Our Old Testament reading today reveals a sorrowful God - his people have built many altars - but NOT to worship Him! He is reluctantly and sadly sending punishment and suffering upon them, in the hope that they will then repent of their sin and turn back to Him.

In our New Testament reading, Paul regrets having to previously send a letter rebuking the church at Corinth for sins being condoned by them. Paul knew the letter would hurt them. But it was necessary and he states, that he is now glad that he wrote it, because it brought about godly sorrow, leading to True repentance and the Church has benefited from the lesson. Both our Old and New Testament readings today, show there comes a time when rebuke is necessary. Sin is like a disease, if it is dealt with at the right time it can be eradicated, if not it can become an incurable growth with effects which scar the lives of many for years and years.

King David committed adultery and then had the woman's husband killed. David was God's chosen King and his sin hurt God. When rebuked by the Prophet Nathan, King David showed true repentance, he realized he had broken the heart of God, he knew his sin was keeping him from God’s presence and had sullied not just his reputation, but Gods. He truly repented (Psalm 51). God forgave Him but there were still consequences.

Sin condoned by the Church damages God's reputation. See the damage it has caused the Roman Catholic Church. The reputation of their Church and their Priesthood is in tatters, because they actively condoned sin, covering up the crimes of many pedophile priests, failing to report them to the police and just moving the offender to a new parish, where they eventually created new victims. Hundreds of victims, with scarred souls. The Church authorities have had to take responsibility for being accessories to those crimes. The Bible is clear, if they showed true repentance, while forgiving them, there still needed to be consequences. They should have immediately removed them from the priesthood after the first offense or sent them to a monastery with NO access to children. The Roman Catholic Church is paying the price!

God promises nothing remains hidden and He exposes and judges sin. For too many the “I have sinned” confessions, are less "I'm sorry for what I did" and more "I'm sorry I got caught." What is missing is Godly sorrow. There needs to be the fruit of repentance which is careful not to break the heart of God, protects His good name, and invites the Lord to continue to do a good work in us.