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Godly Sorrow and Paul’s Joy

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.”

For the last several weeks we have studied 2 Corinthians chapter by chapter with different titles. When we review all the contents of those chapters, we find one main theme and purpose of Paul’s writing this letter, which is reconciliation, reconciliation to God and to the church. Paul wrote his first letter and sent it to the church through Timothy. Through Timothy Paul learned that the church did not accept Paul’s counselling. So, Paul visited the church, but he confronted the unexpected opposition. So, Paul called this ‘a painful visit.’ Paul wrote another letter and sent it to the church through Titus, while he was in Ephesus. Paul expected to meet Titus at Troas and to hear about the church from him. But he could not meet Titus there. With anguish and sorrow Paul left for Macedonia, where he finally met Titus with the news about the church.

Today’s passage teaches us how Paul wanted to reconcile the church and himself, and how he was comforted and rejoiced by Titus’ report about the church’s repentance. Paul’s affection for the church reminds us of God’s broken heart for the lost soul.

First, in all our troubles my joy knows no bound (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 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.” Through these verses we learn that Paul was still concerned about the impact of his letters on the church. The believers in the Corinthian Church must have been rebuked and challenged by Paul’s letter. Some of them still closed their hearts to Paul. So, Paul urged them to open their hearts wide as he opened his heart wide for them. Now Paul urged them to accept him by saying, “make room for us in your hearts.” Paul asked them to accept him as a co-worker for the gospel, even as a comrade who lives or dies together with them for the Lord. He defends for the honesty and transparency of his ministry. Paul said that he was proud of their perseverance over all troubles. He said, “in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.” Paul repeats this in 8:2, “In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy...” It sounds paradoxical. We usually become sorrowful and depressed in the time of troubles. But Paul said that his joy knew no bounds in all his troubles. What did he mean by that? How could he do so? Paul rejoiced always because he had the strong faith that in all things God works for good of those who love him. (Ro 8:28) Paul found God’s divine and good purpose and intention in the midst of trial and hardship.

Verses 5-7 shows another reason why Paul rejoices in all his troubles and where his joy came from. Look at verses 5-7. “For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflict 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.” Paul’s joy came from Titus and his report about the church. Paul’ heart was broken when he did not meet Titus at Troas. Even though he moved to Macedonia, his situation didn’t get better. He was harassed from every direction. He said, “conflict on the outside and fears within.” I believe that some of us here may experience the same situation as Paul did, ‘conflict on the outside and fears within.” The situation is also like the Israelites who were stuck between the Red Sea front and the chasing Egyptian army's rear.

But Paul praised Jesus, who is the God of comfort and the Father of compassion. He said that God who comforts the downcast comforted him by sending Titus. Paul must have been greatly joyful and relieved as if he found his lost son. Paul’s joy came not only from Titus’ return, but also his report about the church. Paul expected a very discouraging and painful report like the first report which Timothy had brought after his painful visit. But Titus’ report was completely opposite from Timonthy’s. Titus told Paul that the church was longing for Paul with great affection and ardent concern. It was like amazing news about winning a gold medal from a marathoner who almost dropped out from the race. Paul’s joy became double because of the news about the church. Then let us see what happened at the church and how the news made Paul so joyful.

Second, godly sorrow and worldly sorrow (8-13a) 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.” Indeed, Paul’s letter hurt the people in the church. As we know Paul did not compromise with their sinful life. He pointed out their sins one by one, case by case, and rebuked them to repent. But Paul did not regret his rebuke because he did it with the affection of Christ (shepherd heart). He became even joyful because their sorrow led them to repentance which God had intended.

He continues. Look at verse 10. “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” Paul differentiates godly sorrow from worldly sorrow. What is godly sorrow? Godly sorrow is sorrow which God intends such as sadness and grief which comes from repentance. When the Corinthians read Paul’s letter, their hearts were convicted. Paul pointed out their sins and problems and asked them to repent. When they recognized their sins, they were in pain. They admitted their wrongs and determined to turn to God. This is repentance. Here the word ‘repentance’ is metanoia in Greek, which means the change of mind. They changed their minds from idols to God, from hatred to love, from rebellion to obedience, and from division to unity. Their repentance produces salvation and peace.

Let us think about godly sorrow more. Godly sorrow comes in three ways: 1) sorrow which comes from recognition our own sin, 2) sorrow for other sins, 3) sorrow for God’s will. David wrote his repentant psalm, Psalm 51, after he had committed the sin of adultery with Uriah’s wife. He cried out for God’s forgiveness of his sin and the restoration of joy of salvation. His sorrow came from his deep repentance over his sin. Godly sorrow also comes from our broken heart for other sins. Moses’ heart was broken when he saw the Israelites worshiping a golden calf while he was on the Mount to receive the Ten Commandments. He cried out for the sin of their idolatry and rebellion. Jesus lamented over the sin of Jerusalem. Jesus cried out saying, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” (Lk 13:34) In the Beatitudes Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted...Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Mt 5:4,6) We often cry out for God’s righteousness and his justice. David’s, Moses,’ Jesus’, Paul’s, my sorrow and your sorrow are all godly sorrow which God intended. These sorrows are caused by God and for the glory of God.

What is worldly sorrow? Worldly sorrow is sorrow from the world and caused by the world such as sorrow from loss, separation, loneliness, failure, anxiety, sickness, and so on. Paul said that worldly sorrow leads us to death. So, godly sorrow is beneficial, but worldly sorrow is destructive and harmful. When we repent of worldly sorrow and turn to God, we are saved. We’ll cross from death to life and from darkness to light.

In verses 11-13a Paul describes how their godly sorrow brought them repentance and salvation. Look at verses 11-13a. “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 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. By all this we are encouraged.” Before they received the letter from Paul, they lost earnestness for the Lord. They became lukewarm for the work of God. But after being rebuked by Paul, they came back to their senses. They restored earnestness for the Lord and zeal for the work of God. Through Paul’s letter they admitted their wrongdoings and tried to defend themselves. They got mad at themselves when they realized how foolish they were. They had a holy anger for their sin. They had a holy fear of God and his divine judgment. They longed for God’s righteousness. In the past they were proud and selfish. They only thought about themselves. As a result, there were strife and division among them. But now after repentance they began to be concerned about others. They became humble to form unity among them. Instead of hurting others, they saw themselves before God and repented. Paul’s letter hurt them and brought godly sorrow, which produced such fruits of repentance. This is the reason why Paul was joyful during the trial.

We believe that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. (Ro 8:29) Sometimes we don’t understand our trial. We become sorrowful when things do not go as we expected. We often become frightened by unexpected accidents. But we must believe that in all things God works for good and beautiful. There is nothing happens among us without God’s intervention. Through tragedy or hardships God wants us to repent. God wants us to come back to him. God wants us to leave our life of sin and pursue his righteousness. Hebrews says, “No discipline seems pleasant at that time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (He 12:11) Amen!

Third, have complete confidence (13b-16) Here is another reason why Paul became joyful. It was his confidence in the church. Look at verses 13b-16. “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.” Before Paul sent Titus to the church with his letter, Paul encouraged Titus with a good reputation about the church. He might say, “The church has some problems now, but they will be okay. They all will repent and welcome you.” But after sending Titus to the church, Paul’s heart was not easy. This is because he had no confidence in the church even though he boasted about the church to Titus. Paul must have prayed for the church every day after sending Titus there.

When Titus came back from the church, his report about the church brought great joy and confidence to Paul. As Paul had said, the church repented after they read Paul’s letter. Not only did they repent, but they also welcomed Titus and served him with the affection of Christ as Paul said. Everything which Paul boasted about the church proved to be true. Paul was happy to see Titus’ spirit was greatly refreshed by all of them. This is the same case when our spirit is refreshed by testimonies and mission report by other missionaries. Last Friday I joined the Founders’ Day ceremony which was held in Chicago UBF. Once every year we remember the late Dr. Samuel Lee and Sarah Barry and other heroes of faith who have experienced the power of God and showed us the example of their faith. I heard a message from Pastor Ron who talked about Jesus’ words, “Don’t you remember?” based on Luke 8:14-21. Jesus rebuked his disciples who did not remember the work of Jesus who fed five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish, and four thousand with seven loaves of bread. His disciples did not remember Jesus’ miracle and his care for them, but worried about bread and their security. After Ron’s message four testimonies followed. All these four were different, but had the same message, which is “Have Faith in God!” They all testified about the power of God when they had faith in God Almighty. The message and the testimonies encouraged me to have confidence in my faith in the power of God’s word. So, I have confidence in coming Bible Night which will be held on Oct 20th. Before I planned the Bible Night, I had little confidence because all my students are still spiritually young. They are not familiar with such a spiritual meeting, and they might have made excuses for their absence. But I have confidence, complete confidence because I have faith in God Almighty and in the power of his words. When we have faith in God, we experience miracles. I pray that all of you also may have complete confidence in God and in the words of God. Amen!

In conclusion we learned how Paul struggled to reconcile the church with the affection of Christ. He wrote letters to them, visited them, and rebuked them until the church had godly sorrow. Their repentance brought him great joy and confidence. Half confidence is not confidence at all. Paul had a complete confidence. His confidence came from his strong faith in God Almighty who works for good of those who love him. His confidence came from his right relationship with God. I pray that we may share Paul’s joy and confidence and bear fruits of repentance which come from godly sorrow. Amen!

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