Godly Sorrow

For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear 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 with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. Therefore we are comforted. 2 Corinthians 7:5-13a

Paul had written I Corinthians to severely chastise the Corinthian saints for tolerating open incest in their congregation and for having allowed the Judaizers and idolators to confuse their faith. They had, for a while, become a carnal group of Christians with no spiritual growth to show for Paul’s and Apollos’ shepherding. In a state of carnality, a believer thinks just like an unbeliever. He is eternally saved by having believed in Jesus Christ, but is totally nonproductive as a member of the Body of Christ.

That was “back in the day” when communication was slow and difficult. Paul had to dictate the letter, send a courier with the letter from Ephesus to Corinth, wait for the returning courier to report any reactions from the ones to whom the letter was sent. This took months. Long months of anxiety, not about his or their eternal security, but about how the baby believers would respond to the harsh reprimands he had written. He loved them and would rather not hurt and humiliate them, but in his position of authority, that came with the territory. He could not allow them to be corrupted by the ongoing evil in their environment—and especially in the Church of Jesus Christ! Nowadays we call this tactic “tough love.” In the military they call it basic training. And yes, they were hurt and humiliated.

With this kind of conflict between brethren, one can lose sleep (“our bodies had no rest”). He was constantly troubled by his uncertainty about their response until he met with Titus at Macedonia, who brought him great relief. The Corinthians had accepted Paul’s authority. Titus had a way of communicating that delegated authority, which was why Paul had sent him. After he got through “explaining” the principles of doctrine regarding the sin of rebellion to the Corinthian saints, they saw their mistakes and repented—changed their attitudes toward Church doctrine and toward Paul—obeying his instruction about how to deal with the incestuous man and the false teachers. What a relief!

Titus’ confrontation with the Corinthians had produced in them “godly grief,” which is true Christian repentance. It is God-centered and brings about the cleansing from sin and filling of the Holy Spirit we have seen in I John 1:9. “Worldly grief” is reversionism of the soul and it is self-centered; self-loathing, self-pity, anger, bitterness, depression, and leads to the sin unto death. Wallowing in self-loathing never accomplishes anything. Confess the sin. Accept God’s forgiveness for it. Move on. It is a matter of faith. Christ did the work in our salvation. Christ does the work in keeping us qualified to serve. We’re no good to Him sitting by the brook, sulking.

And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.  For whatever boasts I made to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as everything we said to you was true, so also our boasting before Titus has proved true. And his affection for you is even greater, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. I rejoice, because I have complete confidence in you. 2 Corinthians 7:13b-16

Titus reaped great benefit, too, from this experience of helping the Corinthians renew their fellowship with Jesus Christ and with Paul. That is always a boost, to clear away the cobwebs from the soul of a wayward believer and help him see the unspeakable grace of God. Paul had “talked up” these converts to Titus, and he had “talked up” Titus to the Corinthians. Now, having spent weeks and months with uneasiness of mind about what was happening between Titus and the Greeks, he had evidence that they came through the ordeal with wonderful refreshment of soul and spirit. Paul’s confidence in them and in Titus had proved to be warranted. That gave him cause to greatly rejoice.