Lessons

Repentance – Godly versus Worldly. The lesson on April 15, 2007 was provided by Leland Maples of the LOOPS Ministry who gave an update on LOOPS as well as a study on 2 Corinthians 7:9-11. In this passage, Paul was dealing with two different types of sorrows and two different types of repentance which lead to two different results. We see a very personal example of these when comparing Peter and Judas. Mark 14:27-31 tells of the time where Jesus was telling the apostles that they will all deny him this very night. We see Peter vehemently say he will not deny Jesus even until death “And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.” As we see, all twelve apostles agreed with Peter. We pick up the story in Matthew 26:69-75 we see Peter was standing in the palace where Jesus was being falsely accused and somebody asked him if he was associated with Jesus and he denied them three times (Matthew 26:75 “And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.” Peter was just like you and me who have made promises to God and have broken those promises before the end of the day. We see another one of the twelve apostles name Judas in Matthew 27:1-6. When Judas saw he made a mistake, went back to the Chief Priests and tried to give the 30 pieces of silver back to repent his deeds for betraying an innocent man. In the end, they would not take back the money they paid Judas. Consequently, we read in Matthew 27:4-5 “Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.” Peter and Judas were so much alike: they were one of the twelve apostles, they both were baptized, they both performed miracles, they both took communion, they both had a good reputation, in fact, Judas had a better reputation than Peter because they let Judas carry the money. Yet one was a saint and one was a devil. One was wheat, and one was a tare. One was real, and one was a hypocrite and the only one that knew about the both of them was Jesus Christ. Nobody around them could tell. Nobody could look at them and tell them apart but Christ knew who was the saint and who was the devil. They both committed a sin. Peter denied Christ three times and Judas sells him out. Peter repented to God and was forgiven while Judas repented to the Chief Priests and was not forgiven but hanged himself. Two types of repentance and two different results. Peter later was used by God through half the book of Acts and wrote two books in the New Testament (1 & 2 Peter). One person was Godly and the other Worldly. Which type of saint are you?