2 Corinthians 7:8-11 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same letter has made you sorry… 1. The honest administration of gospel truth often inflicts sorrow on its subjects. The apostle made the Corinthians "sorry with a letter." The gospel is a sword to cut, an arrow to pierce, a fire to burn. 2. The sorrow is of twofold distinct types. Let us contrast these sorrows. I. THE ONE IS CONCERNED WITH THE PRINCIPLE OF WRONG; THE OTHER WITH THE RESULTS. 1. Some groan under a sense of their sins because of the injuries which they have already inflicted and their ultimate doom. It is a selfish regret, an unvirtuous emotion. 2. But others mourn over the moral wrongness of the act; not because of the curse that has or wilt come upon them. The sorrow of Judas represents the one, the sorrow of Peter the other. II. THE ONE IS CONCERNED FOR OTHERS, THE OTHER FOR SELF. "Godly sorrow" seems to engulf all personal considerations. The claims of God, the interests of society, the good of the universe, these are the subjects that unseal its fountains. III. THE ONE IMPROVES THE CHARACTER, THE OTHER DETERIORATES IT. "Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation," from all that is corrupt in thought and feeling, from all evil tendencies and habits. Moral sorrows, like waters, at once cleanse, refresh, and fertilise. But selfish sorrow contracts and hardens the soul. The man who selfishly broods over his own ill doings sinks into a miserable misanthrope. IV. THE ONE ISSUES IN BLESSEDNESS, THE OTHER IN MISERY. "Godly sorrow" need not be "repented of," for it brings a consciousness of forgiveness, a sense of the Divine favour, and a direction of the whole soul to all that is useful and Divine. "But the sorrow of the world worketh death." It leads only to remorse, despair, and utter ruin. (D. Thomas, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. |
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