Next, we're going to read from God's Word. We are in the book of 2 Corinthians, and I'm going to read 2 Corinthians 7, verses 2 through 12. 2 Corinthians 7, verses 2 through 12. As you're turning to that, I'll just give you a brief pastor information update. Um, I've changed my, the day that I rest from a half Monday, half Tuesday to just Friday. So if you're wondering why isn't he there or why isn't he answering, um, it's just cause I have a different day off. All right. Now, second Corinthians chapter seven verses two through 12. Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one. We have corrupted no one. We've cheated no one. I do not say this to condemn, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. Great is my boldness of speech toward you. Great is my boasting on your behalf. I'm filled with comfort. I'm exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side, outside, or conflicts inside, or fears. Nevertheless, God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more. For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it, for I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. Now I rejoice. Not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted. But the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner. what diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication. In all things, you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter. Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you. This is the word of the Lord. This morning, we're going to look at how to give criticism and how to receive criticism. We're living today in days where there is just plenty of criticism in the atmosphere. All around us, a large part of the public discourse involves criticizing the other side. A large part of the public discourse involves attacking and landing hard on what their leader did, what this party representative said. And you see it also on social media. If you were to look at the kind of communication and postings on social media, you could probably break it down roughly into a number of categories. What do you see on social media? Well, you see rejoicing. People post about things that they're happy about. You also see boasting, people promoting something great that they've done, something that they look good in. You also see journaling. People are just kind of running commentary on life, what's going on, why did I do this, what's wrong, what's happy, where am I headed? And then you see criticism. Criticism, one of the major categories of what we are talking about. And criticism can fill the Christian community. People lobbying charges at other Christians in their congregation or in the nation, whatever, lobbying accusations at one another. But on the whole, I think it has to be said that our society lacks skill in giving criticism. We do it poorly. Either we withhold rebukes which are needed, necessary rebukes, we hold them, we just don't give it, or we overcharge our rebukes. We have a rebuke, and what we do is just over the top. It's too much. It's excessive. It's inaccurate. Not only do we lack skill in giving criticism, our society also lacks skill in receiving criticism. We resist valid criticism when it comes to us, or it comes to us, and then we just collapse under it. In this passage of scripture, we have criticism, and it's flowing in both directions. Paul has this painful relationship with the congregation at Corinth. It involves criticism going in both directions. Verse 12, he talks about something was said, something was done wrong, there was a victim, and there was an offender, and he says, I'm bringing this up, I had to bring this up. Some were spreading accusations also against Paul. That's what you have in verse two. Some were complaining that Paul had taken advantage of them. Some were complaining that Paul had caused people to stray from the path. Some were complaining that Paul was just not competent. Paul was just not honest. That's in verse two. In the other direction though, Paul is also bringing criticism to the Corinthians. He has words for them. He talks about this letter that was painful, this epistle that he brought, and it caused them pain. He refers to earlier painful visits that he had with them. Here, verse eight, he wrote this painful corrective letter, and he didn't know how they would take his words. And so we know something of that ourselves. We have our own relationships like that. Do you have someone at school, at work, who's prickly, who's overly critical? They always, when they open their mouth, you know they're gonna have some complaint against you. Or maybe someone at home. It goes the other way. Maybe there's someone at your home, where you live, who needs to change, but you know, before you even bother bringing it up, they're not gonna be willing to receive it. And maybe for you, whatever the context is, it's become such a challenge that you're at your wit's end. You don't know what to do. How do we go forward with this? Maybe you feel like you're about to blow up. It's just too much, or you're about to just shut down, block this person for the next few years. You just can't keep going like this. So in our passage, we look at three things. First of all, we look at giving criticism. How do we give criticism? Secondly, we look at receiving criticism. What's the right way to receive criticism? And then thirdly, we look at two kinds of regret. So giving criticism, receiving criticism, and then two kinds of regret. Let's start with giving criticism. And let me just say that giving criticism, this topic, this is a way that you can distinguish yourself in the world. If you're a Christian, especially, God is calling you to live in a way that's distinct. He's calling you to live in a way that's admirable compared to the rest of the world around you. He's calling you to give criticism in a way that's admirable compared to everybody else, how they do it. Because these are days that are filled with scorn. These are days that are filled with scoffing. disdain. The Bible strongly condemns scoffing. The Bible strongly speaks against scorn. For instance, Psalm 1, blessed is the person who is not characterized by scoffing and scorn. Well, what's scoffing? One way you could describe scoffing is constant pessimistic disdain dumped on people. Constant pessimistic disdain dumped on people. Proverbs 22.10 says, if you cast out that kind of person, if you cast out the scoffer, contention will cease. It'll just go away. You won't have strife. Think of the fever in our political debates today. Just that one area, our political debates. Wouldn't things be healthier? Wouldn't things be more wholesome? If we could just remove from all of the discussions all of the mocking, all of the scornful speech, all of the dismissal, the scoffing dismissal of the other side, the other person. We need to have debate. Wouldn't it be much better, though, if scorn were just taken out of the picture? If you can give criticism well, it would be a marvel. It would be like apples of gold in settings of silver. That's Proverbs 25, 11, delivering criticism with skill and not scorn. That would evoke admiration. It would win over the other person. And Christians of all people should be skilled at giving criticism differently. Now, how do you do this? How do you give criticism well? Well, our text highlights some of the motives, some of the methods for giving criticism well. Look at the right motives for giving criticism in verses two and three. What should be your motive when you give criticism? What heart attitude should drive you when you open your mouth to criticize? Well, first of all, we see this. You need to have open honesty that is free of emotional manipulation. Open honesty that's free of emotional manipulation. Verse two, Paul says, open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one. We have corrupted no one. We have cheated no one. And so this is just a continuation of what Paul said earlier in chapter six, verse 11. We looked at that a few weeks ago. Paul's saying, I have been open with you. I'm not hiding anything. There's no hidden agenda with what I'm saying. I'm not trying to use you. I'm not trying to get something out of you with what I'm saying, with even my rebuke. I'm not trying to work you. Many people today have lived with an emotionally manipulative person. Many people have had that experience in their past, and it scarred them. the manipulative person who says things and steers things so that you're always guilty, you're always wrong. And they do that to keep you under their power, to keep you under their thumb, to keep you in their debt. And so what happens with that kind of person is when they blow up, when they lose their temper, somehow their eruption is always your fault. Things like, if you were not so disorganized, I wouldn't be so frustrated. I wouldn't yell and pound if you weren't so disorganized. And if you have a sensitive conscience, an emotionally manipulative person can get away with tantrums and leave you holding the bill. And so you become super careful around this person. You tiptoe around these invisible lines that you must never cross. But Paul can honestly say, I have wronged no one. And that means a third party could come and judge between Paul and the Corinthians, and the third party could hear what happened between him and them, between me and you. and the counselor, this impartial judge, would agree. Paul had not wronged them. Paul had not used them. Paul had not warped them. Paul had not cheated them. But emotionally, manipulative people, this is what can be confusing about it. They're open, but they're not honest. Manipulative people have plenty of criticism, but the criticism is unjustified. And maybe you're wondering, well, am I emotionally manipulative? Bring in a wise, bring in a skilled third party to help you discern if you're open and you're honest and you're free of manipulation. And if you are, you're in a good place to serve criticism. Now, the second motive. Deep love, deep love. Before you bring criticism to the other person, check your heart. Check your heart. Do you have love? Do you have deep love for the person you're about to address and correct? And not only do you have deep love, do you have secure love? Verse three, Paul says, I do not say this to condemn, for I've said before that you're in our hearts to die together and to live together. He's got this deep love. He is committed to the welfare of the other person. He's committed all the way, whatever it will cost him. When, on the other hand, an emotionally manipulative person says, I'm only saying this, I'm only correcting you because I love you. Well, it's coming from a needy person who's grasping and guilting because they're just so desperate to secure you, to keep your admiration, to keep their control, to keep your obedience to them. They're needy and it suffocates you. And so they'll use lines like, I'm only saying this because I love you. And it's just a tool to deliver unjustified criticism. You need to recognize that, whether you're receiving it or whether you're doing it. But sometimes criticism does come from a heart that has deep love. Maybe you have something that needs to be corrected, something that needs to be criticized. Maybe you've got an addiction to some substance, to gambling, to porn, whatever it is. And the other person says, this is killing you and it's destroying your life. I know you don't like to hear this, but I'm only saying this because I love you. It needs to be said. And then verse three says, you're in our hearts to die together, to live together. Paul is saying this, I'm willing to say something hard to you, even if it kills me, even if it costs me, even if I lose by speaking to you, even if I lose because you're not going to receive well this criticism. It might end our friendship for me to speak the truth in love, but I'm willing to lose that because I love you. Now, the third thing, there's deep love. The third thing we have here, a method for giving criticism. We have bold speech here, that's what we see here, bold speech. Verse four, Paul says, great is my boldness of speech toward you. In this context, Paul had to say hard but necessary things to them. Verse eight, Paul says, I do not regret it, though I did regret it. He's saying he had to speak boldly to them. He had to say things that would make them sorry. But afterwards, Paul's just, he was filled with a lot of second guessing, a lot of self doubt. He was wondering, did I say it too strongly? Was it the wrong time? Did I say too much to them? Then he says, but I don't regret what I said, even though I did regret it at first. Now, some of you, we can kind of fall into two different bins here. Some of you may find it easy, very easy to speak hard criticism to other people, to really lay in to the other person. Can I suggest that if you find it easy to criticize the other person towards them, maybe you're lacking deep love. But on the other hand, maybe you're not the kind who easily just lays into them. Maybe you are very reluctant, very reluctant to speak necessary criticisms to the other person. Maybe you're reluctant to speak up and say, when you did that, You really hurt me, or you're reluctant to say, you know, your temper, it's becoming vicious, it's becoming cruel. You find it difficult to say that to the other person, to your parents, to your husband, to your wife. Can I suggest that maybe you also lack love towards that person if you find it difficult to raise criticism? I say that because the Bible says that perfect love will cast out fear. If you love the other person enough, your love for them will override the fear of how they'll respond to your unwanted criticism. Criticism can require bold speech. So we have this openness that's free of manipulation, we have deep love, we have bold speech. Fourthly, we have a perspective, just a way to see things rightly as you give criticism. What's this perspective? Verse four. Paul says he has great boldness in addressing these painful problems, but Paul sees more than only the problems. There are problems, Paul sees it, Paul's going to address it, but Paul also sees what's praiseworthy. them. Verse 4, he says, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. So do you see what Paul's perspective is as he looks at these people that he's criticizing? Paul doesn't totalize the flaws or the graces of the other person. He sees their flaws, but their flaws don't totally define them in his sight. And he sees their graces, but he's not blind to their flaws. And so Though he critiques them, he also can speak well of them, both. He can critique them and he can speak well of them, sincerely. So many of the letters in the New Testament see the fullness of the other person, their good qualities, and their suffering, and their sin, all of them. Dr. Ed Welch calls this the good, the hard, and the bad. Does that perspective, does that shape your criticism of a fellow human being? For instance, let's say they did something that needs to be criticized. Maybe they did something very foolish, very self-destructive, something idiotic with their savings. They spent more than they could afford on a stupid, stupid, expensive kitchen gizmo that's gonna break in a year, and you're thinking, you didn't have the money for that. Why did you do that? Or maybe they spent way too much for some clownish toy for their truck. And you think that was really irresponsible. And maybe you should speak to it. Maybe you need to speak to it because of their situation. But when you look at them and what they did, do you also see their good? Can you speak about the good that you see in them? maybe the person did this, can you also recognize and say, you're a generous person. You may have spent your money poorly, but you are very generous with your money, even to your own hurt. You're a very patient person, and life just would be seriously downgraded if you weren't here. Your patience does a lot to promote peace here. Or you're a joyful person. You might have made this impulsive spending thing that was really, it's gonna cause problems, but you're a really joyful person, and you bring joy to a lot of other people. You lift up the atmosphere when you come into life. And can you see not only they're good, as you look at them, can you also see the suffering in their lives and speak to that? They made this bad choice, but you also see a fuller context. You see suffering in them, in their past. You can say, you know, this has been an incredibly hard year for you. I recognize that. Or I can tell part of what's hard for life for you these days is I disappointed you when you were struggling. I disappointed you terribly. I really let you down, and that's gotta hurt, and I'm sad about that. I'm sorry about that. I recognize that. To the extent that you can see in the other person the good, the hard, and the bad, you're seeing the person in love. Now we've looked at how to give criticism well, some ways to give criticism well in our text. Now let's look at receiving criticism. How to receive criticism well. And this is very important. Verse two, Paul says, open your hearts to us. Don't be put off by the correction that I had to bring to you, by the correction that I need to bring to you. Don't close your heart to receiving correction. All of us need correction, don't we? but it's hard to hear. Criticism is hard to bear. Have you noticed though, it's kind of strange, have you noticed that some people can criticize you and for whatever reason, it's actually really easy to receive criticism and to hear it from them. Maybe if the criticism comes from some mentor whom you trust or your coach where you've got this established, really healthy relationship and they point out places that need to change, When it comes from them, you're glad to hear it. It's easy to receive it and to change. But if the criticism comes from other people, maybe this one particular person, if they criticize or if they just make a suggestion, you just, you shut down, you won't have it. Maybe it's when dad comments on your driving or when mom comments on your outfits, whatever. And at this point, let me add a big qualifier to all of this. We're talking about receiving criticism. We're talking about receiving correction. We're talking about receiving rebuke. We're talking about receiving the conviction of the Holy Spirit. But we're not talking about receiving abuse. Abusive criticism is wrong. It wrecks people. It should be resisted. But having said that, if you can receive criticism, even if it's poorly given, If you can receive criticism well, people will notice. That will be distinctive. And even if people don't notice, God notices, and that is enough. Well, how do you receive criticism well? Well, first of all, You need to be able to sit in the tub of God's comfort. This is in verses four through seven. You need to be able to sit in the tub of God's comfort as you receive criticism. Here, Titus has just been with the Corinthians, and he's been an in-between, an intermediary between Paul and the Corinthians. And Titus comes back from them, he brings back good reports about the Corinthians, but he also brings back some concerning reports about some of the people. And some of what he brings back are criticisms that they have about Paul, unfounded criticisms and suspicions that they have of Paul, some of them listed here in verse two. And as you look at the wider context of Paul's life, as he's receiving these criticisms, these suspicions that are kind of listed here in verse two, as he receives them, what else is going on? What's the context? What's the good? What's the suffering that Paul is also living in? Well, when we looked at chapter six, we see that there were challenges, there was stress, there was poverty that was filling Paul's ministry and life. And then here in verse five, he says, when we, when the ministry team came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest. He's saying we were physically exhausted. And then verse five continues, outside were conflicts, inside were fears. People were quarreling with us. That was the context of what we were having to live with. People were opposing us, and then people around us were fighting with each other. Stressful. It was very disturbing. Outside were conflicts, but then inside, he says, were fears. He's saying, I was worried. I was afraid. I wasn't sleeping well. I was afraid whether tomorrow would bring even more trouble. I was afraid of whether things that I said in one of my messages or one of my letters, I was afraid that it might make you mad. I was afraid of the person that I knew was mad. So inside, outside, and then just health-wise is exhaustion. Paul's overwhelmed. Now, how hard is it to receive criticism when you're stressed out, when things are crazy on the outside, when you're scared on the inside, and when you're just physically exhausted? How hard is it to receive criticism? Very hard when you're under it like that. But he says, Paul says at the end of verse four, in all these troubles, I am very joyful. including this criticism that's come in in verse two. Why? Why? It's because Paul is sitting in the most, he's sitting in a spa. He's in a sauna. He is sitting in the most lovely healing bath. What's the healing bath that he's sitting in? It's like one of these places where you can just relax and there are healing salts in the waters. Paul is sitting in the tub of God's comfort to him. 6. Nevertheless, in spite of all these troubles outside and inside, God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus. God comes to his depressed servants, his downcast servants, and he brings comforts. Now, you may have to wait. You may have to sit there before the sauna starts having its effect on you. You may have to wait. You may have to seek after it. But God comforts the downcast. The Lord sees your troubles. He sees your exhaustion. He sees the turmoil that's going on in your family. He sees the politics at the office. He sees your worry and your fear about the deadlines coming up this week, and you're thinking, there's no way it's gonna happen. And then someone comes and criticizes you about something else on top of all of that. How does God come? Well, sometimes he sends a good person to you. Titus comforted them when he came. Paul recognizes, though, that it's God who sends comfort by the coming of Titus. And if someone has helped you in life, when you were low, when you were depressed, when you were afraid, when you were being unfairly criticized, if God has sent someone to comfort you, don't forget to thank God. Don't forget to acknowledge God for sending that person, to send his comfort through that person. And there's something in this for all of us here. Do you know people who are down? Do you know people who are afraid? And can you be a Titus to them? Can you be a Titus to the downcast? I'm not talking about just shallow, cheering up someone who's struggling. I'm talking about bringing the comfort of God, that you once personally received yourself from God, you now bringing the comfort that you received from God to another. That's 2 Corinthians 1, bringing that comfort to those who need comfort. Now, some people possess great skills in comforting. Others are still developing their skills in that. But you can pray. You can pray for the person. You can pray with the person. You can be willing to move towards the downcast. Don't be afraid of them. Don't be afraid of the downcast. And if you're sitting in a tub of God's comfort, you can receive criticism. In Paul's case, even though the criticism against him were untrue, they were unfounded, he could receive them. It's amazing. He could hear all of this stuff being thrown at him, and it was okay. Why? Why was it okay? It was because Paul took his comfort. Paul gained his confidence, not from what they would say, what they thought of him, but it was from God. Paul didn't find his worth. his security, his identity, and what the other people were saying about him, and what the other people said to him or about him. And so he could handle it when they spoke against him. And he could receive criticism when it rang true, when it was accurate, when it was needed. Now in verses nine through 11, we see the second thing about how to receive correction, how to receive criticism. We receive criticism well. We've received it well when both our attitude and our actions change in response to it. And this is what we in Christianity call repentance. If you're someone who's exploring Christianity and you're wondering what's Christianity about? How is it different from other religions, other practices? Repentance is a big thing in Christianity. Martin Luther, who's a significant thinker in Christianity, said, it's the whole of the Christian life, repentance. It's not just a point, it's not just a part, it's the whole thing. You can't become a Christian, go from being not a Christian to becoming a Christian. You can't become a Christian without repentance. And once you become a Christian, you can't continue, you can't keep going on being a Christian without continual. Repentance. Repentance is the door, but it's also the continuing path that we follow as Christians. Where do we see repentance here? Well, Paul, verse nine, had written a correction letter to them, something that required their repentance. And they received it well. And Paul says in verse nine, now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. I wrote you something hard that made you sorry. and you repented. Verse 10, he says, for godly sorrow produces repentance, leading to salvation without regret. Verse 11, observe this very thing, that when you got this hard letter, you sorrowed in a godly manner. What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication, in all things, you proved yourselves to be clear in this manner. They changed, they changed. Repentance is a change in attitude and in action, in pathos as well as in performance. Repentance involves heart and hands. So the attitude change, what's the attitude change that comes with repentance? Well, you acknowledge that you did something that was wrong. and you experience sadness about it, sadness for your sin. And it's not resentment that you got caught. It's not irritation that you have to pay a price for your folly. It's not defensive pride like, how could you say that about me? How could you say that about me? It's just sadness. It's sorrow for the hurt that you cause. Sorrow for, just for the wrongness of what you did. You're grieved about the consequences. There's nothing wrong with being grieved about consequences. But you're also just plain grieved over the evil of it. Paul calls it sorrow in a godly manner. It means that you are just as grieved as if you were never caught, as if it had never come to light, as if there had been no consequences, you're just as grieved for what you did that was wrong because it was wrong. Another attitude change in repentance, you also find that there's compassion for the person you're wrong, compassion for the victim, if we can call it that. Verse 12, Paul says, this rebuke and your repentance, it showed your zeal for me. You wronged me, Corinthians, but when you repented, your zeal for me has come out of it. The one that you wronged, you're zealous for me. Verse seven, Titus reported on their repentance. Your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, he says in verse seven. The Corinthians had wronged Paul, the Corinthians had repented, and now the Corinthians had regard for the one they wronged. Your zeal for me. So, a false repentance doesn't have this. A false repentance is just drowning in self-regard, self-pity. Oh, I can't believe that I did this. Oh, now it's so hard for me, the consequences. True repentance suddenly sees the wrong from the victim's point of view, not from their point of view as the offender. They see it from the victim's point of view. They're able to stand in the shoes of the victim. The repentant person becomes zealously pro-victim, zealously pro-victim. You repent, and now you are just consumed with what will help, what will aid the well-being and the healing of the one that you hurt. What will help the victim heal? How can I advocate now for the victim? How can I support and repair How can I repair the things that I broke? Zacchaeus, great example of this. Zacchaeus determines to pay back what he took. He determines to pay back fourfold what he took. It's not overboard to pay more than what he broke. This new compassionate attitude births compassionate actions. The victim can tell. You spoke evil to someone. Let's take an example. You spoke evil to someone. you offended someone, you harmed someone. Maybe you said something like, I hate you, I wish you were dead. If you said that, that's evil. You've hurt the other person. But later you're convicted about it. It was wrong. It was wicked to say that. You feel it. You repent of it. And you have deep sadness. Deep sadness. Not because they've now withdrawn from you. You said that and they just back off from you. And you have deep sadness, not because you lose benefits. Maybe they had formerly been doing you favors, and now they're like, whoa, okay, this is just gonna, this is over. You're sad just because it was terribly wrong, what you did. And now you, in repentance, you've got zeal for that person. I hated them. How can it be healed? When I unloaded on them, it must have seared their memory in a way that will be almost impossible to forget. It was that bad. They must have been so afraid. They must now still be very afraid, or they must have been very angered when I unloaded on them like that. And they were angry then, they're probably angry now justifiably so. How will they ever be able to forget what I said and what I did? And what would be good now for them? Whatever it might cost me. Do they need space? Do they need a lot of space? Do they need time? Do they need a lot of time? Do they need counseling? Who can help them? It may not even be me. It probably isn't me. It may be me. What does God want? What do they need? You become zealously pro-victim, pro-healing, pro-repair for the victim. Now, that's how we can receive criticism well. Let's end with one last thing. two kinds of regret, two kinds of regret. Verse 10 speaks of two kinds of regret when we get confronted with our own sin. Listen to the two kinds of sorrow that he lists here. Verse 10, for godly sorrow, that's the first kind, godly sorrow produces repentance, leading to salvation, not to be regretted. But, and here's the second kind, the sorrow of the world produces death, produces death. When someone confronts you with criticism, with correction, you've got two possible responses. You have godly sorrow, which produces repentance, leading to salvation, to life, and then the other response, the sorrow of the world. which won't bring life, it just brings death, it says. And that means this sorrow, this sorrow of the world, it's a regret that won't produce a change of heart. It won't bring the right kind of response. It won't produce a change in behavior. The sorrow of the world is sorrow only about the consequences. I got caught. Now I'm in the doghouse. Now I have to make monthly payments to restore. Now my pride is wounded. Now I have lost my friend. Let's say I borrowed your car. And let's say I did something reckless and I wrecked the car. Worldly sorrow. Worldly sorrow means, I'm just so concerned about my ticket. How is this going to turn out for me in court? I'm not sure I can afford this. And oh, what about my insurance hike? That's where worldly sorrow goes. But godly sorrow says, I was reckless, I shouldn't have done that. There's just no excuse for it. How can I restore to you what is now lost? How can I replace the car that I destroyed? And not just that, how can I assist you? All the headache and hassle that you have now, you're going to have all these trips to the DMV, you're going to have to try to find something else to drive. It's not easy to find a replacement car. How can I assist you with all the repair hassle and all the scheduling hassle, all the inconvenience that I have brought on you? The sorrow of the world has little compassion and no lasting compassion for the victim. The sorrow of the world is just self-pitying, self-centered. And that's how so much of the world receives criticism, even if it's valid criticism. Most of the world, most of us, if we're in the sorrow of the world, we receive the criticism with either resistance, because we find it intolerable that someone would challenge us. We meet it with resistance. My identity is threatened by what you're correcting. And so it's just impossible for me to admit that I was wrong, even if it's something stupid, like I was wrong about the time we were supposed to meet, or I was wrong in the way that I talk to our kids. I just can't even admit it. So I meet criticism with resistance. Or we respond with ruin. The criticism is true, and I can't handle it. It's true. And because I have no rock, the consequences are more than I can bear. Think of Cain, who complained when he was caught and accused. He said, my punishment is greater than I can bear. He was utterly swallowed up by it, not with repentance, but with self-regard. I can't bear this. But what if I told you? What if I told you there was something that could remove the risk from repentance? What if I told you that the gospel removes the risk from repentance so that you don't have to resist criticism, even if it's not valid criticism, even if it's not fair? And what if I told you the gospel removes the risk from repentance so that you don't have to be ruined by strong rebukes, by overcharged rebukes? How does the gospel remove risk? from repentance. In the gospel, Jesus Christ wronged no one, corrupted no one, cheated no one, but he was ruined for our wrongs. Jesus was troubled on the outside. He was filled with fear inside. He was downcast, cast all the way down to death and the grave. In our place, he took a sorrow that led to death for himself. Jesus was blamed to make you blameless in the sight of God. Jesus was ruined to make you righteous in the sight of God. And all of his praiseworthy, blameless behavior. If you're in Christ, God sees you with that same favor and pleasure. And so, don't you see that because of that exchange in the gospel, all risk, if you're in Christ, all risk is removed from repentance. What is the worst thing they could charge you with? If it's true, you're forgiven in Christ. And if the charge is untrue, you're righteous in the sight of God, and his approval is the only approval that matters. That's the rock that you're standing on. And can I suggest this? If you can't bear criticism, If you have to resist it, or if it ruins you, if you can't bear criticism, you don't fully understand the cross. If you're a Christian, come back. Come back to the cross. Come back to your first repentance, that door through which you entered, your first repentance when you were convicted of your sin, and you were convinced of the forgiveness of sins and of righteousness in Christ, your first repentance, come back to that. And if you're not a Christian, if you're not a Christian, but you want to be a Christian, here's where it starts. Here's where it starts. Jesus said, repent, believe, be baptized, repent, admit that you are wicked, and sorrow, sorrow just for the wrongness of it all. the wrongness and the evil that was you, and turn to Jesus. Believe that he took your punishment. Believe that he makes you righteous. He lived, he dies, he lives again. Let's pray. Lord, we come again to Jesus Christ, all of our hopes, are wrapped up in this man and what he did and how he preached the gospel to us, preached the repentance of sins, preached the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world, who demonstrated and accomplished for us the obedience to the law. And so, Lord, For those of us who are in Christ, we pray that we would have the same heart of love that he showed towards us, who were worthy of condemnation, but he loved us. Give us that same love, that deep love, that's willing to take costs as we bring necessary criticism to one another and enable us to receive criticism without resistance, without being ruined because of Christ. And Lord, for those who have not yet entered into the kingdom, who need to believe, who need to repent, would you grant repentance? We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.