What Ministry is All About, Part 10
In last Sunday’s message, GOOD PAIN vs. FAKE TEARS (2 Cor. 7:2-16), Paul completed an emphasis on the Gospel that was started in chapter 2. There is no greater message in the Bible than the Gospel (1 Cor. 15:3-4; John 3:16, etc.), as it alone is the way a person is saved and goes to heaven (Gen. 3:15; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 2 Cor. 5:21, etc.). The Gospel is always triumphant and victorious for those who have placed their faith in Jesus (2 Cor. 2:14-17); it is more glorious than the Old Testament Mosaic Law which was fulfilled in the Gospel (2 Cor. 3); and it is the means by which we do not lose heart as Christians- even though our outward bodies are falling apart because of sin (2 Cor. 4:1-5:8). As God’s children, we are ministers and ambassadors of this precious “treasure” (2 Cor. 4:7)- pleading with lost people: “be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:12-21) as the Lord also pleads with us daily to respond to His love and live for Him (2 Cor. 5:9-11; 6:1-7:1, etc.).
“Open your hearts to us” (2 Cor. 7:2a) is the plea not just from Paul but from God (who wrote through His apostle, 2 Pet. 1:20-21, etc.) to the Corinthian Christians who had mixed affections in their lives (2 Cor. 6:11-13, etc.). Thankfully, the church, as a whole, did respond well to Paul’s severe letter of correction to them (2 Cor. 2:3; 7:8) as was relayed to the aging apostle by his envoy Titus when he finally found him in Macedonia (2 Cor. 2:13; 7:5-6). Paul did not want to write the letter, but it was penned in an effort to turn the compromising Christians there back to God (2 Cor. 2:4; 7:8, 12).
When a Christian has “godly sorrow” in his or her life, that leads to genuine “repentance” and results in present-day “salvation” in our lives (2 Cor. 2:9-10a; Amos 3:3; 1 John 1:9; Heb. 11:6b; James 1:16-17, 21, etc.). Only godly sorrow produces repentance in a child of God’s life, because “worldly sorrow” reflects, at best, merely outward obedience after one is caught with no heart change (2 Cor. 7:10b). “Worldly sorrow” is “FAKE TEARS” resulting in destruction in a person’s life (2 Cor. 7:10b; 1 Cor. 3:16-18a) while “godly sorrow” is “GOOD PAIN” from God that leads to life (Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 5:18, etc.). Ultimately, all Christians will come clean before God, but it is best to do so now in our lives (2 Cor. 5:9-10; Rom. 8:28-30, etc.), so we do not “suffer loss” today or tomorrow (2 Cor. 7:9; 1 Cor. 3:13-15; 1 John 2:28, etc.).
When the believers in Corinth hated sin and turned to God in truth (1 Cor. 10:14; 2 Cor. 7:11), the Holy Spirit’s life in them then #1 overflowed to and encouraged Titus who brought the disciplinary letter to them (2 Cor. 7:13-16), #2 overflowed and comforted the “troubled” Paul through Titus (2 Cor. 7:5-12), and #3 was magnified in additional encouragement from the apostle back to the church (2 Cor. 7:3-4). Life breeds life, while death brings death (2 Cor. 7:10; John 10:10; Gal. 5:1; 2 Cor. 3:17-18, etc.). We, as Christians, are called to constantly encourage one another in the good works He has made us for- in light of Christ’s impending return (Heb. 10:23-25; Eph. 2:10, etc.). While God is gracious and uses us in our weaknesses, He most powerfully uses us when we are strong in Him (Eph. 6:10; 2 Cor. 12:9; Acts 1:8; Eph. 5:18, etc.) which means we need to have “godly sorrow,” doing what His Word says (2 Cor. 7:10-11; Eph. 5:14; James 1:25; Rom. 12:1-2, 9; 1 John 1:9; 2 Cor. 5:9; 1 Cor. 4:20; 11:31-32; Matt. 6:33; Heb. 12:28-29, etc.). *For more information on this message, please see SBFC’s April 6, 2025 sermon above.