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True Biblical Love

Confronting people with their sins has never been a pleasant task, plus living in a feelings-based culture only multiplies that difficulty. In today’s society, hurting someone’ feelings gets us labeled “mean-spirited” and “extreme.” When the gospel message pierces a sinner’s heart by convicting him or her of sin, it will definitely contradict the world’s warm, fuzzy definition of love (see Acts 2:36-37; Acts 7:51-54).

Back in 1970, the repeated theme of the movie “Love Story” told us, “Love means you never have to say you’re sorry.” But that isn’t what the inspired writer Paul said:

“Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance …. For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:9-10).

In his first letter to the Corinthian brethren, Paul took them to task for a number of errors and abuses they were committing. Paul certainly wasn’t “warm and fuzzy” in that letter. In fact, he stated in his second letter to them:

“For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it” (2 Corinthians 7:8).

No doubt Paul hurt their feelings with such words as: “you are still carnal” (1 Corinthians 3:3), and “I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren?” (1 Corinthians 6:5). It’s possible that Paul may have wondered if he might have come on too strongly in condemning the brethren. However, in the final analysis, Paul did exactly what the Corinthian brethren needed. His letter produced within them a godly sorrow for their sins, which led to their repentance (2 Corinthians 7:9).

Let’s ask ourselves, “Have our children ever cried when we scolded and disciplined them?” Maybe it broke our heart; because we wondered if we had been too severe in our punishment. However, as a result of that punishment, their changed behavior and attitude demonstrated that we were right in punishing them (cf. Hebrews 12:5-11).

Brethren, until and unless folks understand the gravity of their sins and feel godly sorrow (cf. Jonah 3:5-10), they will have no motive to repent. And unless they biblically repent (cf. Matthew 3:8; Acts 26:20), they cannot be saved (Luke 13:3). Like Paul, may we be bold in confronting sin forcefully (Ephesians 6:19-20; cf. Titus 1:10-13) with the hope that godly sorrow will produce “repentance to salvation” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

True biblical love will not stand by and let a soul be lost because we were afraid that confronting him or her might hurt their feelings.