2 Corinthians 7–8

7Therefore, dear friends, since we have such promises, ^blet us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, ^ccompleting our sanctification ^din the fear of God. ^e

Joy and Repentance

²Accept us. ^fWe have wronged no one, corrupted ^gno one, defrauded no one. ³I don’t say this to condemn you, for I have already said that you are in our hearts, to live together and to die together. ⁴I have great confidence in you; I have great pride in you. I am filled with encouragement; I am overcome with joy in all our afflictions.

⁵In fact, when we came into Macedonia, ^hwe ⁱhad no rest. Instead, we were troubled in every way: conflicts ^jon the outside, fears ^kinside. ⁶But God, who comforts the humble, ^lcomforted us by the arrival of Titus, ⁷and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort he received from you. He told us about your deep longing, your sorrow, ^mand your zeal ⁿfor me, so that I rejoiced even more. ⁸For even if I grieved you with my letter, ^oI do not regret it—even though I did regret it since I saw that the letter grieved you, yet only for a little while. ⁹Now I 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. ¹⁰For godly grief produces a repentance not to be regretted and leading to salvation, but worldly grief produces death. ^p11For 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 ^qin this matter. ¹²So even though I wrote to you, it was not because of the one who did wrong, or because of the one who was wronged, but in order that your diligence for us might be made plain to you in the sight of God. ¹³For this reason we have been comforted.

In addition to our comfort, we rejoiced even more over the joy Titus ^rhad, ^sbecause his spirit was refreshed by all of you. ¹⁴For if I have made any boast to him about you, I have not been embarrassed; but as I have spoken everything to you in truth, ^tso our boasting to Titus has also turned out to be the truth. ¹⁵And his affection toward you is even greater as he remembers the obedience of all of you, and how you received him with fear and trembling. ¹⁶I rejoice that I have complete confidence in you.

Appeal to Complete the Collection

8We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God granted to the churches ^uof Macedonia: ^v2During a severe testing by affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed into the wealth of their generosity. ^w3I testify that, on their own, according to their ability and beyond their ability, ⁴they begged us insistently for the privilege of sharing ^xin the ministry to the saints, ⁵and not just as we had hoped. Instead, they gave themselves especially to the Lord, then to us by God’s will. ^y6So we urged Titus that just as he had begun, so he should also complete this grace to you. ⁷Now as you excel in everything—faith, speech, knowledge, ^zand in all diligence, and in your love for us ^a—excel also in this grace.

⁸I am not saying this as a command. Rather, by means of the diligence of others, I am testing the genuineness of your love. ⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though He was rich, ^bfor your sake He became poor, ^cso that by His poverty you might become rich. ¹⁰Now I am giving an opinion on this because it is profitable for you, who a year ago began not only to do something but also to desire it. ^de11But now finish the task ^fas well, that just as there was eagerness to desire it, so there may also be a completion from what you have. ¹²For if the eagerness is there, it is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. ^g13It is not that there may be relief for others and hardship for you, but it is a question of equality ^h— ¹⁴at the present time your surplus is available for their need, so their abundance may also become available for our need, so there may be equality. ¹⁵As it has been written:

The person who gathered much

did not have too much,

and the person who gathered little

did not have too little. ^ij

Administration of the Collection

¹⁶Thanks be to God who put the same concern for you into the heart of Titus. ¹⁷For he accepted our urging and, being very diligent, went out to you by his own choice. ¹⁸We have sent with him the brother ^kwho is praised throughout the churches for his gospel ministry. ^l19And not only that, but he was also appointed by the churches to accompany us with this gift ^mthat is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself and to show our eagerness to help. ²⁰We are taking this precaution so no one can criticize us about this large sum administered by us. ²¹For we are making provision ⁿfor what is right, ^onot only before the Lord but also before men. ²²We have also sent with them our brother. We have often tested him in many circumstances and found him to be diligent—and now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you. ²³As for Titus, he is my partner ^pand coworker ^qserving you; as for our brothers, they are the messengers ^rof the churches, the glory of Christ. ^s24Therefore, show them proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting ^tabout you.