From Heavenly Hurts to Healing Hearts
2 Corinthians 7
What did it take for God to bring you to repentance?
Right in the heart of this chapter we discover a great truth of God about repentance that leads to salvation. We’ve been studying this letter of Paul to Corinth and have noticed how he defends his ministry with them as he prepares for a third visit to this church. Last time he came to Corinth it was deeply troubling. He left and has written a harsh letter that he regretted writing at first. But behold! It has actually caused a revival of zeal toward Christ and Paul’s ministry among them! Titus has brought him a good report about it. Evidently most of the church has responded well, but there are holdouts of unrepentant persons there and Paul knows it. He has to go again for a third visit and recover all he can for Christ. He’s also following up on an earlier promise from this church. They have promised to collect an offering that is to go to Jerusalem to help the Christians there who are suffering from a famine. He wants them to be prepared by the time he makes this third visit because he will be bringing guests who will witness their offering. Imagine writing a letter to straighten out the people that you hope will offer a big contribution to a cause you wish to support. This letter is a delicate work. How do you deal with all these details? We see three major areas in this letter that Paul deals with. One area involves the repentant members who need encouragement and consolation. The second area involves this matter of a contribution the Church there has promised and now needs to complete. The third area involves the camp of opponents of Paul and their accusations and sinful condition. He weaves this letter together and deals with each area. Chapters 1-7 are directed toward the repentant and faithful and the end of chapter 7 introduces the section about their promised gift, which is covered in chapters 8-9. Finally, he will clobber his opponents in chapters 10-13, just wait and see.
Let’s look at this chapter from the 2 Corinthian letter in four sections:
From cleansing to connection 1-4
From conflict to comfort 5-7
From conviction to correction 8-12
From consolation to confidence 13-16
Cleansing to Connection:
7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Make room for us in your hearts; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one. 3 I do not speak to condemn you; for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. 4 Great is my confidence in you, great is my boasting on your behalf; I am filled with comfort. I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction.
They have been instructed to separate themselves from those that practice sin and evil, motivated by God’s call to come out from among them and he will be their God and dwell among them and they will be his sons and daughters. It was time for a clear clean break with evil. They need this. There is a mix in the church there that is ruining the whole batch. Paul has been patient up to this point, but the true colors of his enemies have shown themselves. Some false teachers have also come in and made direct attacks on Paul’s ministry and it is time to clean up the house.
Look at the church in our time. There are a lot of warnings today about change agents working in the church to bring the church away from God’s way. I’m not as familiar with what is happening in the churches in the south as I am with what has happened in churches in the Northeast, but I get newsletters and emails warning of this group or that person drifting away from the old paths. When such messages begin to fly there can be a great suspicion that arises within congregations. Some churches even split over things that never should have been brought up. It takes very little to disturb the peace within a congregation. It takes years to work through the pain and division such disturbance brings. I won’t go into it, but our history is cluttered with painful miserable clashes and crashes of Christians on a collision course with division. God hates the sin of division and divisiveness and he punishes those that cause it. God’s word in this letter remind us that this problem has been around a long, long time. As much as we would like to be free from the struggles of this world, we’d best be prepared to face trials and tribulations, because Jesus promised we would go through them.
But God leads his people through even the valley of the shadow of death! The pain need not corrupt us! It can cleanse us and connect us with God and one another! Isaiah speaks God’s promises to us: 43:1 But now, this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ’Give them up!’ and to the south, ’Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth--
7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."
God works through our trials to cleans us and connect us to himself and together with one another. He draws us together! From cleansing to connection! This God was doing among the Corinthians and this he will do for us today.
Secondly, God moves us from…
Conflicts to Comfort:
5 For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within. 6 But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus; 7 and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more.
Listen to that! God who comforts the depressed… Paul says here, we had foes without and fears within! We were in deep need of comfort from God. Have you been there? This church has seen conflicts in the past. If we continue to live on this planet and walk with God we will see conflicts again. May God be with us through all our conflicts! May he who establishes us and gives us strength in Christ and guidance through his word keep us safe in his care as we ride whatever storms may come and winds may blow.
Thinking about the conflicts of my personal past, I can tell you from experience that God has comforted me again and again. The temptation of conflict is to in some way try to ease the pain by compromise or concession with evil. We must do neither! The battle belongs to the Lord and though we are in the midst of the fighting, we have a sure victory to claim in Christ that we dare not let go of. The tests of fire and storm make us wonder about our strength… Good! Paul says in this very letter, 1:8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life;
9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;
10 who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,
11 you also joining in helping us through your prayers, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed upon us through the prayers of many.
See what he says here? The effect of this trial that was beyond their strength cleansed them of relying on themselves and connected them with God’s strength! The conflict also moved them to comfort of deliverance as God worked in it all for their blessing and connect them through prayers for their help and thanksgiving for their deliverance.
When the trials come those that are not truly seeking God will reject their faith and forsake the way. God uses trials to cleanse his people and teach us to rely on his strength, not our own.
Third, we discover how God moves us from…
Conviction to Correction:
8 For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it-- for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while-- 9 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. 10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death. 11 For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter. 12 So although I wrote to you it was not for the sake of the offender, nor for the sake of the one offended, but that your earnestness on our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God.
God used the pain of sorrow to create conviction that brought about the convincing correction that leads to salvation. They were moved to repentance! He describes this process with the words “godly sorrow.” By the way, God is still working to bring this kind of change in the lives of people! God who is not willing that any should perish but that all come to repentance is not sitting idly by while the world goes to hell. God who sent us his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf… This God is actively working to bring us to repentance! What are his tools?
Sorrow and suffering! The same tools that it took to redeem us from the cross are the tools of God to create conviction and correction of repentance today! Sorrow and suffering come to all men. Some reject God and simply have worldly sorrow that leads to death! People don’t like pain.
This week’s Newsweek pictures Rush Limbaugh and tells a sad story about a man thrice married with no children who’s only pass time is working on his show, watching the news and the NFL on TV. Maureen Dowd once asked him, “What’s your idea of an ideal day?” “I don’t have an ideal day,” he replied glumly. “Well, what if a good friend came into town on Saturday, what would you do?” “When I have someone coming into town for the weekend, I get stressed out on Tuesday thinking about it.” He went on to say that he hates walking, hates window-shopping, and likes New York mainly because you can order in. Rush Limbaugh is a man trying to escape pain. He hasn’t tried God’s way… yet.
God has a powerful purpose for pain. But many refuse to turn to God and receive it.
Revelation 16: 8 And the fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun; and it was given to it to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues; and they did not repent, so as to give Him glory.
10 And the fifth angel poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain,
11 and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.
By God’s grace pain purifies the people of God for his purposes.
God moves us from conviction to correction through a path of pain to a place of purity and salvation. The door from sin to salvation involves repentance. Sorrow that makes us look up and listen up until we let go of sin and take hold of God is godly sorrow. Sorrow of the world is self-centered and lacking any heavenly power to save.
Finally, for those who walk in God’s way this process leads us to….
Consolation and confidence:
13 For this reason we have been comforted. And besides our comfort, we rejoiced even much more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. 14 For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I was not put to shame; but as we spoke all things to you in truth, so also our boasting before Titus proved to be the truth.
15 And his affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. 16 I rejoice that in everything I have confidence in you.
The confidence of Paul is with those who have repented. We will see later that there is no consolation or confidence in some who have not repented and are still walking in sin.
But for the faithful, there is great reward. Heavenly hurting leads to healing hearts for those who center their lives in Christ. God’s way is best.
When God looked at Job’s life, he had such confidence in Job’s faith that he knew Job would never forsake Him. Job’s faith was tested and tried. In the midst of the worst of his sorrow and suffering Job wondered why and wanted to die. But God restored Job and rebuked Satan’s accusations.
When God looks at your life… what does he see? Is there confidence and consolation?
Isaiah said that the suffering servant who carried our sorrows and was punished for our transgressions would see the labor of his soul and be satisfied. Is your life a demonstration of the result of the labor of Jesus’ suffering? It was for you that he carried such sorrow and shame. Do you join him in this? Paul said, I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection, share in his suffering, and conform to his death so that somehow I may attain the resurrection of the dead! May God cleanse us as his own, connect us with himself and one another, strengthen us through conflicts, give us comfort when afflicted, convict us to godly sorrow that leads to the correction of repentance, console us with his presence and have confidence in our faithfulness.
