Daily Bread 2010 - 2 Corinthians 2
Daily Bread 2010 – 2 Corinthians 2
Forgiveness for the Sinner
5If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent—not to put it too severely. 6The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. 7Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. 9The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
Paul is describing a situation in which the Corinthian church had to discipline one its members. It appears as if the church had meted out some discipline, and now Paul urges them not to be too harsh, but to comfort the person with the words of forgiveness and restoration to the body. Paul was glad that the church had taken action as he had urged them to do.
Church discipline is not anyone’s favorite subject, but sometimes needs to be exercised for the sake of the body and its witness to the world. We are all sinners and sin a lot, but sometimes sin needs to be called out for the sake those who are stuck in a sinful lifestyle (in this case sexual immorality). But as the church exerts its authority it must remember that we are all sinful and all need the grace of God all the time. This can keep it from getting prideful. After all there is no one better or worse than anybody else, we are have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
Paul’s model is a helpful one for us today as we speak the truth in love to those caught up in a sinful lifestyle that they can’t seem to overcome on their own. At times in my life I have benefitted from faithful brothers in Christ who have confronted me when my behavior wasn’t honoring Jesus. At the time it was painful, but it served me as well as I sought to grow in faith and obedience to the will of God. Count it a blessing if you have those in your life who love you enough to speak the truth, especially God’s truth as spelled out in His Word. If you don’t have someone like that I would advise you look for someone who would love you enough to confront you if you are straying from the faith. Just like King David needed the prophet Nathan to confront him when he had sinned, we all need those who will speak the truth in love for the right reasons.
Jesus, we all fall from time to time and need help getting up. We need your grace every day and we also need faithful brothers and sisters who can encourage us and at times exhort and admonish us to follow you. May the body of Christ continue to mold all of us and may we each do our part to strengthen its witness to the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen
Forgiveness for the Sinner
5If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent—not to put it too severely. 6The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. 7Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. 9The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
Paul is describing a situation in which the Corinthian church had to discipline one its members. It appears as if the church had meted out some discipline, and now Paul urges them not to be too harsh, but to comfort the person with the words of forgiveness and restoration to the body. Paul was glad that the church had taken action as he had urged them to do.
Church discipline is not anyone’s favorite subject, but sometimes needs to be exercised for the sake of the body and its witness to the world. We are all sinners and sin a lot, but sometimes sin needs to be called out for the sake those who are stuck in a sinful lifestyle (in this case sexual immorality). But as the church exerts its authority it must remember that we are all sinful and all need the grace of God all the time. This can keep it from getting prideful. After all there is no one better or worse than anybody else, we are have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
Paul’s model is a helpful one for us today as we speak the truth in love to those caught up in a sinful lifestyle that they can’t seem to overcome on their own. At times in my life I have benefitted from faithful brothers in Christ who have confronted me when my behavior wasn’t honoring Jesus. At the time it was painful, but it served me as well as I sought to grow in faith and obedience to the will of God. Count it a blessing if you have those in your life who love you enough to speak the truth, especially God’s truth as spelled out in His Word. If you don’t have someone like that I would advise you look for someone who would love you enough to confront you if you are straying from the faith. Just like King David needed the prophet Nathan to confront him when he had sinned, we all need those who will speak the truth in love for the right reasons.
Jesus, we all fall from time to time and need help getting up. We need your grace every day and we also need faithful brothers and sisters who can encourage us and at times exhort and admonish us to follow you. May the body of Christ continue to mold all of us and may we each do our part to strengthen its witness to the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen
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