Godly sorrow vs. worldly sorrow- Sermon Notes

2 Cor. 7
2 Make room for us in your hearts; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one.
3 I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together.
4 Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction.
5 For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within.
6 But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus;
7 and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more.
8 For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it--for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while--
9 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.
10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
11 For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
12 So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the offender nor for the sake of the one offended, but that your earnestness on our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God.
13 For this reason we have been comforted And besides our comfort, we rejoiced even much more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.

- there are those who appear to be grieved over sin one day and then yet the next day they are back in the same old sins
- we don't like to analyze our grief or dissect our sorrow- the world thinks we should just not say a word because, after all, "they are hurting!"- but we have to analyze these things because there is a sorrow that leads to death and a sorrow that leads to life

Context: Prior to this, Paul had written to the church at Corinth a very severe letter instructing them to excommunicate a member in their midst. Paul is joyful because the grief his letter caused led to repentance.

- 2 different kinds of grief
- 2 different fruits of grief
- 2 different ends of grief

2 different kinds of grief

- worldly- that which does not acknowledge nor love God- when you realize that you are not going to get all from the world that you wanted- it is not sorrow over sin but sorrow over loss of opportunities- it's all about "what I lost" and not about "what I did to God"

Heb. 12
15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;
16 that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.
17 For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.

- godly- sin is grieved over because it grieves God- when we sin, we are not treasuring God- sin brings the discipline of God- sin keeps us from walking in the Spirit [I found this article by Jim Elliff on my own study: 35 Reasons Not to Sin Not that we need 35...the fact that sin grieves God should be enough!]

2 different fruits of grief

- death- although Judas confessed his sin, it did not result in life but in his utter sorrow and death- world sorrow lacks repentance and only grieves over sin (for the wrong reasons)

Matt. 27
3 Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
4 saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See to that yourself!"
5 And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.

- repentance- but the sorrow that leads to repentance has hope instead of sorrow leading to death- this is because it trusts in the promises and grace of God- this sorrow leads one to the foot of the cross- it knows God is always gracious toward His children

- repentance- a change of mind that moves us to obey God- an earnestness and eagerness to obey God's law- the Christian is now joyfully under God's moral law, for he is no longer condemned by it and it is now written on his heart
- the truly penitent is "not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord" (Rom 12:11)
- there is an eagerness to clear oneself to show true repentance, there is indignation and repulsion over sin, there is a fear and reverence for God, there is a longing to be done with sin and to be in a right relationship with others (2 Cor 7:11)

Joel 2

12 "Yet even now," declares the LORD,
"Return to Me with all your heart,
And with fasting, weeping and mourning;
13 And rend your heart and not your garments "
Now return to the LORD your God,
For He is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness
And relenting of evil.
14 Who knows whether He will not turn and relent
And leave a blessing behind Him,
Even a grain offering and a drink offering
For the LORD your God?
15 Blow a trumpet in Zion,
Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,
16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and the nursing infants
Let the bridegroom come out of his room
And the bride out of her bridal chamber.
17 Let the priests, the LORD'S ministers,
Weep between the porch and the altar,
And let them say, "Spare Your people, O LORD,
And do not make Your inheritance a reproach,
A byword among the nations
Why should they among the peoples say,
'Where is their God?'"

2 ends of grief

- hell- it leads to God's wrath

- salvation- it leads to God's grace

How can the Christian ever regret confessing their sins when it only leads to the cross of grace? In Christ, there is no fear in repentance. All of the Christian's sin was atoned for at Calvary, what wrath is there left?

My friend Dave Shuey recommends this book: Repentance and 21st Century Man by Jack Miller. I bought it, and it looks good!