During the times when the New Testament was written, there was this city in Greece named Corinth. The more I study this culture, the more I sense a type of thought and likeness we have today in our own culture that was present in the Early church...in Corinth............
Corinth was a major city in Greece during the times of Saint Paul. It was a definite world trade center of it's time and is estimated over 750,000 lived in Corinth during this period in history.
The Believers, that is to say those who had yielded their hearts and lives to the Lord Jesus...were mostly Gentile (non-Jewish). The expansion of Christianity had begun and was now in full swing, separating itself from being another "sect of the Jewish faith". Saint Paul had become the leader of Gentile Christians, and stood by their side with honor, Paul himself at one time being a full conservative Jew...and totally against the Christian faith.
The center of attraction for the city of Corinth...the Temple of Diana (or Artemis in some cultures). Why?...because she was the goddess of love...and fertility. The highlight in the worship of Diana was that part of the worship given to her included having sex with male and female priests...within her glorious Temple...which is considered even today as one of the 7 wonders of the world.
As a result of this "type of worship", came a party-like atmosphere...drinking, partying, and sexual gratifications...in all it's various forms.
From this quite "festive mode" came a saying among many people living in that culture that would be often quoted in a manner similar to this: " Man, I think I'm going Corinthian this week-end, I just want to relax, get drunk, and find someone to go to bed with."
Because of all this emphasis on sex...and equating that with worship, sexual sin did indeed become an issue...within the church at Corinth.
The Believers in Christ Jesus seemed to generate from the middle and lower classes living in Corinth. Many of these new Believers in Jesus were now changing their lifestyles, moving away from the worship of the goddess Diana and all her religion had to offer. Now, the Believers in Corinth were beginning to experience something new...a "Godly Sorrow"...which seemed to give them power to change their way of thinking....their attitudes on life...and even their way of living...the lifestyles were changing. As for Saint Paul, he was delighted over what was going on and wrote two major letters to the new church in Corinth...which are now part of our New Testament books.
Yet...there were a few Believers...who were not "buying the encouragement" Paul was giving to the Corinthian believers through his letters. These Believers were catering more to false teachers and other leaders who did not like Paul...in fact they did not like him at all...and made comments like:
1. "Paul is by no means a great leader...and should not be our leader...trust me....he isn't all that."
2. " Paul writes all these powerful letters...yet have you seen this guy in person? He is not an elegant speaker...not whatsoever."
{NOTE: These words give an image much like we would see in the movie "The Wizard of Oz." In the movie, the "wizard" projects this large image with his words being heard " I am the powerful Oz", only to pull back the curtain and see a little man from Kansas...with his gadgetry.}
3. "Paul has no "Hollywood look" about him...and he seems to carry some type of illness around his eyes. Now, is this really a type of leader we want?"
4. "Why doesn't Paul accept money from us for his labors?...others do! Is our money not good enough...for him?"
5. "Besides, Paul is not a "real apostle". He is not one of the 12 Jesus originally chose."
Yet, with adversity, Saint Paul keeps hope of the great work the Holy Spirit is doing in the hearts...of many believers in Corinth.
In the second letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes making it abundantly clear he is not encouraging the believers in order to have some type of control over them. Quite the opposite, Saint Paul desires the believers in Corinth to experience for themselves...the joy of having Christ Jesus in their hearts and the true joy of knowing Him.
So, what is the "secret ingredient" that caused these Believers in Corinth to rise of out of sexual sin and not be influenced by false teachers and false statements made about Paul himself?....The gift of "Godly Sorrow".
Godly Sorrow is by design a true gift given to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because Godly Sorrow allows us to experience the ability to turn from our former thoughts and lifestyles to one that Christ Jesus want us to have...in order to have His Joy in our everyday lives.
Godly Sorrow is different from just being sorry about something. Godly Sorrow gives us a solution to areas in life we may be facing...and not having to resort to "partying like a Corinthian" as the only way to appease the hurts of life. Godly Sorrow gives us the strength to resist and repent of sin in our life, deepen our friendship with Him, and provide a way of life we too...like the Believers in Corinth...can find that true enjoyment in life that only He can provide. It gives us a purpose...to live.
A Gleaning from 2 Corinthians 7: 10-13
" For God will use sorrow...yet this sorrow is one that comes from Him. The purpose of Godly Sorrow is it gives us strength to turn from sin...and go after Him! Godly Sorrow is not focused on ourselves, rather, it relies on each of us putting our trust and faith in Him, which then leads us to freedom!...through the act of repentance...without regrets.
Worldly Sorrow is not like that. Worldly Sorrow leaves you in a state of distress, and can actually cause you to turn away from Him, because your own hurts and frustrations are hinged on you...you trying to change yourself...and there is no cure in that. Worldly Sorrow simply leaves you hopeless...much different than true repentance, which is not simply an act of your will, rather, it is putting your reliance...in Him!
Sin and sorrow is not a "finger pointing exercise"...who is right and who is wrong. It's not about punishing someone and refusing to ever accept someone again because of some gross sin.
Godly Sorrow does expose sin in a person's life...particularly when it affects the lives of others...and does demand the sin to be dealt with.
But, Godly Sorrow does not stop there!
Godly Sorrow leads one to repentance and provides a way for each one of us to live in harmony with one another...and experience the joy...of knowing Him!
Titus has confirmed this Godly Sorrow operating in your lives. He was so happy and delighted to share with me how you gave him such a warm welcome and was refreshed in experiencing for himself...Godly Sorrow operating in your lives...putting his mind to rest."
This is the only time in Scripture...Godly Sorrow is directly addressed.
Corinth was a major city in Greece during the times of Saint Paul. It was a definite world trade center of it's time and is estimated over 750,000 lived in Corinth during this period in history.
The Believers, that is to say those who had yielded their hearts and lives to the Lord Jesus...were mostly Gentile (non-Jewish). The expansion of Christianity had begun and was now in full swing, separating itself from being another "sect of the Jewish faith". Saint Paul had become the leader of Gentile Christians, and stood by their side with honor, Paul himself at one time being a full conservative Jew...and totally against the Christian faith.
The center of attraction for the city of Corinth...the Temple of Diana (or Artemis in some cultures). Why?...because she was the goddess of love...and fertility. The highlight in the worship of Diana was that part of the worship given to her included having sex with male and female priests...within her glorious Temple...which is considered even today as one of the 7 wonders of the world.
As a result of this "type of worship", came a party-like atmosphere...drinking, partying, and sexual gratifications...in all it's various forms.
Because of all this emphasis on sex...and equating that with worship, sexual sin did indeed become an issue...within the church at Corinth.
The Believers in Christ Jesus seemed to generate from the middle and lower classes living in Corinth. Many of these new Believers in Jesus were now changing their lifestyles, moving away from the worship of the goddess Diana and all her religion had to offer. Now, the Believers in Corinth were beginning to experience something new...a "Godly Sorrow"...which seemed to give them power to change their way of thinking....their attitudes on life...and even their way of living...the lifestyles were changing. As for Saint Paul, he was delighted over what was going on and wrote two major letters to the new church in Corinth...which are now part of our New Testament books.
Yet...there were a few Believers...who were not "buying the encouragement" Paul was giving to the Corinthian believers through his letters. These Believers were catering more to false teachers and other leaders who did not like Paul...in fact they did not like him at all...and made comments like:
1. "Paul is by no means a great leader...and should not be our leader...trust me....he isn't all that."
2. " Paul writes all these powerful letters...yet have you seen this guy in person? He is not an elegant speaker...not whatsoever."
{NOTE: These words give an image much like we would see in the movie "The Wizard of Oz." In the movie, the "wizard" projects this large image with his words being heard " I am the powerful Oz", only to pull back the curtain and see a little man from Kansas...with his gadgetry.}
3. "Paul has no "Hollywood look" about him...and he seems to carry some type of illness around his eyes. Now, is this really a type of leader we want?"
4. "Why doesn't Paul accept money from us for his labors?...others do! Is our money not good enough...for him?"
5. "Besides, Paul is not a "real apostle". He is not one of the 12 Jesus originally chose."
Yet, with adversity, Saint Paul keeps hope of the great work the Holy Spirit is doing in the hearts...of many believers in Corinth.
In the second letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes making it abundantly clear he is not encouraging the believers in order to have some type of control over them. Quite the opposite, Saint Paul desires the believers in Corinth to experience for themselves...the joy of having Christ Jesus in their hearts and the true joy of knowing Him.
So, what is the "secret ingredient" that caused these Believers in Corinth to rise of out of sexual sin and not be influenced by false teachers and false statements made about Paul himself?....The gift of "Godly Sorrow".
Godly Sorrow is by design a true gift given to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because Godly Sorrow allows us to experience the ability to turn from our former thoughts and lifestyles to one that Christ Jesus want us to have...in order to have His Joy in our everyday lives.
Godly Sorrow is different from just being sorry about something. Godly Sorrow gives us a solution to areas in life we may be facing...and not having to resort to "partying like a Corinthian" as the only way to appease the hurts of life. Godly Sorrow gives us the strength to resist and repent of sin in our life, deepen our friendship with Him, and provide a way of life we too...like the Believers in Corinth...can find that true enjoyment in life that only He can provide. It gives us a purpose...to live.
A Gleaning from 2 Corinthians 7: 10-13
" For God will use sorrow...yet this sorrow is one that comes from Him. The purpose of Godly Sorrow is it gives us strength to turn from sin...and go after Him! Godly Sorrow is not focused on ourselves, rather, it relies on each of us putting our trust and faith in Him, which then leads us to freedom!...through the act of repentance...without regrets.
Worldly Sorrow is not like that. Worldly Sorrow leaves you in a state of distress, and can actually cause you to turn away from Him, because your own hurts and frustrations are hinged on you...you trying to change yourself...and there is no cure in that. Worldly Sorrow simply leaves you hopeless...much different than true repentance, which is not simply an act of your will, rather, it is putting your reliance...in Him!
Sin and sorrow is not a "finger pointing exercise"...who is right and who is wrong. It's not about punishing someone and refusing to ever accept someone again because of some gross sin.
Godly Sorrow does expose sin in a person's life...particularly when it affects the lives of others...and does demand the sin to be dealt with.
But, Godly Sorrow does not stop there!
Godly Sorrow leads one to repentance and provides a way for each one of us to live in harmony with one another...and experience the joy...of knowing Him!
Titus has confirmed this Godly Sorrow operating in your lives. He was so happy and delighted to share with me how you gave him such a warm welcome and was refreshed in experiencing for himself...Godly Sorrow operating in your lives...putting his mind to rest."
This is the only time in Scripture...Godly Sorrow is directly addressed.
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