Verse 1, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Since we have the promise from God that if we separate ourselves from ungodly people and behavior, that He will be our Father and call us children, we need to cleanse ourselves from the filth we have accumulated from living in the world in our earthly bodies. There are only two options: to be a child of God or a child of the devil. I John 3:10, “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” As children of God, we need to practice holiness, just as you would practice anything that you want to be better at. We certainly cannot expect to excel at something that we do not practice. Not that we will ever attain perfection, but our abilities are perfected through practice as we become more like Christ and are transformed into His image.
Now if we confess our sins, God is faithful to cleanse us from our unrighteousness, but it doesn't mean we sit back and do nothing. There is an active role we play which is why we are told...let us cleanse ourselves. We know from Titus 2 that grace does a work in us, but we can hinder that work if we continue to engage in wordly activities, behaviors, and relationships. Even being around them, just watching, can fuel your fleshly desires. Sin can be a progression, and you want to stop it before it begins. James 1:14-15, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” The kind of grace that leads to salvation teaches us to say "No" to these desires and exercise some self-control in our lives, by the power of the Holy Spirit. We cannot continue to live in our filth and expect God to clean it up for us or simply put on a grace bandaid to cover it. Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”
Verses 2-4, 8-10, “Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have cheated no one. I do not say this to condemn; for I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. [. . .] 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. 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. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”
Paul's letter to the Corinthians seems to have caused some hurt feelings and led some of them to close off their hearts toward him. He asks them to open their hearts, reminding them that he did not mistreat them in any way. To the contrary, any pain or sorrow that he caused was effective in their lives, leading to repentance, and should not be regretted. This is Godly sorrow that leads to salvation, as opposed to wordly sorrow that produces death. Look at all the good that was produced in them in Verse 11, “For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.” In order to have these results, we need humility so that we can receive correction from God's word and not become bitter toward those He chooses to deliver a message to us. These people truly care for us just as Paul cared for the Corinthians, which is why he wrote the letter, in order to make this known to them.
Although correction is not always received immediately, we all can rejoice and take comfort when those being corrected truly repent. It is not about pointing fingers to make us look better and build our status, it's about saving souls!
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