{"id":30637,"date":"2021-01-15T18:58:16","date_gmt":"2021-01-16T00:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?page_id=30637"},"modified":"2021-01-15T21:23:42","modified_gmt":"2021-01-16T03:23:42","slug":"titus-report","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-corinthian-letters\/titus-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Titus\u2019 Report"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Titus’ Report<\/h1>\n

Paul’s reaction to the news\u00a0(II Corinthians 7:5-7)<\/h2>\n

As Paul mentioned before (II Corinthians 1:16), he decided to go to Macedonia before going to Corinth. Yet, the choice was not without problems. He had little opportunity to rest because of many difficulties (II Corinthians 4:8). It appears he met with opposition by others. And he had to deal with his own personal fears. He left for Macedonia to find Titus (II Corinthians 2:12-13), but he wasn’t there when Paul arrived, which left Paul concerned.<\/p>\n

Happily, Titus did eventually arrive in Macedonia and Paul found comfort that God allowed them to meet once again.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t just Titus’ coming that relieved Paul, the news he brought of the brethren in Corinth was also a relief to Paul. Paul learned that Titus was well-received by the brethren in Corinth. He reported that the letter had produced a sincere desire to improve, sorrow at doing wrong, and a strong attachment to Paul.<\/p>\n

Joy in bringing about change\u00a0(II Corinthians 7:8-12)<\/h2>\n

Paul understood that he had caused sorrow in Corinth by his letter, but he doesn’t regret doing so, though he did have regrets when he wrote it (II Corinthians 2:4). Paul knew the letter would grieve the Corinthians, even though that sorrow only lasted a short while. But now he can rejoice because of the impact that it had on the Corinthians. He isn’t happy about making them sorrowful, but that they repented because of that necessary sorrow. That time of grief caused them no harm, only discomfort.<\/p>\n

Sorrow comes in two forms, there is the sorrow of the world and the sorrow of God (literally, “according to God,” I Peter 4:6). The sorrow of the world results in death (Isaiah 9:13; Revelation 16:10-11). Godly sorrow causes a change that leads to salvation (Psalms 51:4; Jeremiah 31:9; Ezekiel 7:16). Notice that repentance is not the sorrow. Sorrow is the motivation for repentance. Repentance is the response to sorrow – the person making changes in his life and thus removing the cause of his sorrow. Nor is repentance the final step to salvation. It is a necessary step, but one that leads to salvation and not gives salvation.<\/p>\n

Paul invites the Corinthians to take note of the changes that sorrow caused in them:<\/p>\n