Godly Sorrow – 2 Corinthians 7

Joy:  You’re listening to the Lifting Her Voice podcast, Episode #156.  Today we’ll read 2nd Corinthians chapter 7 together:  Paul is overjoyed at the Corinthians Christians’ Godly sorrow which lead to repentance.

Welcome to the Lifting Her Voice podcast.  I’m your host, Joy Miller, and I invite you to grab your Bible and join me as we simply read God’s word together.  Some things require discipline and sometimes that’s just not easy to muster by yourself, no matter how badly you want to do it or how much you know you should.  It’s just easier to do it with a friend.  So refill your coffee or tea, get comfortable in your favorite chair and follow along as I read aloud.  I’m so glad you’re here!

Welcome

In Colossians 3:16, Paul tells us, Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.   I want to share with you the hymn we sang on Sunday both as a joy and an encouragement to you.  It’s called Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.  Since you would never forgive me if I sang it, I will read the lyrics to you.  

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing
 Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
 Streams of mercy, never ceasing
 Call for songs of loudest praise
 Teach me some melodious sonnet
 Sung by flaming tongues above
 Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it
 Mount of Thy redeeming love

Here I raise my Ebenezer
 Here by Thy great help I’ve come
 And I hope, by Thy good pleasure
 Safely to arrive at home
 Jesus sought me when a stranger
 Wandering from the fold of God
 He, to rescue me from danger
 Interposed His precious blood

On that day when freed from sinning
 I shall see Thy lovely face

 Clothed then in the blood washed linen
 How I’ll sing Thy wondrous grace
 Come, my Lord, no longer tarry
 Take my ransomed soul away
 Send Thine angels now to carry
 Me to realms of endless day

Oh, to grace how great a debtor
 Daily I’m constrained to be
 Let that goodness like a fetter
 Bind my wandering heart to Thee
 Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it
 Prone to leave the God I love
 Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it
 Seal it for Thy courts above

This is one of those hymns that immediately puts my soul in serenity mode.  Both the melody and the cadence is lovely.  If you want some backstory on ‘raising my Ebenezer,’ you’ll have to go to 1 Samuel 7:12.  

Go to Lifting Her Voice.com and tell me the story there.  

2 Corinthians Chapter 7

So then, dear friends, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

Joy and Repentance

Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, corrupted no one, taken advantage of no one. I don’t say this to condemn you, since I have already said that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. I am very frank with you; I have great pride in you. I am filled with encouragement; I am overflowing with joy in all our afflictions.

In fact, when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest. Instead, we were troubled in every way: conflicts on the outside, fears within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the arrival of Titus, and not only by his arrival but also by the comfort he received from you. He told us about your deep longing, your sorrow, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more. For even if I grieved you with my letter, I don’t regret it. And if I regretted it — since I saw that the letter grieved you, yet only for a while —  I now rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance.

Complete Confidence

For you were grieved as God willed, so that you didn’t experience any loss from us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly grief produces death. For consider how much diligence this very thing — this grieving as God wills — has produced in you: what a desire to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what deep longing, what zeal, what justice! In every way you showed yourselves to be pure in this matter. So even though I wrote to you, it was not because of the one who did wrong, or because of the one who was wronged, but in order that your devotion to us might be made plain to you in the sight of God. For this reason, we have been comforted.

In addition to our own comfort, we rejoiced even more over the joy Titus had, because his spirit was refreshed by all of you. For if I have made any boast to him about you, I have not been disappointed; but as I have spoken everything to you in truth, so our boasting to Titus has also turned out to be the truth. And his affection toward you is even greater as he remembers the obedience of all of you, and how you received him with fear and trembling. I rejoice that I have complete confidence in you.

Closing Thoughts

What a precious picture this chapter paints of the joy that comes with Godly sorrow leading to repentance.  There is a difference between worldly sorrow and Godly sorrow, isn’t there?  For me, worldly sorrow causes this cyclical guilt and shame spiral that almost always leads back to sin and then to the same roundabout all over again.  But Godly shame and sorrow, under-girded by the love that Christ has for me, always leads to repentance and joy.  Sin is a prison; repentance is freedom.  There is nothing like it.

I love this peek into the other side of the mountain, if you will.  For six or seven chapters, plus the first letter Paul wrote to the church in the Corinth, he has been recounting the many ways this church has fallen short and is headed down a bad road.  Apparently, the letter that Paul refers to that we don’t get to read, was very painful, both to write and to read.  But, the endured pain resulted in triumph and Paul could not be more pleased.  And apparently, based on what Paul writes is Titus’ report, the Corinthians also consider the pain of Paul’s discipline as necessary in their growth.  Oh, that we would all be open to that kind of discipline!  Let’s pray.

Prayer

Father, I pray that our hearts would always be open to Your discipline.  There is no substitute for standing clean before You.  Neither is there a better alternative to the freedom that repentance brings.  Lord, in this moment, as we are bowed, if there is anyone within the sound of my voice who is struggling with sin in which they are trapped, please help them.  Free them from that prison, show them the way.  Remind us to intercede for each other.  We don’t have to know names – You already know, Lord.  But keep us accountable to come boldly before Your throne of grace for each other.  Thank You for this privilege.  Amen.

Thank you for joining me here today.  I pray God will grow in you what has been planted and watered here.  In this time of unprecedented struggle worldwide, we can look to God for guidance and comfort.  Be sensitive to those in your circle of influence who need a word of encouragement and invite them to join us.  If you like this show, it would be great if you give it a five-star review.  Don’t forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.  See you right here tomorrow.  Be well!

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible(r), Copyright (c) 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible(r) and CSB(r) are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.