I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. 2 Corinthians 7:8-10 NLT
The Apostle Paul is so transparent and open to the churches in Corinth. I believe this is exactly what is needed when addressing cities and cultures like the Corinthians. These verses, especially using the phrase, “severe letter,” has theologians baffled with several theories of what this letter contained and what happened to it.
First the three ideas of what happened to the letter:
One theory is that the letter was 1 Corinthians, although many agree that the description of severity does not match the content nor tone of 1 Corinthians.
Another theory is that the “severe letter” was simply lost, or it was decided that it did not belong in the canon of scripture.
And the last theory is that contents of the “severe letter” were included in 2 Corinthians 10–13, where Paul is very raw and real. Once again, he defends his Apostleship not just by the authority of Christ, but also the extreme episodes of suffering Paul went through to bring the gospel to Gentiles. He is utterly transparent in all humility to challenge the fake apostles and judaizers that tried to win over the hearts of the Corinthians.
The “severe letter” contained the core issues that Paul mentions in 1 & 2 Corinthians. The harsh letter addressed issues that were causing division in the church. It addressed his concern the church following the fake apostles who were teaching false doctrine and causing strife. Also, Paul was also concerned about church members who had not repented of their immoral behavior, he was angry that sin was openly tolerated and not confronted.
However, Paul received word directly from Titus that the Corinthian churches had not only listened to Paul’s rebuke, but had repented of their sins as well of their distrust and disrespect of Paul. ”But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus. His presence was a joy, but so was the news he brought of the encouragement he received from you. When he told us how much you long to see me, and how sorry you are for what happened, and how loyal you are to me, I was filled with joy!“ (2 Corinthians 7:6-7).
Paul explains here in these verses, the importance of sorrow that can go one of two ways. He says there is sorrow that leads us away from sin and towards salvation and the alternative “universal worldly affairs,” or powerful cultural influences that leads us towards sin. It not only lacks repentance, but actually leads to death! One is a good sorry of being caught and called out, the other is sorry for being caught but still believing you’ve done nothing wrong.
Exposure of sin is not meant to shame but to shine the bright light of Jesus on dark matters of the heart. Exposure of our sin, Paul says is meant to cause a pain of realization, forcing our dim eyes and hardening heart to repent, to change, to run towards God and not away from God. Hiding from our sin, thinking we are hiding from God, only produces calloused and cold hearts. We don’t like to be confronted by our sin, this is why confession is so hard for us.
Confession is an admittance of error, sin and selfishness but we also expose ourselves, thinking we will be humanly judged by believers! Do you know that most unbelievers welcome and celebrate confession? Go to any twelve-step, alcoholic anonymous or celebrate recovery gathering. Do you know what you’ll find – a humble acceptance from everyone in the space that already knows the truth about addictions. We all have something we’re trying to hide or hooked on something that is controlling us! Why can unbelievers do confession better than believers, followers of Jesus? We believe the lie that we should not have any sin in our life. It’s too embarrassing to admit and we will bear the judgment of those we share it with. James made it clear that it is good and healthy for us to openly talk about our sin, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” James 5:16. We should take Paul’s and James godly advice – sorrow for sin, along with confession and repentance.
Prayer
Dad,
Most folks, believers and nonbelievers, think the Church, which is just people, saved alone by grace, should be perfect. Or, at least they should have minimal issues, disagreements, or outright conflict! Yet, even as Paul pointed out, we are all in process. We are in the process of doing things that lead us away from sin, or stubbornly towards it. The standard of perfection is hard, especially when we are all still sinners saved by your perfecting grace! What I do love is Paul’s honesty and transparency in leadership over Corinthian churches. I am so thankful for these letters helping all of us become more like Jesus! Amen.