Is Just Being Sorry Enough? 2 Corinthians 7

2 Corinthians 7:8-13 - Paul's Joy Over The Church Repentance

8 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— 9 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. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11 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. 12 So even though I wrote to you, it was neither on account of the one who did the wrong nor on account of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are. 13 By all this we are encouraged.

Paul mentions "his letter", which letter is this exactly  Here is what one commentator writes,

"It helps if we remember the sequence of events. Things were going badly among the Christians in Corinth, and in an attempt to get them on track, Paul made a quick, unplanned visit that only seemed to make things worse (the “sorrowful visit” mentioned in 2 Corinthians 2:1). After the failure of this visit, Paul decided not to visit Corinth again in person at the time but instead sent Titus to them with a strong letter of rebuke. Paul was very worried about how the Corinthians would receive the letter and whether it would turn them to Jesus or just make them angry. When Titus came back with good news from the Corinthian Christians, Paul was greatly relieved. " Guzik

Paul was not happy he had to write the letter to them confronting their sin, but he was happy that it led to them to godly sorrow which led to repentance.  So what does he mean by godly sorrow that leads to repentance?

It begs the question what is the difference between godly sorrow and earthly sorrow.  Earthly sorrow is an emotion which may or may not lead to any kind of change in one's life. It could even be feeling sorry for oneself that you are reaping the consequences of an action.  It has nothing to do with a change of attitude that leads to a change of behavior.  Godly sorrow produces repentance, which is simply turning from what we know is wrong to obey to God in a particular area of our life.  Godly sorrow produced many good things in the Corinthians.  It produced earnestness, eagerness, longing and concern for justice to be done.  When God calls us to repent it is not to punish us or make us feel bad ourselves, but because He has a better plan for our lives.  Oftentimes it takes a lot of time for us to repent.  We want to do things our way and sometimes it takes a long time to learn our lesson that God's way is always the better way.  The more stubborn we are the longer it may take. 

The issue Paul is likely referring to is the character assasination that was going on in the church toward Paul.  Paul confronts them on their behavior and they could have either blown it off or be led by the Holy Spirit to a godly sorrow that changed their attitude and behavior toward Paul.  

When the Corinthians responded favorably to the letter which Titus brought on behalf of Paul it made Paul happy.  Though he wasn't particularly excited to send the letter, it did the work it had been intended for.  They realized their sin and turned to God and repented of their behavior.  Paul didn't have to visit them in person to confront them once again.  

Do you see the difference between feeling sorry for yourself (earthly sorrow), and a godly sorrow that leads to repentance?  Think about a time you felt genuine godly sorrow about an area of your life that you needed to change to be in alignment with God's will for you.  What did it feel like to obey God?  Did that change help you in your relationship with God and others?  Did it make your life better or worse? Are there any areas of your life right now where you might feel God calling you to repentance?  Remember it is God's kindness that leads us to repentance not shame or guilt!  


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