There is a clear link between repentance and the comfort of forgiveness. Please read 2 Corinthians 7:8-13a. There are a lot of repeated words here, but if you allow those to inform the path Paul’s taking the reader on this discussion, you’ll see where he’s leading the Corinthians and us.

Answering a Letter…

He knew that the previous letter he wrote (a letter of chastisement because there were some problems in the church at Corinth) had opened their eyes to the need for repentance. As 2 Corinthians 7:8-9 indicates, they took his words – God’s words – to heart. So much so that they were grieved at what he said.

Repentance produced…

Have you ever been struck with the realization that something in your life was no what it should be? That it was, in fact, sinful and needed repenting from and change? It can be that sinking-in-your-gut feeling, that washed-over-with-icy-water feeling, or maybe simply a vague discomfort that grows and grows until you can’t live with it any longer. The Holy Spirit works in the lives of people to move them to repentance.

Repentance in action, in the knowledge of Christ’s atoning sacrifice…

Paul goes on, in 2 Corinthians 7:10-11, to describe what repentance produced does in the life of a Christian. The earnestness and eagerness, the indignation, the fear and longing and zeal and even punishment that he mentions are all stirred in the heart of a believer who knows what follows repentance for a believer.

For a greater purpose…

Repentance is not a comfortable thing. It isn’t meant to be; it’s admission of wrong, and regret over it. My wrong, and no one else’s. I can’t push my blame onto another. I can’t pretend that what I’ve done isn’t as bad as someone else’s wrongdoing, because Christ died for it all. But repentance, and godly grief, isn’t meant to leave you in the bad-feeling. It’s meant to break down the pride that can’t coexist with the Holy Spirit’s work. 2 Corinthians 12-13a looks at it as a growing-tool in the life of a Christian. Paul doesn’t say that the Corinthians, in their grief and repentance, proved to God that they were in earnest. Nor did they prove it to Paul. It was for their benefit, and revealed to them. God already knew their hearts, just as He knows yours.

For comfort…

This is a pivotal component in repentance. Without knowledge of Christ, repentance leads to heartache, despair, even death. Paul knew he was speaking to Christians, to people who knew and believed that Christ was their Redeemer. When repentance does its work, though, we must speak the forgiveness that is poured out from the cross. In that Gospel is the only lasting comfort, the only sufficient answer to a repentant plea.

Let’s look briefly at the example of Joseph and his brothers. If you aren’t familiar with the story, I encourage you to take time to read Genesis 29-49 for a full detailing of what happened (or start with chapter 37 and Joseph’s dreams for a shorter read).

Here is the abbreviated version.