1. Dear friends, we have these promises from God. So we should make ourselves pure—free from anything that makes our body or our soul unclean. Our respect for God should make us try to be completely holy in the way we live.
2. Open your hearts to us. We have not done wrong to anyone or caused harm to anyone. And we have not cheated anyone.
3. I do not say this to blame you. I told you before that we love you so much we would live or die with you.
4. I feel that I can tell you anything. I am very proud of you. Even with all the troubles we have had, I am greatly encouraged and feel very happy.
5. When we came into Macedonia, we had no rest. We found trouble all around us. We had fighting on the outside and fear on the inside.
6. But God encourages those who are troubled, and he certainly encouraged us by bringing Titus to us.
7. It was so good to see him, but we were encouraged even more to hear about the encouragement you gave him. He told us that you really want to see me and that you are very sorry for what you did. And he told us how ready and willing you are to help me. When I heard this, I was so much happier.
8. Even if the letter I wrote you made you sad, I am not sorry I wrote it. I know that letter made you sad, and I was sorry for that. But it made you sad only for a short time.
9. Now I am happy, not because you were made sad, but because your sorrow made you decide to change. That is what God wanted, so you were not hurt by us in any way.
10. The kind of sorrow God wants makes people decide to change their lives. This leads them to salvation, and we cannot be sorry for that. But the kind of sorrow the world has will bring death.