November 24 Click on verses for Full Scripture	previous - - - - - - - - - - next
Today's Pathway: II Corinthians 7:9-10 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

Yesterday we looked at two different kinds of repentance. Today Paul talks about two different kinds of sorrow. The two concepts, sorrow and repentance, go together, for the kind of sorrow that a person has is going to dictate what kind of repentance he has. Paul opens by saying that he is rejoicing because the Corinthians were made sorrowful by his letter of rebuke. He then clarifies that statement by saying that he rejoices because they had the proper type of sorrow. The sorrow that they had brought them to a point of repentance. If you recall, the word translated "repentance" means "a change of mind that results in a change of actions". Paul refers to this kind of sorrow as being "after a godly manner", which simply means that they were sorrowing in a way that comes down from God. God never rebukes us for no reason. Any time we receive chastisement from Him it is not designed simply to make us feel bad, but it is designed to bring about a change in our lives. It is interesting to note that Paul comments at the end of verse 9 that because the Corinthians responded to his letter with the proper type of sorrow they were not "damaged" by him. Their feelings may have been hurt by what he wrote, but because of their proper response they were better off because he had written it. Albert Barnes made this application:

"Sinners are gainers in happiness, in the end, by all the pain of repentance produced by the preaching of the gospel. No man suffers loss by being told of his faults if he repents; and men are under the highest obligations to those faithful ministers and other friends who tell them of their errors, and who are the means of bringing them to true repentance."

In verse 10 Paul contrasts the two types of sorrow. When a man sorrows in the way that God intends him to, it brings about a change in his life. Godly sorrow is accompanied by conviction of sin because it is rooted in the realization of offending a holy God. It leads to genuine repentance. However, there are many individuals who are "sorry", but not sorry enough to change their lives. They may feel badly because they have been caught. Their feelings may be hurt. They may not like the consequences that they have to suffer because of their sin. They may grieve over being alienated from someone because of their actions. But until they decide to repent in such a way that they make the necessary changes in their lives, they have only the sorrow of the world. Paul writes that this kind of sorrow only brings death. John MacArthur wrote,

"Human sorrow - unsanctified remorse, wounded pride, self-pity, unfulfilled hopes, has no redemptive capability. It is nothing more than the wounded pride of getting caught in a sin and having one's lusts go unfulfilled. That kind of sorrow leads only to guilt, shame, despair, depression, self-pity, hopelessness,and even, as in the case of Judas, death."

What kind of sorrow are you experiencing over your sin? Are you bothered by what you have done, and willing to confess it and turn from it? Or are you just bothered by its consequences?