2 Corinthians 7:9–10

2 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 7

Paul’s Consolation and Joy because of the Corinthians. 2 Cor. 7, l–16.

Paul’s rejoicing over the result of his measures: V.9. 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. V.10. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

The apostle here develops his second thought more fully, that he was exceeding joyful in spite of all tribulation, v.4. He had shaken off the uneasiness which he had felt on account of his tenderness for them, and openly stated that he now rejoiced, not on account of the fact of their having been made sorry, for the case required such severe measures, but on account of the fact of their grief’s having led them to repentance.

When Paul wrote his letter, there had been no sign of a change of heart on their part, and the danger was that they might have become stubborn. But now that they have accepted the rebuke and repented, lie sees his desire fulfilled, his object attained, and can therefore sap: For you were made sorry according to God, in the manner which God wants to see in the sinner and which He Himself works, so that you might suffer damage from us in nothing.

Far from being affected to their hurt, the Corinthian Christians rather had reason for congratulating themselves on account of the benefit which had come to them as a result of the apostle’s measures. Sorrow and grief, in this case, is in itself a blessing, and the entire process is salutary.

Mark that it is God that works repentance, and that His aim is the conversion and therefore also the salvation of the sinner.

This thought is brought out in the next verse, where a reason is assigned for this statement: For the sorrow which is according to God, which is wrought by God, which feels grief on account of sin as an offense against God, works out a repentance unto salvation not to be repented of. True sorrow over sins does not exist on account of the apprehension of punishment, but is essentially a feeling of misery and dejectedness on account of the insult which was offered to God by the transgression. Such a repentance sets the sinner on the way to salvation, since such a sinner will he prepared to receive the message of redemption.

Therefore this proper repentance brings no regrets.

The sorrow of the world, on the other hand, pictures to the eyes of the horrified sinner the terrible consequence:’ of his transgression in the matter of temporal and eternal punishments. When this feeling comes upon the sinner, there is nothing but the blackness of death and destruction before him: he is led to despair, as we see in the case of Cain, and still more in that of Judas. “And lest repentance or the terrors of the Law turn into despair, the preaching of the gospel must be added, that it may be a repentance unto salvation” (Concordia Triglotta 955)