2nd Corinthians – Godly Social Order

Godly Sorrow

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Godly Social Order

Lesson: 15-25

Genre: Talk

Track: 15

Dictation Name: RR4168B

Location/Venue:

Year: 1998-2000

[Mark Rushdoony] Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Our opening prayer this morning will be offered to us by Reverend Ron Weinbaum.

[Reverend Ron Weinbaum] Oh God our Father, we come before you now with spirits which are dressed with gladness, thanking you that you have even given to us this day, a Sabbath day of rest and common to all others, and even that we can come and render our praise unto yourself. We thank you for the joy of knowing that it is good and pleasant for the brethren to dwell together in unity, to come together and prepare for the feast of the word. We pray oh God that our hearts will be nit together in love, in coming to the understanding of all the knowledge and the wisdom which are hidden in our Lord Jesus Christ. We ask that you would bless the message, and the messenger your servant Doctor Rushdoony this morning, even as we receive the word we sing praise to you and offer our prayers up to you, may our worship be a pleasing and savory aroma in your nostrils. We pray in Jesus name, amen.

[R. J. Rushdoony] Our scripture this morning is from 2 Corinthians 7:5-16; our subject, Godly Sorrow. 2 Corinthians 7:5-16.

“5 For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.

6 Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus;

7 And not by his coming only, but by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you, when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me; so that I rejoiced the more.

8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.

9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.

10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

12 Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you.

13 Therefore we were comforted in your comfort: yea, and exceedingly the more joyed we for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all.

14 For if I have boasted any thing to him of you, I am not ashamed; but as we spake all things to you in truth, even so our boasting, which I made before Titus, is found a truth.

15 And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him.

16 I rejoice therefore that I have confidence in you in all things.”

One of our problems today is that our view of language is evolutionary. A faith colors the whole of life. Darwinism is the modern faith, and it covers all of life, it explains everything, including language.

Now, Paul here is very precise in his language. It is an important chapter in that respect. We need to understand how Paul treats language. Now, the relationship of any man to Christ can be one of two kinds; it can be very much of a insistence that man in effect accepts Christ, and therefore is saved. It is an emphasis on the sovereignty of man. The term for this has been in the modern age, Arminianism. But the term describes something that for centuries has existed. When we go to the Bible, language is very precise. Because it is the God-given book, there is an exactitude that does not appear in other works. In fact, in the Bible names are also descriptions. We know for example, that Abraham had three names. We don’t know what his first name was, but we know that he was a grown man when God called him, named him Abram, and again when God called him and said: “Your name is now Abraham.”

Well, this was very difficult for Abraham. Had he not been a very rich man, it would have been a major trial for him to carry the name God had given him. Imagine, as you travel into Canaan, you meet someone. He asks your name, and you say: “Abraham.” “Oh, how many children have you?” Because the name indicates a father of a multitude. “Well, none.” Think of the faith it took to bear that name.

We know of instances in the Bible where a man’s name changes as his character changes. Names thus, are important, even though they are not to us. In fact, all words are names. When we use the word ‘is’ we are naming thereby the present tense in a state of existence. When we say: ‘was’ we indicate a past tense in existence.

This is why the Bible is so remarkable a book, because it reflects its creator. It reflects the precision in language, as do the writers. Certainly Saint Paul. Now I submit that we as Christians will by and large be not only more trustworthy in our use of language because we are called to be Godly and honest, but also more exact because we have a Godly respect for language, beginning with the word of God.

Well, as I indicated, one of the words that came in time to describe a certain approach to the Bible was Arminianism, after Arminius, a Dutch scholar. It means that the ultimate choice rests with man, he chooses Jesus, he also chooses what he believes. But the reverse of that is Reformed, where we believe that it is not our choosing but Gods. Not our word, but Gods Word that is determinative of all of life.

Now the fact that these terms only came into existence at the Reformation does not mean that those two conditions did not exist; in fact they existed in Paul’s day. There were very fine Christians in the Corinthian church, including Priscilla and Aquila and others, who certainly were a joy to Paul in all three communities where they resided for business reasons. But there were many who felt that all they had to do in effect was say yes to Jesus, and then Jesus was obliged to give them what they wanted. Because, by choosing Jesus, they declared their sovereignty. But we do not believe that. We believe that God has called and chose us, and when we say amen to His call, it is a God given response, not our determination of things.

This is important to understanding this chapter, and much more in Corinthians, because Paul, using his language very carefully, defines his relationship to the Corinthians, even as he tries to discern what it is they believe. He rejoices that Titus tells him, having met with the Corinthians, that they truly appreciate and are grateful for Paul’s work. They know they were wrong.

Now, this was, let us say, a Reformed response of the Corinthians. But it did not change them totally, so their responses as Paul continues his correspondence, often indicate that they still see themselves as sovereign.

So it is important to understand language, and to understand how man views God and himself. Paul was greatly comforted by what Titus had to say. And the joy of Titus becomes his joy. So he says, ‘It is not only by the comforting that Titus’s letter gave him, but also by the consolation which is mine because of the way you have manifested yourselves.’ Paul knew there was trouble in Corinth. That it was not over. But so far, despite their rebelliousness, there was more and more a recognition that Paul was right. They were hurt, they were resentful, they took it out on Paul at times, but they also knew he was right.

And so he tells them: ‘The things I made you sorry with, I don’t repent of them. God has used them.’ He indicates that “I may be making you more sorrowful than you have been.’ But that is part of his duty, his calling.

Now, it is important that we appreciate the Corinthian letters, because they deal with the church through the ages. The weakness of men who are called out of darkness into light. And yet their readiness to turn back to the darkness, to hide their sins and shortcomings as it were.

And so Paul has to deal with this fact as he deals with these people in Corinth. So he says: ‘I rejoice. Not just because Titus made you sorrowful by calling attention to your sins, but that ye rejoice through repentance. For you were made sorry after a Godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. Of course your feelings were hurt, but it was a plus. The sorrow was a Godly sorrow.

The Corinthian letters are amazing in their content, they are in a sense the hardest to read in the Bible because they are so painful. But at the same time they demonstrate what a pastor must often go through with a congregation. How conversion does not instantly eliminate our sins, we do not believe in instant perfection; our sanctification is only completed with eternity.

We recognize that the relationship is not free of sorrow, of hurt, but it is also one that is required by the Lord.

“For Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of, but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”

And this is a very important verse in scripture. It tells us that in the life of the church there must be godly sorrow. But we live in a time when people do not want to have their feelings hurt. Well, when we are sinners, and we are not perfectly sanctified, we are going to sin between our salvation and our entrance into glory. This means that, in the intervening time, as the pastor preaches the word, and as he deals with us with respect to our live and our problems, it is going to lead to sorrow on our part. We are going to have our feelings hurt.

I recall a church woman, ready enough to be called a Christian, an active church worker, who once defined a Christian to me, and then proceeded to tell me that I was not one. That: “A Christian never hurt anybody’s feelings!” Amazing. That rules out Paul and all the apostles. Paul certainly hurt a great many feelings. Well, Godly sorrow is important.

“For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”

Revenge, a righting of wrongs is what it truly means. So Paul says, and he admits repeatedly in this letter, that he was hurt. But he rejoices as he looks back. Their godly sorrow led to all these things. It created a desire to serve God better, to recognize sin in themselves and in the congregation.

“Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you.”

So, Paul says: ‘I didn’t do this to hurt you, I didn’t do it to make the person who had suffered wrong to feel any better, my whole purpose was to do what God required. That, you in the sight of God might grow and might appear unto me as His people.’

“Therefore we were comforted in your comfort: yea, and exceedingly the more joyed we for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all.”

‘This is one reason for the sorrow I caused you, the results. The joy it has given to Titus to see how you have changed is a joy to me.’ So we can say that, certainly the Corinthian church was a very sinful one. It had at one point called good evil, and evil good. Its sins had been flagrant, obvious ones. But they had also been ready to take a drubbing, verbally, when Paul, and or Titus gave it to them. So they truly were a Christian church despite great failings, which were to be expected considering the paganism they had come out of. Considering that Corinth was so evil a city.

Paul says he went there in fear and trembling. Corinth was a great manufacturing town whose goods went as far as China. It was a place where I mentioned at the beginning of our study of this letter, we know from some of the records that apparently the city fathers maintained a couple thousand prostitutes to take care of visiting salesmen at the cost of the city. It was not a place to look forward to going to, not the easiest of places to plant a church. And yet it makes Paul joyful to see what has happened.

“For if I have boasted any thing to him of you, I am not ashamed; but as we spake all things to you in truth, even so our boasting, which I made before Titus, is found a truth.”

‘Thank you,’ he says, ‘for vindicating me. I have boasted about you and your character, and I am very happy to see that it is confirmed by Titus. He doesn’t hide the fact of you sin or the problems that still may exist, but that in the face of very sharp condemnation on my part, you have been repentant. You have expressed appreciation of me.’ This does not mean that Paul’s problems with the Corinthians ended, they did not. It does mean that Paul rejoiced because he knew they were capable of repentance, which is a very important thing.

One of the men I often think of as I look back at my ministry, years spent in a number of places, was a person who had committed flagrant sins periodically; and yet he was truly repentant when he did, and truly worked to make amends. So that while I heard some say of him that such a man is obviously not a Christian, I felt that I could say that such a man is obviously a Christian, because while I don’t understand the extent of his sin, I do understand the extent of his repentance, and his readiness to go ahead, to do even more earnestly what he needed to do for Christ.

So, Paul’s spirit was refreshed by all the Corinthians, and he says: ‘I am not ashamed that I said the things I did of you, good or bad, because your obedience has been a remarkable one, in the face of very plain speaking and rebuking.’ And he says of Paul who agrees with him:

“And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him.”

They knew they had been wrong. But with fear and trembling, they received Titus. So he says:

“I rejoice therefore that I have confidence in you in all things.”

What a remarkable statement. Paul is not flattering, Paul is an apostle of the Lord. He speaks the truth in love, and so as he looks back on their sins, he says: “I rejoice therefore that I have confidence in you in all things.” Paul was going to be hurt again, but Paul was also going to be filled with joy, again and again at the fact that these Corinthians were truly God’s people.

Now, these things that we encounter in Corinth I know from missionaries are commonplace on the mission field. I recall in the late 30’s, early 40’s perhaps it was, when this elderly missionary came home because of the war, and how he reported on a man that had been a source of major grief to him and his ministry. The man wouldn’t break with the church, but he was so clearly unfaithful and sinful time and again, he gave the church a bad name. It was often cited by the ungodly. And yet, when the time of testing came, he drew closer to the church, became more eloquent in the defense of the faith against the ungodly. And when they decided that the church had to be wiped out, they took the members, one by one, beginning with this man, put them in front of a deep hole, and said: “Renounce Christ or jump down, or we will push you in, and we are going to bury you alive.” He went in without a moments hesitation.

Well, Paul is speaking in this way about the Corinthians. He knows their sins, he grieves over them, but he also knows that the power of God is at work within them, that they were a church of Jesus Christ.

We today, as the people of God, face a world that is very hostile to Him, we are drawing closer and closer to 1st century Roman Empire ways and habits. Increasingly, there will be a time of testing for us. Some of you are familiar with a very, very important work, by Harold Berman, Law and Revolution, and he is writing another companion volume.

Well, he has said that the time is near when the erosion of the Christian influence will disappear totally, and we will again be a barbarian peoples. It is very close. We should be able to understand all the more what Paul has to say as he dealt with such a world. We can be grateful that the grace of God at work in Corinth could make the Corinthians the greatest source of joy to Paul, even as they had been his greatest source of grief, and why Paul was very careful with his language. In the 7 times he spoke of Christians as his dearly beloved, 4 of the times it was to the Corinthians. God give us grace to stand, in spite of our failings, so that Paul can think of us as beloved in the Lord.

Let us pray. We give thanks our Father for this Thy word. And we thank Thee for the patience of Thy servants, and of Thee, towards us. Thou hast by Thy sovereign grace called us to be Thy people, make us faithful in Thy service and joyful in thy kingdom, in Christ’s name, amen.

Are there any questions now about our lesson? Yes?

[Audience Member] I have heard many people talk about having a heart after God, in many evangelical circles I have heard that phrase used, is this…

[Rushdoony] What is that phrase now?

[Audience Member] A heart after God.

[Rushdoony] A heart after God, yes.

[Audience Member] Is that the way that phrase, that phrase has often been used, is that what you would say the Corinthians had?

[Rushdoony] Yes, in spite of the very real failings. You see, there are today and have been over the centuries a great many people who feel that they are Christians if they say yes to Jesus. I have met many who insist that they were instantly sanctified. It was easy to see that that was not true. But, when we are truly saved, then we truly grow. We have a heart after God. We desire day by day to grow in grace and to be stronger in Him. And so the mark of a Christian is growth.

I like the old story about the man who testified that the cup of his salvation was: “Filled to the full by the water of life thirty years ago when he accepted the Lord, and it had not diminished a bit since then.” Well, someone then commented to him: “If it is the same water, it is pretty stale by now.” A no growth Christian is not a Christian. Any other questions or comments?

If not, let us conclude with prayer.

Our Father we thank Thee for Thy word unto us. We thank Thee that Thou hast summoned us to growth, that Thou hast made clear that all Thy chastening’s are for our good, our growth, our further joy in Jesus Christ. Give us strength to undergo the trials and tribulations that are a very real part of our lives so often. Make us ever mindful that thou wilt never leave us nor forsake us, so that we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper, I shall not fear what man can do unto me.”

And now, go in peace, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, bless you and keep you, guide and protect you, this day and always, amen.