Two Ways We Can Respond to Correction

A Few Thoughts to Consider

How do you respond when you’re corrected?

In 2 Corinthians, Paul writes to the church in Corinth to address various issues, including divisions, moral lapses, and misunderstandings about his ministry. Leading up to 2 Corinthians 7:1, Paul emphasizes the need for believers to live distinctly from the surrounding pagan culture. In 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, he urges them not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers and reminds them of God's promises to dwell among his people if they remain separate from impurity. As Colin Kruse notes, “The appeal to not be yoked together with unbelievers means here not participating in pagan worship with unbelievers.”^[1]

Then, in 7:1, Paul says, “So then, dear friends, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” After addressing some misunderstandings and tensions between himself and the Corinthian church, Paul shifts in verses 9-11 and says:

⁹ I now rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance. For you were grieved as God willed, so that you didn’t experience any loss from us. ¹⁰ For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly grief produces death. ¹¹ For consider how much diligence this very thing—this grieving as God wills—has produced in you: what a desire to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what deep longing, what zeal, what justice! In every way you showed yourselves to be pure in this matter. 

Paul knew very well that his corrections could have crushed these believers and caused them to give up. Many believers respond this way when they are challenged. But instead of crushing, the Corinthians’ grief results in repentance.

A great example of two diverging paths is found in Jesus’ two disciples, Peter and Judas. Both experienced profound sadness after betraying Jesus, but their responses led to very different outcomes. Peter denied knowing Jesus three times, and upon realizing his failure, he wept bitterly. His sorrow moved him toward genuine repentance, leading to forgiveness and restoration. In fact, he later became a crucial leader in the early church.