it's for me too. My sins are forgiven. I am made forever righteous with God that I am saved. But you see, it's not just something that believers say. Conversion is something that believers live. And therefore, in the second place, notice the evidence of conversion. Very simply, the evidence of conversion is the actual exercise and practice of repentance and faith. There is fruit to conversion. And the fruit of repentance, beloved, then is actual sorrow for sin. We can say it all we want. But the fruit of repentance is actual sorrow for sin. We still struggle with sin. I trust nobody would deny that. We still struggle with sin. But one who is born again, one who is converted is really and actually convicted, maybe sometimes more than other times, but is really actually convicted and troubled by their sin and sorry for it. And it shows genuine sorrow. Hating it more and more and running away from it. Again, maybe not as fast as we should, to be honest. But it's there. And we have a beautiful example of this with the Corinthian believers in 2 Corinthians 7. Paul sent the Corinthian church a harsh letter. We don't have that letter. Most likely, it was a letter he sent between his first and second epistles to that church, but he sent a harsh letter calling that church to account because of sin that was taking place in the congregation or maybe more directly, for not dealing properly with sin that was taking place in the congregation. And it's clear here that Paul's letter accomplished his purpose. It caused great sorrow for their sin. We begin reading again in verse 8. Paul says, Even if I cause you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it, I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while. Yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. Paul says, I wrote that you might repent. And I wrote that you might not only repent, but give evidence that there might be a change in you. His letter caused grief and sorrow, but not just any sorrow. It caused sorrow that had produced repentance. We go on. For you became sorrowful as God intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. But worldly sorrow brings death. Now, it's clear, beloved, that there are two kinds of sorrow for sin. There's godly sorrow that leads to salvation, as Paul says. Worldly sorrow that leads to death. The difference between them is really, truly being sorry from the heart and not really, truly being sorry. Very simplistically. Godly sorrow is sorrow for the sin committed. Sorrow for what has been done. Sorrow that my action hurt another. Worldly sorrow is selfish. Worldly sorrow is sorrow that I got caught. I suspect that every one of us, boys and girls, young people, and all of us who are older have experienced that kind of sorrow before. I know that I have. I was tempted to share an illustration with you for my life, and I think I won't. But sorry that I got caught. I'm sure you too, boys and girls, if you've hit your brother or sister and your mom or dad happened to come around the corner and see you, you got caught. And they say, what do you say? Sorry. Well, that's not very sorry, is it? worldly sorrow is sorrow that I got caught. Sorry that I may have embarrassed or hurt or deprived myself in some way by what I have done. Sorry that I'm going to get punished. Godly sorrow is evidence of conversion expressing itself in a godly sorrow for sin of having offended God, of having thrown aside His revealed will. You see, godly sorrow thinks of God and others. Worldly sorrow is only concerned with oneself. Worldly sorrow only hates the consequences of sin that are going to come upon me. Judas Iscariot, when he had rejected, when he had betrayed our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, he had worldly sorrow, which of course led to death. Peter, when he betrayed our Lord Jesus Christ, he had godly sorrow. And he was restored. You see, beloved, godly sorrow practices the fruit of actually turning away from sin. Hating sin. Never wanting to return to it again. Striving not to return to it again. We all have sin in our life, certain sin that we struggle with and maybe even enjoy, and we have a hard time turning away from it. We know it's not right. But you see, godly sorrow strives to turn away from it. Godly sorrow strives to not return to it again. And when we do return to it again, godly sorrow tries even harder the next time empowered by the Holy Spirit. Beloved, is the fruit of repentance hating that sin, striving to not return to it, is the fruit of repentance real in your life? Is it real in my life? Is the evidence true sorrow for sin committed as we recognize the blood that Jesus shed to pay for it and not just that we got caught? Beloved, as we recognize, as we remember the blood that Jesus Christ shed to pay for our sin, it makes it harder for the child of God to return to that sin the next time. It doesn't mean we won't. But it makes it a little bit harder the next time as we remember the blood that Jesus shed to pay for it. is the evidence of true sorrow that my sin is an offense against my God and Savior rather than that it is an embarrassment of myself. And therefore, then also, is there fruit of faith? Verse 11, I think, is a beautiful illustration in the lives of the Corinthians of the fruit of faith. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you. What earnestness, we might say, to do what is right? What eagerness to clear yourselves? What indignation? We might say hatred for sin. What alarm? What longing? What concern? What readiness to see justice done? At every point, you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. The Corinthian believers wanted to do what is right. They were convicted of their sin. They wanted to fix the problem by the way they lived. They wanted a change of heart and a change of action. There was in them an earnestness, a zeal, we might say, to use their lives for the cause of Jesus Christ. Beloved, there is a visible component to conversion. There is a visible component to repentance and faith. A visible change in life. A constant transformation. An active, ongoing turning away and rejection of sin and striving as we are enabled and empowered by the Holy Spirit to live thankful lives of obedience to God for Jesus' sake, living honestly and openly without a secret life of indulging in sin. May there not be a secret life of indulging in sin in any one of us. We watch the public, of course. We think of Tiger Woods in the past number of months and there are others like him who are high-profile figures and it turns out that they are living a secret life of sin and that secret life of sin doesn't stay very secret. Somehow it always seems to get exposed. May that never be true of you and me. May it simply not be there. May there be nothing to be exposed. Are you converted? Are you living a life of conversion at home? Boys and girls at school is about to start a recess on the athletic field when competition is tough and grueling in the office on the job site or again in the office surrounded by those who don't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ whose language for example is atrocious are you living a life of conversion openly and honestly wherever the Lord places you for example trying to live at peace with everyone instead of causing grief and hurt feelings or trying to control your anger and instead being happy or trying to keep from hurting others with your tongue and instead encouraging them and saying nice things about them. For example, being positive in your outlook in life and with regard to others and not always being negative, not always being judgmental. For example, putting in a full and honest day's work instead of arriving late and leaving early and stretching breaks. For example, fighting Satan's temptation to keep from spending time with the Lord, to keep from a devotional life and spending time in prayer, and instead making that the number one priority of your day. Beloved, you know the sin that you may struggle with. I know the sin that I struggle with. Are you converted? Are you living a life of conversion? We're not talking about a perfect life. but striving to flee sin and desiring to do what is pleasing to God, comforted that when we fall short of the glory of God, when we fall into sin, that we are not separated from God by that sin, but dealing honestly with it, and along with true sorrow for sin, having assurance in Christ Jesus of the forgiveness of all of our sins. And with that assurance, beloved, receiving greater motivation to flee sin and practice its opposite. Now, if you are here tonight and you do not find evidence of conversion in your life, the call is still real today, and God's promise is sure. His promise is sure. Repent of your sins. Look to the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Trust in Him. Give your life to Him fully and completely. And you are safe in the palm of His hand. You see, our continual struggle with sin, beloved, is indeed proof that our new birth and our conversion depends completely on the irresistible grace of God. These things will not take place without it because we would only reject Him if we could. But praise be to God that He gives new life with a new heart that desires Him. and a new will that acts on those new desires for Him. So that not only are we made able to repent and believe, but actually do repent and believe with a faith that unites us to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ, both now and forever. Amen. Let's pray together. Dear Heavenly Father, we stand amazed as we are reminded of Your grace, Your powerful work in our hearts and lives from beginning to end. And even being pleased to make us conscious of this and to bring us to participate, to call us to repent and believe. You have given to us such a great salvation through Jesus Christ. You've given to us new hearts to understand, the gift of faith to believe, and brought us the desire to repent of our sins and trust in You. We thank You for that work so powerful, so rich, and continue to do that work, Father. Lead us by Your Holy Spirit that indeed our lives would be lives of living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to You. Father, more and more remove us from looking like the world. And more and more may we be transformed by the renewing of our minds through Jesus Christ. That the mind of Jesus Christ our Savior may be in us from day to day. We thank you and praise you for your precious work in all of your people for Jesus' sake. Amen.