2 Corinthians
So then, since we have these promises, beloved, let us purify ourselves
from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Make room in your hearts for us. We have treated no one unjustly; we have ruined
no one; we have taken advantage of no one.
I do not say this to condemn
you, as I have already said that you are in our hearts to die together and to
live together.
My confidence in you is great, as is my pride in you. I am filled with encouragement. I am overflowing with joy even in all our
affliction.
For even when we came into Macedonia we had no relief, but we
were afflicted on every side — by external conflicts and internal fears.
But
God, who encourages the discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus,
and
not only by his arrival, but also by the encouragement he received among you. When
he told us about your longing, your sorrow, and your concern for me, I rejoiced
even more.
For although I caused you sorrow with my letter, I do not regret writing it —
though I did regret it because I see that my letter made you sad, but only for a
while.
Now I am rejoicing, not that you were made sad, but that you were
made sad leading to repentance. For you were made sad as God intended, so
that you were not harmed in any way by us.
For godly sorrow produces a
repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but worldly sorrow produces death.
And see what earnest concern this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you — your defense of yourselves, indignation at the wrongdoer, alarm, longing, zeal, and punishment of
wrong! In everything you have demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the
matter.
So when I wrote to you, it was not because of the one who did
the wrong, nor because of the one who suffered the wrong, but to reveal
to you your earnest concern on our behalf before God.
And so we have been encouraged. In addition to our own encouragement, we rejoiced even more to
see the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.
For if I have boasted to him at all about you, you have not let me down. Just as we spoke nothing but the truth to you, our boasting to Titus about you was also proven to be true.
His affection for you increases even more, as he remembers how you all
obeyed, and how you received him with fear and trembling.
I am rejoicing
because in everything I have confidence in you.
2 Corinthians