2 Corinthians 7:2-16 Godly Sorrow

In today's quiet time, we learn about proper sorrow when confronted with sin. A sorrow that results in positive changes in our lives.

Paul was greatly joyed to find through the testimony of Titus that the church at Corinth had responded positively to his teachings. They could have responded in two ways. Verse 10 tells us, "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death." The Corinthian believers could have received their first epistle and been sorrowful in a selfish and damaging way. They could have decided to forget about Paul and the doctrines he had taught and gone their own way. But, praise the Lord, they chose to heed the correction which was given to them. The church had a godly sorrow concerning the mistakes they were making. As a church, they corrected their errors.

True repentance always brings correction. To repent is to turn away from sin. We can say that we are sorry to God, but if we do not have that godly sorrow as a result of our acknowledgement of sin, we will surely continue to struggle with it. But, when that godly sorrow is present in our hearts and minds, we will be repentant and proactively make changes.

Verse 11 shows us examples of changes that can result from godly sorrow. We will be more careful. We will be givers of our time, talents and treasures (clearing of yourselves). We will be indignant toward sin. We will live with a healthy fear of God. We will possess a vehement desire to please Him. By expressing all of these qualities, we can even get revenge over the person that we were before!

Paul shows his confidence in the church in verse 16. It says, "I rejoice therefore that I have confidence in you in all things." The reason why Paul could have such universal confidence in the church was because he knew their hearts were right. If Paul knew he was going to have to battle against opposition at every turn, he certainly would not have placed such trust and confidence. But, because Paul knew that the people were tender toward learning and being instructed, he knew they could be trusted. The Corinthians had shown Paul their godly hearts by displaying a godly sorrow when confronted, resulting in repentance and positive growth.