Godly Sorrow

Introduction

A. Ever met anyone who was never wrong? They believed they were right no matter what. They believe that their opinion is right; their views are right; their words are correct. It’s kind of like the umpires in baseball, the ones who call balls, strikes, and outs—they may not always be right but they are never wrong. It is hard to argue with anyone who is never wrong. You know on the front end that you are going to lose the argument even before it gets started. Most of us know when we are wrong. We may be too stubborn to admit it. We may be too embarrassed to say we are wrong. But we do know when we are wrong.

B. Back in the 1970’s a movie came out entitled Love Story. One of the more famous lines from that movie is “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” Hogwash. Beautiful sentiment. Just wrong. Spouses who never apologize to each other, may stay together, but their home life can be hell on earth. Co-workers who refuse to apologize will probably find it difficult to work together for very long. Saying we are sorry needs to be a regular part of our lives. We appreciate those who can admit their sins. We are drawn to those who demonstrate humility of heart. But admitting wrongs is never easy.

C. Paul had to write a very difficult letter to the church at Corinth. Titus carried this letter to the church. This letter is unknown to us, but the contents of the letter was to confront sin which existed in the church. Paul didn’t know how the church in Corinth would respond to such a letter and to such confrontation. But he knew that he had to write the letter. He had to give them an opportunity to change. What would be their response? Would their relationship be completely severed? Would Paul be welcome to return and visit them? Would Paul need to write something else? What report would Paul receive from Titus? Our text this morning answers those questions and tells us something about the nature of repentance as well as the need to confront sin. None of us like to admit when we are wrong, but as Christians such humility needs to be a part of our lives.

The Text

A. This is a transitional text. Since chapter 2, Paul has been dealing with the criticisms against him. His words, actions, and motives have all been questioned. He has methodically dealt with each accusation. Now in chapter 7 he is going to finish his defense and then move on to some issues which they need to take care of. In 7:2, he picks up from 6:11. He asks for the people to make room for him in their hearts. He has not wronged anyone, but he was wronged (7:12); he has corrupted no one (and the implication is that the false teachers have indeed corrupted them); he has not exploited anyone (a reference to not having taken money from them, although the false teachers have been more than happy to take money from them). The implication is that they will make room for the false teachers who have hurt them but they will not make room in their hearts for him. Paul will hit this element squarely in 11:1, 4, 19, and 20.

B. The Corinthians have taken care of sin in their congregation. Paul is proud of them. In verses 5-7, Titus brought him a good report about the Corinthians. They had received his stern letter with humility. In fact, they received the letter in such a way that they longed to see Paul. They were deeply concerned about him. Such a reception brought great joy to Paul. In verses 8-12, Paul diplomatically admits that he didn’t want to write the letter, but his confronting them had the desired effect. The letter produced repentance. This is what he had wanted. If as some speculate the letter was about the immoral brother who was having an incestuous relationship with his stepmother, then Paul wasn’t sure how the Corinthians would accept the letter. But the letter had the desired effect. The church repented of their sin and wanted to renew their relationship with Paul. Paul was overjoyed. Their reaction not only pleased Paul, but made it possible for him to boast about their faith and love.

Lessons

A. Two lessons. First, confronting sin while never pleasant is needed. This is especially true with the Christian family. Paul had to confront the Corinthians. It was not pleasant. In fact, his confronting could lead to the breaking of the relationship. But he could not allow their sin to continue. Because of his intense love for them, he confronted and trusted the Father to bring healing and resolution. The belief in our world is to ignore the sin and it will go away. Ignore how a man treats his family and maybe it will get better. Ignore the neglect one has for his church family and maybe everything will be okay. Such a view suggests that the ultimate sin is to “rock the boat.” We cover up this fear of confrontation with high sounding platitudes which do not bring the results which God desires. “We can’t judge a person” we say and then we don’t confront obvious sin. “Christians are supposed to be loving and understanding” we say. So we allow sin to continue and believe ourselves to be Christlike because we are so tolerant of sin. Of course to confront sin means that we must do that with love. To confront sin with harshness or revenge is just as sinful. But not confronting sin is also sinful. Paul didn’t want to write the letter, but he did because he could not allow sin to go on knowing that God wasn’t pleased.

B. Second, when confronted with our sin, the proper response is godly sorrow which leads to repentance. In verse 10, godly sorrow means true sorrow; sorrow which recognizes having done something against God; sorrow towards God because of your sin. Such sorrow produces repentance. Repentance means a changing of the ways and thinking; it means a refusal to remain the same or to continue the same type of behavior. Worldly sorrow is superficial and pretends to make changes. This sorrow leads to death because no real change is seen.

1. It is possible to be sorry, to be full of remorse without being repentant. It is possible for sorrow to have nothing at all to do with God. That is the difference between true and false repentance. True repentance grieves with a broken heart over the sin itself; false repentance is embittered with the consequences of sin. A person may be sorry for getting caught but not sorry for the sin. Such is false repentance. A person confronted may react angrily—this is not repentance. If there is no grief over the act of sin itself then there is no repentance.

2. Where does this repentance come from? It comes when we see our sin as God sees it. We speak of God as loving and gracious and indeed he is. But he is not soft on sin. God through Jesus paid a great price to take care of my sin and yours. There is nothing cheap about sin. Unless we have seen sin as God sees it and have repented of it, we have never entered into the kingdom. No matter how much I may stress my faith in Jesus, or how much I say that I believe in him, or say how much I believe in his work on the cross—without repentance my confessions mean nothing.

3. What is the purpose of your sorrow for sin? It is to bring you to trust in the work of Jesus. Repentance is a change of purpose and intentions. It is a change of direction and action. Paul says in verse 10, that without repentance there is no salvation. One must forsake sin in order for salvation to be applied. How can God forgive that which a person wants and does hold on to?

4. What does repentance mean?

    a. It means putting away that which brings us down. That may mean ending a friendship or an action or an attitude.

    b. Repentance means carefully making sure that we do not enter a sinful situation again.

    c. Repentance means getting mad. Mad at Satan for what he has done to you. It means being mad at sin and the tricks of the devil and making sure that you will not fall again into the same traps.

    d. Repentance means that people will notice a difference in the way you walk and talk.

    e. Repentance means we are no longer flippant about life.

    f. Repentance means that we look at life and we do away with superficiality.

    g. Repentance means we walk in godly fear that Satan may trip you up again.

    h. Repentance means that you have a hunger for a deeper relationship with God. Your concern now is that you might walk with God. There is passion now that wasn't there before. This is repentance.

C. The Corinthians received a confrontational letter. But they took the letter and repented. They were truly sorry for their sin. How about you? Do you have a hard time admitting your sin? Do you see your sin the way God does? You cannot appreciate God’s grace unless you know the depth of your sin and the price that Jesus paid for you at the cross. Will you repent? Invitation.

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