2 Corinthians 7:5-9 (NKJV) 5 For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. 6 Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.

2 Corinthians 7:5-9 (NKJV) 8 For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. 9 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing.

Perfecting Holiness As we have explained and understand the theme, we seek to make practical application of it It is our job always to take what God instructs and apply it to our lives It’s what makes us doers of the word and not simply hearers (Matt. 7:24-27; Js. 1:22)

Perfecting Holiness Today we want to consider context, perhaps even in a larger scope Paul writes 2 Corinthians to the church at Corinth This was the follow up epistle to the first, so the 2 are obviously connected

Perfecting Holiness The first epistle was written to correct many problems there… Immorality Lord’s Supper In fighting/division over spiritual gifts Disorder in worship

Perfecting Holiness This was a church with problems Paul’s second epistle tells us that those problems had been worked on and corrected That is the context following 7:1, the idea of correcting problems that had existed among them

Perfecting Holiness This idea is seen in verse 1 when Paul states, “let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit” Paul goes on to talk about their sorrow and subsequent repentance of the wrongs they had committed What a great example they set for us!

Look/Listen In order to remain holy before God, we must be willing to do 2 things… We must constantly look at our lives to see if we are living rightly (II Cor. 13:5) We must be willing to listen to others warning us of our sins (Nathan – II Sam. 12)

Look/Listen It takes being honest with ourselves about who we are and what we are doing We must not live in denial concerning sin in our lives Remember that this is important and has eternal consequences

Look/Listen We also must remember that this takes humility Often times pride can cause us to not want to admit that we are wrong or struggling with sin in our lives It will not be easy, but it is vitally important

Learn If we see something that keeps us from achieving holiness, we need to learn to say “I’m sorry” This includes asking God for forgiveness This isn’t always easy, but it is an important step

Learn Recognition of our transgressions against God and forgiveness from Him is a large part of keeping ourselves holy Paul was willing to admit who he was as well as his struggles with sin (I Tim. 1:15; Rom. 7) That certainly included seeking forgiveness from God

Change If we are looking at our lives, are willing to admit when we do wrong and ask for forgiveness, it cannot simply end there If that’s where it ends, then we will continue to defile our lives with sin Change must come about that keeps us from continuing in sin

Change Paul speaks of sorrow and true repentance in II Corinthians 7 That repentance is change; change that was made by the church at Corinth What if they had just simply admitted the problem and said they were sorry without change?

Change At some point, change must be made for us to remain holy A change of behavior, a change of mind, a change of desire and a change of activity among other things This is the path to remaining holy when we know perfection will not happen