Part 2:
Marks of Godly Sorrow
2 Corinthians 7:8-11 8 For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it (though I did regret it, for I see that I grieved you with that letter, though only briefly). 9 Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance; for you felt a godly grief, so that you were not harmed in any way by us. 10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourself to be innocent in this matter.
Last week we looked at the first four of seven Marks of a Godly Sorrow.
They were 1. Earnestness to do right
2. Clearing through Apology
3. Indignation against sin
4. Fear of God
Today we will continue with…
5. INTENSE LONGING TO SEE RIGHT ACCOMPLISHED … ON A GLOBAL SCALE
This is the desire to see others do right.
This is not the desire of the busy body that just wants to butt into other people’s business.
This is an intense desire to see others do right because you know, from personal experience, the joys, the benefits, the blessings that come from getting right with God and doing right.
This is the desire that leads persons to witness….. the lack of it is also what keeps people from witnessing.
This great desire is usually the by-product of a great sense of salvation or repentance.
A person has a great experience of awareness of their sinfulness, sorrow, confession, and repentance.
That leads them to have a fresh experience of God’s goodness and love.
They want that same experience for their loved ones.
This is the kind of experience that causes a parent to nag their children about going back to church.
The young person is going through some hard time…. Like divorce.
The parent also went through bad times and in those times came to repent and have a new filling of God in their heart. God blessed them with answered prayers.
They see their child in need of the same divine help. So they want to see their child get back to God.
They want to see right done in their child’s life because they know the divine help that is available.
Have you ever had the experience of watching some loved one or friend going through some very hard time BECAUSE OF THEIR SIN, and you just wished that they would get things right with God and live the right way so that God could bless the?
A person who is truly repentant, broken by their sin and then has a true repentance, and has known the great presence of God in their life and blessing of God in their life….
That person will have a great desire to see right done.
That person often cannot hold their tongue when they see sin, because they know the wages of win and the reward of repentance.
6. ZEAL TO SEE GOD GLORIFIED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS
When we have truly been broken by our sin and have become truly repentant toward God, and have been thoroughly forgiven….. Our response is sincere thanks.
As a part of the thankfulness to God for his love and mercy, we have a desire to glorify God, to lift him up, to shout to the world what a wonderful thing God has done for us.
In Acts 3 Paul healed a man who was crippled. What was his response?
The time of prayer was about three o’clock in the afternoon, and Peter and John were going into the temple. A man who had been born lame was being carried to the temple door. Each day he was placed beside this door, known as the Beautiful Gate. He sat there and begged from the people who were going in. The man saw Peter and John entering the temple, and he asked them for money. But they looked straight at him and said, “Look up at us!” The man stared at them and thought he was going to get something. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold! But I will give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, get up and start walking.” Peter then took him by the right hand and helped him up. At once the man’s feet and ankles became strong, and he jumped up and started walking. He went with Peter and John into the temple, walking and jumping and praising God. Everyone saw him walking around and praising God.
HIS WAS JUST A PHYSICAL HEALING AND YET HE WANTED TO PRAISE GOD.
Imagine how much greater should be our response when God heals our diseased and sick heart.
We will truly want to shout it from the rooftops, tell others about our experience.
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU FELT LIKE THAT…. WANTING TO SHOUT TO THE WORLD ABOUT THE GODNESS AND MERCY OF GOD?
So… there should be INTENSE DESIRE TO SEE OTHERS DO RIGHT
ZEAL TO SEE GOD GLORIFIED
AND
7. VENGAENCE…. TO SEE THE GUILTY PUNISHED
The word is ek = Out of
Dike = justice
This kind of vengeance is NOT REVENGE…. Not a chance to extract your pound of flesh from a person who has hurt you.
This is like the vengeance of God…. It comes out of justice.
God’s judgments (vengeance) is ALWAYS JUST.
“The judgments of God are holy and right and free from any element of self-gratification or vindictiveness.”
God never chooses to punish or bring punishment on people because of any petty hurt or sense of injury.
Instead, God’s vengeance, punishment or correction is always the out come of HIS HOLINESS, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, HIS JUSTICE.
JUSTICE DEMANDS THAT LAW BREAKERS BE PUNISHED.
If the law breaker is not punished, then the law abiding are wronged.
They are not protected and they are punished for playing by the rules.
We often think that justice is better served when the lawbreaker is shown leniency.
THAT IS NOT JUSTICE … THAT IS MERCY
God is merciful and does forgive sins.
BUT GOD IS ALSO THE JUST JUDGE…. And, as such, he must punish sins.
There is a time for forgiveness… and a time for vengeance.
The problem for humans is that we can not tell the difference. Therefore, God tells us… “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. I will repay.”
While it is wrong to decide on people’s punishment or to dole it out… IT IS RIGHT TO HAVE A DESIRE TO SEE SIN PUNISHED, THE GUILTY PUNISHED.
Let me end with this illustration…
I am reading a classic book, The Scarlet Letter.
IN that book, Hester Primm, a divorced woman, is found to be guilty of adultery when she is discovered to be pregnant.
In puritanical Massachusetts, in the 17th century, that was a public scandal and was dealt with sternly. The extreme punishment would have been death. The magistrates decided against that judgment. Instead, they chose to incarcerate her for several months and to force her to wear a large scarlet A on her bosom. The A stood for Adulterer, and would be a life-long badge of dishonor that would tell the world of her crime. She was the object of scorn. Everyone that saw her was made aware that she was a vile sinner. Children mocked her in public. She was scorned and an outcast from all social gatherings… except church where she found herself the subject of the sermons.
On the day that Hester was released from prison, wearing the large scarlet A, there was a great crowd gathered at the prison to see her paraded in her shame.
In that crowd there were many who were pleased to see her shamed.
For different reasons.
1. Some were glad… because her sin made them feel superior, self-righteous.
a. Justice is never that way…. It does not wish to see others punished to make ones self look better.
2. Some were glad… because they were just sour people who love to see others suffer because misery loves company.
a. That is not justice.
3. Some were glad… because they truly felt that this was justice, that the law had been upheld, that this brought Glory to God, that this would serve as a prevention against further sin, and that this would even serve to bring the sinner to repentance.
THAT IS JUSTICE
When you heard the story of Hester Primm and the scarlet letter, what was your response?
Did you feel that justice was done… were you glad to see justice done?
Or did you feel it was right to punish but perhaps it was over-kill.
Or did you side with the woman and get angry with the self-righteous, prudish magistrates
A truly repentant heart would desire to see JUSTICE done, the guilty party punished.
Not out of revenge, or self-righteousness
But EK DIKE… OUT OF JUSTICE.
1. Earnestness to do right
2. Clearing through Apology
3.Indignation against sin
4.Fear of God
5.Longing to see others do right
6.Zeal to see God glorified
7.Vengeance – desire to see the guilty punished
