Tuesday March 28, 2017
“you were jarred into turning things around“
"I know I distressed you greatly with my
letter. Although I felt awful at the time, I don’t feel at all bad now that I
see how it turned out. The letter upset you, but only for a while. Now I’m
glad—not that you were upset, but that you were jarred into turning things
around. You let the distress bring you to God, not drive you from him. The
result was all gain, no loss. I know I distressed you greatly with my letter.
Although I felt awful at the time, I don’t feel at all bad now that I see how
it turned out. The letter upset you, but only for a while. Now I’m glad—not
that you were upset, but that you were jarred into turning things around. You
let the distress bring you to God, not drive you from him. The result was all
gain, no loss." - 2 Corinthians
7:8-9 (the Message)
True Repentance
The Nature
of Repentance
Elements in
repentance
Signs of repentance – cont.
4) Fear (phobos).
It is not clear what the object of this fear was. It could have been Paul.
After all, he had written to them in his first letter, “what do you wish? Shall
I come to you with a rod, or with love in the spirit of gentleness?” (1
Corinthians 4:21; 2 Corinthians 7:8). Perhaps the fee was God directed, in
which case it reflected their desire for forgiveness (Psalm 130:4). It may not
be possible or necessary to decide. But whatever produced the fear, it was the
sign of a truly awakened conscience being brought under the disciplines of
divine truth.
5)
Longing is not normally
a characteristic we associate with repentance. But the context may provide us
with the clue to Paul’s thinking. What would create a sense of longing in the
hearts but the alienation from God and his people (perhaps especially Paul)
which their sin had cost us in Mark that is why in extreme cases
excommunication may be necessary in the Christian church. It not only has
restoration as its end, but is a means to the end, because it produces the
circumstances which will make the excommunication long to be restored to the
privileges he formerly enjoyed.
6) Zeal. The word Paul uses is zelos, jealousy. It
signifies the exclusive focusing of our desires on a particular object. In this
case that object maybe Paul and his affection for them. Restoration to in Christian
service and participation in the ministry of men God has raised up as leaders is
a genuine sign of repentance. In this passage one of the ways in which the
repentance of the Corinthians is indicated is by their responsiveness to Paul’s
word to them – the sorrow his letter had produced let to repentance (2
Corinthians 7:8 – 9).
Challenge:
Godly fear
awakens our conscience to God’s divine truth. Longing to be reconnected with
God after being alienated and a zeal and focus on a godly objective are all
part of the signs of repentance.
This Day in Christian History:
On Easter Sunday March 28th, 1937 – a young
man named William Franklin Graham, better known as “Billy”, preached his 1st
sermon in a small Baptist Church
Memory Verse:
"He ko
e mamahi ‘oku faka‘otua hono fai, ‘oku ne langa‘i ha fakatomala ‘oku iku ki ha
fakamo‘ui, ‘a ia ‘e ‘ikai tālakitu‘a ai ha taha: ka ko e mamahi ‘oku
fakaemāmani ‘oku ne fakatupu mate." – 2
Kolinitō 7:10
"For
godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but
the sorrow of the world produces death." - 2 Corinthians 7:10
Bible
Reading Plan: (52 weeks; 5
days a week)
Week 13
– Joshua 1-4; Psalm 143; Luke 14
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