2 Corinthians 7 - Only Godly Sorrow Can Lead to Repentance!

Click Here to Read or Listen 2 Corinthians 7

7 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

Paul had talked about the promises of heaven in 2 Corinthians 5, and now he comes back down to earth to urge them to stay pure from things that contaminate the body and spirit. We understand what he means about the things that contaminate the body, but what about the spirit? There is a spiritual reality in the world that affects our own spirit based on what we pursue in our lives.  

Paul says we are called to "perfect holiness". What does that mean? "Perfect" in the Greek is the world for "completed" or "finished". When God chose us out of the world, He called us to be special, set apart, which is the same word for holy. Of course this process will never be fully complete in this life, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't pursue it in the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Though it is only God who makes us holy, we have a part in this process, especially by what we avoid. 

 “How can those expect God to purify their hearts who are continually indulging their eyes, ears, and hands in what is forbidden, and in what tends to increase and bring into action all the evil propensities of the soul?” (Clarke)

Our own need for holiness becomes clearer the closer we draw near to God, the only One who is truly holy.

“I suppose that, the nearer we get to heaven, the more conscious we shall be of our imperfections. The more light we get, the more we discover our own darkness. That which is scarcely accounted sin by some men, will be a grievous defilement to a tender conscience. It is not that we are greater sinners as we grow older, but that we have a finer sensibility of sin, and see that to be sin which we winked at in the days of our ignorance.” (Spurgeon)

Paul’s Joy Over the Church’s Repentance

2 Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one. 3 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. 4 I have spoken to you with great frankness; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.

Paul again makes a personal plea for them to have the same love for him, as he has for them. His actions speak for themselves, but he wanted to remind them of how frank and honest he was with them. It seems that Paul has made a lot of headway here, as he states that his joy has no bounds even in the midst of many trials. 

God brought comfort to Paul by hearing about the work God did among the Corinthian Christians. “No circumstances of personal affliction can dim the gladness of seeing souls grow in the grace of the Lord Jesus.” (Morgan)

5 For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 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.

When Paul was at a particularly low point in his ministry, the Corinthians sent Titus to him. Apparently Titus' presence and the greeting he brought from Corinth gave Paul great encouragement and joy. 

It shows us how important the spiritual gift of "encouragement" is. We all get discouraged by the trials and tribulations of life. That's why we were built for community that we can only receive in the body of Christ. Being an isolated Christian is always a bad thing.

In 2 Corinthians 1:3, Paul declared that God is the God of all comfort. Here, Paul experienced that comfort through the coming of Titus and the news from Corinth. Paul experienced the comfort of God through human instruments. Often when we turn away from people, we turn away from the comfort God wants to give us.

Who could you encourage today like Titus did for Paul?

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 addresses the letter he had sent them rebuking them for some of the things going on in the church. Though it was a tough letter, it led the Corinthians to sorrow which led to repentance. Note there is a big difference in being sorry for your sin, and turning from what you know is wrong, which we call repentance. Sorrow can lead to repentance, or just self-pity. Self-pity does nothing for us at all.  

Paul calls this "godly sorrow", which not to be confused by the "emotionalism" some people exhibit in our world. Someone can be teary eyed one day, and then go out and do the same thing tomorrow. You can't produce godly sorrow, as it comes from God through the Holy Spirit. 

This is why we can't expect unbelievers to have godly sorrow, which leads to repentance They may feel sorry because of the consequences of their actions, but that is more related to there own personal situation than any type of relationship to God. 

When we sin, the first person we need to be sorry toward is God. Then the person we hurt if that is the case. Godly sorrow does not look to lash out in anger at the person who is pointing out your sin in love. Though we may desire to speak the truth in love to someone, they still may react in the flesh, because you are pointing out something they know is true but don't want to admit.  But, ultimately speaking the truth in love is only way we can be ambassadors of God's mercy and truly love a brother or sister in love. We also call this "tough love". Jesus had to do this with his disciples too like Peter and Thomas.  

Sorrow in itself doesn’t produce anything except bad feelings, but godly sorrow produces repentance. Since repentance is a change (in both thinking and action), we can tell if sorrow is really godly by seeing if it produces repentance. So godly sorrow cannot be measured by feelings or tears, only by what it produces. - Guzik

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. 14 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. 15 And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling. 16 I am glad I can have complete confidence in you.

Paul was particularly happy to see how happy Titus was about all of this. Paul had entrusted Titus with this important work, and I am sure Titus wanted to prove himself worthy of Paul's trust. Paul had given Titus a great letter of recommendation, and Titus proved to be faithful and trustworthy to represent Paul in a Christ-like manner to the church in Corinth. Titus was instrumental in the work of healing that needed to happen in the church. 

I have seen many ministers who often work in an interim ministry of the church, when the church loses a pastor for whatever reason. If the pastor left due to division, conflict, or a moral failure, an interim minister is critical to help the church heal and prepare for the new pastor God will bring. Although this is not the case specifically with Titus' ministry, the principles are the same. 

Being a peacemaker is something that Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount causes us to be called "sons of god". Matthew 5:9 

All of this restored Paul's confidence in the Corinthians. Confrontation over sin does not always work out this well. In my pastoral ministry some times confrontation has led to a parting of ways. Some have refused to acknowledge their sin and have gone away hurt and angry. Those are some of my most sad experiences in my ministry, and I still pray those people today. Fortunately I can count the number of these people on one hand. I have many examples of where conflict has led to deeper relationships and fruitful ministry. 

Is there an area in your life where you need to repent of something that doesn't please God? It always starts with a godly sorrow, a sorrow produced by the conviction of the Holy Spirit and leads to repentance. If we are faithful to this process it will produce great joy in our lives. 

It is super imperative that you have at least one person in your life that you are accountable to. It is easy for us to sweep sin under the carpet or make rationalizations even with God, but if we are honest with another brother or sister in Christ it makes it more real. 

We all go through this process several times in our Christian life. Conviction, sorrow, and repentance are the Christian's way of life. This is why Paul says we need to pick up our cross daily and follow Jesus. We need to daily die to the ways of our old sinful nature, and be born anew to our new life in Christ!