PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
2 Corinthians 7 (click the link)
KEY VERSES:
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. (2 Corinthians 7:8-12, NKJV)
REFLECTIONS:
Have you ever pushed "Send" on an email, or even a text, that you immediately think to yourself was a mistake? You knew that it would cause pain, maybe even irreparable damage to the relationship. This is the place Paul is coming from as we pick up in verse 8. He had written a letter to the Corinthians (some say it was First Corinthians, others think he wrote another “severe letter” that has been lost) to correct a wrong that had been done (maybe even towards Paul himself). Whatever it was, it dampened the zeal of the Corinthians for Paul and Paul writes a letter to point out the wrong and stir their support for Paul once again. Paul probably sends this letter with Titus, and then waits. And waits. Finally, verses 6 and 7 tell us that Titus returns and has encouraging news from the Corinthians. The “severe letter” had worked. So when Paul writes in verse 8 that he didn’t regret sending it, but he did regret sending it, he’s in that place of knowing that the people he cares about need some instruction, need to hear some hard truths, but not knowing how it will be received. So what happened? What came from Paul pushing "Send"?
The Corinthians felt godly sorrow.
Godly sorrow is good, produces repentance, and leads to salvation. Notice that Paul points out a difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow. Godly sorrow is grief or regret over past sins—the uncomfortable feeling of guilt when the word of God (or some other person or thing that God uses) shows you that what you’ve done is wrong. Godly sorrow is the sorrow of a God-saturated heart, not a world-saturated heart. Paul says worldly sorrow leads to death.
Paul tells us at the end of verse 7 and again in verse 9 that he rejoiced over what the Corinthians experienced. Their godly sorrow was a good thing. But it was also painful and uncomfortable and hard. Pain and hardships in themselves are not good things, but the end result of the godly sorrow is good. It produces repentance. Verse 9 says that “your sorrow led to repentance” and verse 10 says “godly sorrow produces repentance.” Repentance is not the same as feeling sorrow over sin. It’s the result of the sorrow. Repentance is the change of attitude or behavior that results from the sorrow over the sin. So godly sorrow is the first step of repentance, and repentance follows and completes the change of heart. That’s exactly what Paul tells us happens to the Corinthians.
Verse 11 gives a list of all the ways the Corinthians changed. Verse 10 in whole states, “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” So our repentance, like the Corinthians’, means a turning back to God, who is Savior, and results in spiritual deliverance from our sin, or salvation. More than likely you have already received salvation in Christ, just as the Corinthians had, but we still need daily salvation from our sins, and Paul lets us know that those uncomfortable feelings of godly sorrow is our first step to that salvation. So we can ask ourselves, are we grieved by our sin with a godly sorrow and do we turn from it? That is the test of our faith and the evidence that Christ is in us.
APPLICATION:
I think we can take two things from these verses. We need to be people willing to cause godly sorrow, and people willing to accept godly sorrow. Help people recognize their sin when God is pointing you that direction. This is never easy. If Paul struggled with it, so should we. But we should always be willing to help those we care about move toward repentance and salvation. Likewise, we should always be willing to be moved to godly sorrow and repentance by others who care about us and call us on our sin. Do I even need to say that this isn’t ever easy either? All we can do is try to be like Paul and the Corinthians…we’ll have times where we need to be each.
WHO AM I?
I’m Jennifer Babb, and the two crazy looking kids are mine! Ellie just turned 9 and James just turned 6, and they are a wonderful handful. The little guy in the middle is my super cute nephew, Cooper, and I have a niece on the way! I love kids! Mine, yours, any of them. J
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