Good Morning Friends,
“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. Godly sorrow brings repentance that
leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2
Corinthians 7:8-10)
Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was a
letter of rebuke. They were living in open sin, without guilt and with no
desire to change. They were satisfied with their lives, satisfied with their
sin. Paul's rebuke was direct and harsh and it stirred up anger in them and
deep sorrow.
There is more than one kind of sorrow for
sin.
There is the sorrow that regrets being
caught. It’s not actually a sorrow for the sin itself, but for the consequences
of the discovery of sin. With that kind of sorrow, the person wishes the sin could
be hidden again so that they could continue in it.
There is the sorrow that leads to despair.
This is the sorrow that doesn’t see any way out from under the power of the
sin. The pull of the sin seems too strong and nothing can be done except to
give up and give in to the sin and to whatever consequences follow from it.
Then there is godly sorrow, the sorrow that
leads to repentance. That’s the kind of sorrow that the Corinthians felt after
Paul’s rebuke of their sin. They weren’t just sorry that they got caught, they
were sorry for the sin itself. They weren’t sorry to the point of despair, but
sorry to the point that they desired to change.
That’s the kind of sorrow God desires to see
in us when He makes us aware of sin. It is sorrow that leads to repentance,
which is the desire to change. It is sorrow that wants to leave the sin behind
and follow a different path. It is sorrow that hurts, but only for a little
while, and ultimately results in joy as we see that God provides the power to
change.
His, by Grace,
Steve
No comments:
Post a Comment