J. Albrecht…Lent 4…March 15^th, 2026…2 Cor. 7:4-10…Godly Repentance Makes Faith Special

⁴ I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy. ⁵ For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn– fighting without and fear within. ⁶ But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, ⁷ 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. ⁸ 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. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

INJ who refreshes us with His grace and forgiveness through godly repentance, DFR:

There can be a broad difference, wouldn’t you say, in types of sorrow? Every sorrow brings sadness or fear or regret, but the reason and motivation behind that sorrow can be drastically difference. For example, a criminal on death row might have sorrow as they are led to the execution chamber, but that sorrow is driven by fear of the punishment that awaits him. Contrast that with a child’s sorrow that comes after hurting a parent. That kind of sorrow usually results in a genuine change and reconciliation with the parent.

Paul describes the sorrow of a Christian in our text this morning along the same lines. The sorrow of the world leads to death. In other words, the grief or sorrow of the world lacks the power to radically change the heart. Can worldly grief and sorrow bring forth a change in a person? Absolutely, but without Christ and His forgiveness, the reconciliation that might occur is only horizontal, and not vertical – you might reconcile with the person you hurt, but not with God.

The Christian’s grief or sorrow, on the other hand, leads to salvation. Sorrow over sin turns our hearts back to the cross where we are cleansed by the blood of Christ. Thus godly repentance that comes from godly grief brings reconciliation with our fellow man, but also, and more importantly with God. It is what makes your faith special. Every time God calls you to repentance through His Word, He showers you with His grace, He changes your heart to let go of resentment, and He reaffirms a commitment to live according to His Word.

As we consider these words of Scripture, let us ask the Holy Spirit for His blessing upon us this morning, Let us pray:

Sanctify us by Your truth O Lord, Your Word is truth, Amen.

Paul was in a very tumultuous state of mind when our text opens. The joy and comfort he felt towards the Corinthian congregation came after much anxiety and distress. See, Paul had been in Ephesus for 3 years after his third missionary journey. He was traveling up to Troas to meet with Titus, a young pastor who was going to stop in at Corinth and bring a report to Paul of the church there. The problem was, Titus didn’t make it to Troas, so Paul continued on to Macedonia to await Titus there.

That is when Paul says, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn– fighting without and fear within. You might be able to imagine why he was afflicted so. Imagine if your child was coming home after a long trip and they were due in at 6pm, but there is no sign of them by 7pm, then 8, then 9. What would race through your mind, as you anxiously have your eyes fixed on the door, hoping to see your child walk through? “Are they okay? Did something happen?”

For Paul, the questions might have been, “Was there so many problems in Corinth that Titus had to stay? Had he become ill? Had he been struck down by bandits who saw a lone traveler as an easy target? Had he been killed?” It shows tremendous love on the part of Paul – a love that a parent knows very well.

Such love can bring such distress and anxiety, but then, it takes very little to change that distress into joy and comfort. For Paul, it was simply seeing Titus’ face. ⁶ But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus. Again, think like a parent. When your child finally comes through that door, they might try to explain what delayed them so, but at that moment it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is you see your child’s face, they are home, alive, safe.

Paul’s joy would only grow from here and that was because of the report Titus brought concerning the Corinthians. ⁷ 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. Paul was encouraged by the attitude the church had towards him. They cared about Paul just as much as he cared about them – being zealous for Paul’s missionary journey and longing to see him again.

It might not seem like that drastic of a situation. Why would this bring Paul such joy and comfort? Because he didn’t know whether or not the Corinthians would ever want to see him again. And that was a result of a letter he wrote to them. ⁸ 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. ⁹ 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.

The letter Paul refers to is probably 1 Corinthians. When reading through that letter, the Corinthian church can rightly be viewed as Paul’s “problem child.” The biggest problem came in 1 Corinthians 5, where Paul learns that a man had taken his father’s wife = a case of incest. Paul spoke harshly against the Corinthians because they had become complacent with that sin. They let this man continue to be among them rather than doing the loving thing: adhering to God’s Word and disciplining the man. Paul told them to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. Paul knew the danger letting sin fester could bring, and so, he speaks harshly against the man in sin and against the congregation so that both might repent and be recommitted to God’s will.

Sometimes the most loving thing we can to for someone is to be up front about their sin so that they might turn from it and rejoice in God’s forgiveness. But we also know how human nature reacts to the preaching of the Law. It gets defensive, aggressive, and defiant. No one likes to be convicted of their sin or shamed for what they’ve done. It was no different for the Corinthian congregation as a whole. Paul fully expected they might despise him now. His words against them, they could have used as a reason to resent Paul and not want to see him again.

But they don’t. Instead, the source of Paul’s joy comes from Titus’ report that the Corinthians long to see Paul. Which means they also have a desire to hear the message Paul brings – the Gospel. The Corinthians also have sorrow – most likely sorrow over their sins that Paul wrote to them about in his previous letter. The harsh words he wrote to them served their purpose, convicting them and leading them to repentance. The church had renewed their zeal to love Paul, to see him, and to put into practice the message that he, the Lord’s spokesman, had brought to them.

The Corinthians had literally been driven to fear by Paul’s words. Not the fear of punishment, but like the child that knows he or she hurt his parent. They knew how they had grieved Paul so. That grief brought contrition – sorrow over their sins; and repentance – a turning away from their sin. In the Corinthians church, we see a total 180. They went from complacency, shrugging their shoulders at a man who lived in incest, to doing what Paul instructed and excommunicated him in the hope that he might repent of his sin. They went from being hearers of Paul’s words, to doers of God’s Word. This godly sorrow led them to recognize their sin against Paul and sin against God, while also leading them to God’s grace. They took heart in the forgiveness that was theirs because of Jesus’ death and resurrection for them – the very first message Paul brought to this church.

The Corinthians could take heart in this: That God never once stopped working on them. Through the harsh words of Paul, God worked godly grief and repentance. But through the Gospel, God worked forgiveness of sins that lead to salvation, and a clean conscience before Paul, God, and everyone else.

God does the same for you and me. We are no different than the Corinthians in many ways. It is easy for us to read through Paul’s letter and think, “Boy, they were a bunch of screw-ups.” But we fail to consider, Paul’s letter is written just as much to you and me as it was to those Christians. Through we may not engage in the same sins they did, our hearts still bristle at the preaching of the Law. We too become complacent when we see sin in our midst – simply shrugging our shoulders as not that big of a deal. We need God to strike down our sinful flesh for being listeners of God’s Word only and not doers. We need the Holy Spirit to instill in us godly sorrow over our sin – sorrow that leads to repentance.

The problem persists, our flesh doesn’t see godly repentance as a blessing, but as something shameful. Yet, Jesus says, There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.  When a sinner repents of their sin, turning away from evil and seeks after God, it is not a shameful thing, but a reason to rejoice! The angels in heaven are filled with joy when you and I repent because our hearts are turned back to our Savior. It means that God’s will is being done when the Gospel is proclaimed and hearts are filled with grace!

This is what makes your faith special. Godly repentance is more than just saying “I’m sorry.” It is submitting yourself to the foot of Jesus’ cross, entrusting your sin to His love for you, His willingness to forgive, and the reconciliation He has accomplished for you. There is no shame in the Christian’s repentance, nor is there any regret, because you know who God is. The God who welcomes a broken and contrite heart; the God who is good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon [Him].

Isaiah, in our Old Testament Lesson declares, ⁹ Break forth into joy, sing together, You waste places of Jerusalem! For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. ¹⁰ The LORD has made bare His holy arm In the eyes of all the nations; And all the ends of the earth shall see The salvation of our God. Godly sorrow and repentance is a gift from God for your comfort. You no longer have a fear of punishment or death before God, but the assurance of forgiveness and reconciliation. May the Holy Spirit feed our hearts on His Word that we may be quick to repent of our own sin, forgive those who sin against us, and use godly sorrow and repentance to spread the Gospel with those who live in fear. Amen.