What does it mean to have sorrow after a godly sort?
A sorrow after a godly sort means looking at a wrong situation the way God would look at it, recognizing its sinfulness and dealing with it. It produces repentance, a change of mind, leading to salvation never to be regretted, unlike the sorrow of the world that works death without saving grace.
Les teaches from 2 Corinthians 7:10 that godly sorrow, or a godly regret over something wrong, works repentance—a change of mind—to salvation, not to be ever sorry. He illustrates that a true believer is never sorry he became a Christian. In this passage the sorrow was over an individual sin situation, a salvation of the time or situation that had to be corrected, not the eternal saving of the soul. By contrast, the sorrow of the world works death when no saving grace is involved. To sorrow after a godly sort, with a small g, means the Corinthians looked at the whole situation as God would look at it, realized its sinfulness, and dealt with it. This produced carefulness, clearing of themselves, indignation, fear, desire, zeal, and revenge, so that they approved themselves clear in the matter.
For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.