2 Corinthians 7:8-16
In this section, Paul moves on to discuss his previous letter he sent to the Corinthians entitled “First Corinthians”. In his first letter, Paul addressed several immoral behaviors within the church. These things crept in after he had left and as the church grew.
Paul addressed a man who was married to his mother-in-law telling the church they must expel him from membership. And, he addressed the largest issue, division within the church which led to lawsuits among them. Lawsuits they took before non-Christians to settle instead of handling these internally.
Now Paul addresses the pain his first letter caused, the reason he did it, and the end result of his letter. As far as the sorrow caused, Paul says in verse 8:
“Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it.”
This seems like a mean thing to say especially by today’s standards. We are taught not to say anything offensive to others, to be mindful of every word we say so that we don’t hurt others feelings. But we must remember that emotional pain from correction is not a bad thing, especially when it is done in love.
From Psychology today:
When we feel sadness, cry our tears and share our sorrows with others, our degree of attachment fades and something wonderful starts to happen. Our minds clear of bewilderment and confusion. Happy memories and connections are revived. Doubts and anxieties settle and, with acceptance of the new situation, anger subsides. Cleansed of shame and guilt, we are left calmer than before, more assured, with a greater sense of innocence and self-worth. Personal growth brings maturity as sorrow turns spontaneously to joy. Less fearful of loss in the future, we can live more spontaneously, with a greater sense of liberty and equanimity.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/spiritual-wisdom-secular-times/201201/sorrow-valuable-emotion
Paul’s intent was to bring about conviction so that they could self-correct instead of bringing condemnation. This is something that is often a fine line with the words we choose. The Bible tells us to lift each other up, to encourage each other.
But, it is also our obligation to point out sin in those we love that have the potential to bring destruction in their lives. The things that Paul points out in the first letter are not minor issues. I’m sure he could have brought up more things he saw but he pointed out the big sins like a laser focus in order to open their eyes regarding their own self-destruction.
And the change Paul had hoped for is exactly what happened as he says in verse 9:
“yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance.”
Paul was not the one who brought sorrow. It was their own sin and immaturity that created a barrier from seeing the damage that was being created. Once Paul brought their imperfections into reality, they had to deal with the emotions and sorrow from this new revelation.
But, with this new revelation, they gained more self-worth, and garnered a significant amount of personal growth all of which was rooted in Christ. The initial pain of turning from sin is no fun. It is hard, frustrating, and even self degrading. But only self degrading if we allow condemnation from our sin to fill our hearts. We must remember that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. There is only conviction. Conviction that leads us towards Christ, not away from him.
This is what we must remember if we reconcile sin in ourselves or we approach a brother about sin. Paul did initially feel bad about what he had to do even though he knew he was doing the right thing, as he says in verse 8b:
“Though I did regret it – I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while …”
Pain is a part of the Christian experience, we can’t get around this. There are many teachers of the Gospel who dance around this, or preach that if you have enough faith you can avoid pain in your Christian walk all together. But, this simply is not true. While we are in this fleshly body and on this earth, we will experience pain. Pain from unexpected trials, ruin from our own sin, and agony from the sin of others.
Yes, there will be victory but our joy and peace that we have in Christ does not come from pain in this life or victories from God. Instead, it comes from what we already have when those victories or losses come – a faith and assurance in God’s kingdom rooted in a relationship with Christ. This is what allowed Daniel to pray despite a decree, for Moses to approach Pharaoh, and for David to defeat his enemies and to admit his failures.
Hurt is temporary, but the value we build in the Kingdom of God is eternal. In fact, this sorrow is exactly what God intends for us to go through as Paul states in verse 9:
“Yet, now I am happy, not that 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.”
If someone sees the sin that is before them after a brother brings it to their attention, they will not be harmed by what the brother has said. However, if they do not repent, they will instead be hurt by what was said and likely hold a grudge against the brother. They will be sorry but for the wrong reasons. Sorry in their own pity and spite. This is a sorrow that leads to death as verse 10 points out:
“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. But, worldly sorrow brings death.”
This made me think about Christ dying for the world and how people reject Christ. But, in reality, people are not rejecting Christ and his salvation, they are rejecting the revelation of their own sin. They are rejecting repentance as Act 2 says:
“Repent and be baptized every one of you..”
To confess Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9) is to confess he is master over you and that you have imperfections in your life. The world says your fleshly desires are good and OK and are not anything to be ashamed of. This does not allow a person to submit to Christ.
Do not regret sorrow, regret not being a conduit of change for the Kingdom of God.
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