Godly Sorrow

2 Corinthians 7:2-16

Key Verse 7:10

 

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

At one time Jesus said to his followers, “Blessed are you who weep now for you will laugh” (Matthew 6:21b). Similarly, King Solomon said, “Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad face is good for the heart” (Ecclesiastes 7:3).

In the passage for today, the Apostle Paul tells us about godly sorrow which brings repentance that leads to salvation. So let us think about godly sorrow that gives us the joy of salvation. 

Part I. My joy knows no bounds (2-7)

Look at verses 2-4. “Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one. I do not say this to condemn you; I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you. I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds. “

Thus far we have seen that the Apostle Paul’s heart was filled with anguish. In 2 Corinthians 2:4 he says, “I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart, and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.” 

The Bible says, “Love always hopes.” The Bible also says, “Love never fails.” In this love, the Apostle Paul kept expressing his love to the Corinthians brothers and sisters. In love he made all kinds of efforts to restore the broken relationship with them: he made phone calls, sent love letters, emails, and text messages. He also sent God’s servants such as Titus so they would open their hearts to Paul. But despite Paul’s constant love for them, the relationship between the Apostle Paul and the flock of God at Corinth still remained broken. Yet the Apostle Paul did not give up. As we saw already in great anguish he wrote letters with many tears. Why did he shed so many tears? What we just read in verse 2 answers the question: “Make room for us in your hearts.” The Apostle Paul wanted them to open their hearts so they would love the Apostle Paul back as much as Paul had loved them.  

But now the Apostle Paul says, “In all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.” Why is he now so joyful? Look at verses 5-7:

“For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.” This passage indicates that the Apostle Paul is now very joyful because Titus brought good news to him. What was the news? They started opening their hearts. He saw that finally his labor of love for the flock at Corinth started paying off. At first he was not sure how they would respond to Paul’s harsh letters. But finally Paul saw his loving endurance begin to bear tangible fruit in them. So his joy knew no bounds. 

Paul’s example reminds us of the kind of love Joseph in Genesis had for his brothers. Once upon a time, while Joseph was in his sensitive age his brothers banded together and, for the price of a few hamburgers, sold Joseph to an Ishmaelite as a slave to Egypt. It has been said, “What goes around comes around.” The Lord God orchestrated the matters in such a way that Joseph’s brothers came to Joseph to ask for food in Egypt. It became a great opportunity for Joseph to get his revenge against them. But, in love, Joseph helped them to repent of their sins, rather than get revenge. He helped them not only to confess their sins but also bear fruit in accordance with their repentance. The grand finale of Joseph’s love story came with Joseph bursting into tears of joy. 

Joseph’s story foreshadows the true love story between God the Father and all peoples on earth. The Bible says, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). 

Now here is the point for us to consider: Have I opened my heart to the Lord as much as he has to me? Have I made room in my heart for the Lord as much as Jesus has for me?

The Apostle Paul says, “We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one.” Jesus wronged no one; he has corrupted no one; he has exploited no one. Instead we wronged him. We exploited him. Yet he gave his life for us. But on many occasions we say all kinds of bad things about God who sent Jesus. “He is unfair…I don’t know why he gives me so many troubles.” And we are stingy in expressing our thanks to God for all the good work he has done for us. 

Again the Apostle Paul says, “You have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you. I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you.” Here the expression “such a place” means “the best place.” It is synonymous for “everything.” The Corinthians meant more to Paul than his own life. It is for this very reason that he risked his life and braved all kinds of hardships to get the gospel to them. But he got this much love for God’s flock all through Jesus, for Jesus himself did not live for himself but for his sheep. Because Jesus laid down his life for his sheep, the Apostle Paul also laid down his life for Jesus’ sheep. Now we know that we have “such a place” in Jesus’ heart. Then what about Jesus in us? What place does Jesus occupy in our hearts? 

Part II.  See what this godly sorrow has produced in you (9-16)

Now that the Apostle Paul saw that the Corinthian brothers and sisters started repenting, he is ready to comfort them. 

Look at verses 8-9. “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.” 

What the Apostle Paul means here is that the Corinthian brothers and sisters should not feel bad about all the harsh words Paul had to say. Why? It was because although they were made sorry for a while, they became sorrowful as God intended. Plus, they bore the fruit of repentance that leads to salvation. 

Specifically, what good fruit did they bear? Look at verses 11-12. “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.” Paul mentions seven ways in which they bore the fruit of repentance.

“Eagerness to clear oneself” – this fruit is very important, not just for them but for the Apostle Paul. In the past, the Corinthians kept their mouths shut in regards to where they stood in their relationship with Paul. Paul expressed his heart for them. Again and again he made it clear how much he loved them. But still they kept their mouths shut. In this way they did not make their love and devotion clear to Paul. But now they changed. This reminds me of my granddaughter Cristyn. When she does something wrong, her mommy comes to her and asks her to say, “I am sorry.” At first she is reluctant to even say “Sorry.” But as mom insists she says, “I am sorry.” Then she starts crying. Mommy comforts her. Then she says, “Mommy, give me a hug.” This means “Mommy, I love you.” 

“Indignation” – the word “indignation” has the meaning of “anger,” “resentment,” or even “wrath.” The anger here is a holy anger – anger against all the wrongs that have been committed so casually and so freely. One brother used to listen to rock music. Then he started living like a wild dog. Soon, he began to experience the kingdom of hell growing inside. One day a missionary invited him to a Bible study. Through Bible study he tasted the joy of salvation. He then began to hate rock music. So what did he do? He gathered all the rock albums he owned, hundreds of them, and took them outside and, in holy anger, smashed them all with a sledge hammer. 

“Alarm” – this fruit has to do with the awareness of the dreadful consequences of a man living life like an unbeliever. Thus far the Corinthians pretended to be good Christians. But they were not. They put one foot in the world and the other in the church. They lived a double life. The Apostle Paul severely rebuked them. In his long letter(s) he showed them the dreadful consequences of the life that compromises. Then, they were greatly alarmed. This fruit is very important for lukewarm Christians. So let us stop and think about the word “alarm.” Think about an air-raid alarm or a burglar alarm like the one you installed in your car against auto-theft. The Bible also has an alarm system. In the history of Israel, before the day of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, comes, the Israelites kept a special feast called the Feast of Trumpets. This feast lasted for 10 days. During this period of time, throughout the towns and villages of Israel the priests blow trumpets continually. The trumpet sound warns the people against all the sins they have committed. The trumpet sound works as a series of powerful “wake-up” calls from the Lord, so people would repent of their sins and wait for God’s cleaning. Such is the purpose of this alarm Paul speaks of. In this way, thus far, the Apostle Paul blew a trumpet continually; he gave them a series of wakeup calls. As a result, they came to their senses. They woke up from their spiritual slumber and repented. 

“Longing” – this longing includes the longing for the day of Jesus second coming. It also includes the longing to rejoin with the Apostle and fight the cause for Jesus’ world mission command. 

“Concern” – In the past the Corinthians were not concerned about others; their attitude was more or less like a lukewarm Christian who says, “I don’t know,” and “I don’t care.” But now they became different. They were deeply “concerned” about the well-being of their neighbors and their fellow workers. They started to think that just as their feelings were important the feelings of their neighbor were also important. 

“Readiness to see justice done” – again this fruit is also very important for a lukewarm Christian to bear. In the past the Corinthians did not take a clear stand against all who sin. Even though one of their fellow brothers committed terrible sins, such as incest, they did not say anything. But when Paul heard the incident he severely rebuked them. He asked them to kick that man out of the church saying, “Hand this man over to Satan.” (cf. 1Co 5:1-5). Thanks to the Apostle Paul’s clear attitude, they were now ready to see justice done. 

“How devoted to us you are” – this is a complete U-turn from the previous course of action they had taken. In the past they classified Paul as a liar. And some of them started saying, “I am going to follow someone else.” But now they are fully devoted to Paul and his world mission cause. 

Look at verses 13-16. “By all this we are encouraged. In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you. I had boasted to him about you, and you have not embarrassed me. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting about you to Titus has proved to be true as well. And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling. I am glad I can have complete confidence in you.” 

Overall, this passage says that godly sorrow bears practical fruit, that is, willingness to form a unity of love with Jesus Christ and with fellow workers such as the Apostle Paul and Titus, and positively participate in the work God has in mind.

In conclusion, we learn that although it took a lot of pain, the Apostle Paul performed the right labor of love for the flock at Corinth. Working as a good shepherd after Jesus’ example, Paul not only cared for them but also challenged them. In this way he shepherded over them until godly sorrow arose in them. Thanks to Paul’s godly love they could bear the good fruit of repentance that leads to salvation. May the Lord bless us to follow Paul’s example in feeding and taking care of the flock put under our care.

One word: Godly sorrow brings repentance

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