S) "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, so 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."
2 Corinthians 7:9-10 (NASB)
O) Paul had written a letter previously (2 actually) to the church at Corinth. The book of 1 Corinthians was a letter written to the church, which contains a lot of admonishment for that church, and the report had come back to Paul that they were sorrowful about it. Then, Paul was told of their changes in their church, and the good that had come out of the sorrow, that they felt because of his letter. So, the point of the above verses, is that their godly sorrow produced good fruit in their hearts (which he specified in the verses that followed). This is another element of God that is missed in the world. The sorrow that is mentioned, is specifically a result of guilt. Guilt is not a feeling, it is a legal standing. When we sense that we are guilty, we feel shame or sorrow. When the world feels sorrow, they tend to just get angry, go into denial, or take any number of other courses that are not addressing the cause of their sorrow: their guilt. Outside of God, aside from the sacrifice of Jesus, there is truly nothing that can be done about that guild and associated sorrow. But, in the LORD's perfect plan of the gospel, there is a proper solution. The sorrow we feel from guilt, leads us to repentance, which clears the guilt through faith in Jesus Christ.
A) There are two main applications of this in my life. First, is directly to myself, to remember that sorrow from guilt is cleared when it leads me to repentance. Then, I can bear fruit like Paul mentioned in v.11. The other application is in parenting. There is a deadly trap that parents will use, called the guilt trip. It is a manipulation parents have fallen to using as long as children have existed. No doubt, Adam and Eve probably used it, too. The problem with using guilt to manipulate, is that it sets a wrong view of what guilt is, or how to clear guilt. The Bible must be the model that I use in parenting, when assessing and declaring the guilt in my children's lives. But, just as importantly, the Bible must also be the model I use in parenting, when clearing that same, biblically defined guilt. The goal of exposing the guilt in my children, must only be, to bring them to repentance. It can never be to get something that I want from them, or to alter their behavior outside genuine repentance - about the behavior that caused the guilt.
P) Father, You are so good to me. You perfectly model who I should be as a father toward my children. I am so thankful that You do not execute justice immediately, but You offer time to repent. I am so thankful that You provided a way of escape, that Jesus Christ paid the price of my guilt. Parenting is such a heavy responsibility, and I could never do it correctly, on my own. Help me to continue following the model You gave me for correct parenting. I confess that I have been guilty in my parenting, and I repent of that worldly and manipulative form of guilt assessment. Help me to clearly teach my children of the biblical view of guilt, repentance, and justification. Thank You for the grace You give me, especially in my parenting. Let Your will be done. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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