Judas goes out and hangs himself. Acts 1 says he doesn't do a very good job of it because the branch breaks. He falls down from the cliff and his body splatters on the rocks. And Matthew 27:3 says he "felt remorse."
Scripture Focus: Matthew 27:3-5; 2 Corinthians 7:10
"Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, 'I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.' But they said, 'What is that to us? See to that yourself!' And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself."
"For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death."
In verse three, it says he felt remorse. What's the point?
You can feel horrible. You can feel absolutely riddled with guilt, extreme shame, remorse, and never come to repentance.
What is repentance? Repentance is turning—turning from your sin to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's acknowledging, confessing that sin and saying, "I'm wrong. I need You."
Second Corinthians 7:9-10 says there are two different types of sorrow over sin.
An unbeliever can feel guilty. Sometimes people say, "Your guilt over sin? That's a sign the Spirit of God is working in you." Not necessarily. Unbelievers feel guilty.
Judas felt remorse to the point where he went and killed himself and he will be in hell for all of eternity.
Paul says, "The sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death."
What is he saying? Remorse over sin, sorrow over sin, immense guilt, immense shame—so big, so crushing—doesn't mean anything if it doesn't lead you to repentance, to change.
There are people right now potentially that feel horrible when they sin. They feel sorrow. Their conscience is pricked. "No, what am I doing? What am I doing?" Three days later—comfortable. No longer feel the sting of their conscience. Get back and do the same thing over and over again.
Promises to God. Shame over their sin. Regret, regret, regret. And Paul is saying here it doesn't produce true repentance.
That's a dangerous position to be in. Very, very eternally dangerous.
The sorrow of God over sin produces repentance. It's not just "I feel bad." It's "This grieves God. And then I turn to God, acknowledge my sin. I need Your grace. I want to change and I need the power to change."
If you don't bring your guilt to the foot of the cross, you'll end up paying for it for all of eternity.
Hell is full of regret, full of wasted opportunity, full of people who felt remorse over their sin but never turned from it to the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. Do you feel remorse over your sin, or do you truly repent—turn from it to Jesus?
2. Are you stuck in a cycle of guilt, promises, repeat—without real change?
3. Have you brought your guilt to the foot of the cross, or are you still carrying it?
Stay dialed in
