Grosey's Messages

5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

Friends here at Macarthur Christian Reformed Church, this passage touches very close to the bone tonight. I know of some to whom this passage applies tonight. And we must if we are Christians, obey this passage.

There had been a problem in Corinth. It could have been the person referred to in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5,13: It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife. And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. "Expel the wicked man from among you."

It could be this fellow: he was disciplined by the church. He would have experienced great grief.  His repentance and reception back into the church would be warranted.

But 2 Corinthians 2 specifies something slightly different.

5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you.

It could be this man, but, looking more carefully at the text, it says, this person caused particular grief to the apostle Paul. This fellow had caused pain particularly to Paul, and consequently had shut down Paul's ministry to that church.  The guy in 1Corinthians 5 probably had not shut down Paul's ministry as he was out of the church.  I think something like this may have happened:

At Corinth it may have happened something like this: When Paul learned from Timothy's visit to Corinth that there were troubles in the church, Paul paid the Corinthians an unscheduled visit, presuming that he would quickly fix things and be on his way. To his surprise, he was opposed to his face. Apparently a leader of the Corinthian church publicly attacked Paul while the church passively observed (2 Corinthians 10-12). Paul's thorn in the flesh was probably a person there in Corinth.  The attacker had come under the sway of Paul's opponents who had recently come to Corinth. As to the nature of the insults, probably about Paul's integrity — namely, that he was dishonest and double-minded and lacking in courage. Also, it was likely charged or insinuated that he was appropriating the collection for the poor in Jerusalem for his own needs. Moreover, all this was probably laced with comments about his ministerial effectiveness.

In any event the humiliating surprise attack, coupled with a lack of support by the church, had so taken Paul aback that he elected to leave Corinth for a time.  Sometimes it is better to let a church work through its issues.

If grief was experienced by him alone, he might have followed the advice he gave in 1 Corinthians 6:7 and simply suffered the wrong. However, it was the congregation as a whole, as well as Paul, that had been affected, and so the matter had to be dealt with.

It was in the wake of this rejection that Paul wrote his severe, painful letter, described in the opening verses of chapter 2. The letter did its work, as Paul reflects later in 7:8-13a:

For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it — though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. Therefore we are comforted.

The majority of the Corinthians repented. And though it does not say what they did with the offender, the consensus is that they cast him from the fellowship of the church, because this best fits the following account and is consistent with a previously mentioned case of discipline in Corinth (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:1-13). And by God's grace the offender repented and sought forgiveness. There was only one problem — the Corinthians hadn't forgiven him and had no desire to do so!

This hard-hearted unforgiveness, this failure to forgive, this tendency to turn away from those who have caused pain and embarrassment (despite their repentance), looked to Paul like another major failure for the church. Failure to forgive would have put the church out of step with its gracious Saviour. Have we here failed to forgive others? 

A church can be turned onto a Christless cult by emphasizing anything other than the gospel of Christ. A church can be turned into a Christless cult by not exhibiting the graciousness that is in Christ to others, even to those who have offended.

Unforgiven  a movie in 1992 starring and produced by Clint Eastwood. It is a revisionist western. Clint Eastwood strips away decades of Hollywood varnish applied to the Wild West, and emerges with a series of harshly eloquent statements about the nature of violence.

The film portrays William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after he had turned to farming.  In an interview Clint Eastwood was asked why certain names appeared in his film fake graveyard. Were these the "unforgiven" who had hurt him in the past? Well in spite of the movie winning 4 academy awards, its story line is not as significant as its title.  Unforgiven!

5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough,

If 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.

1Corinthians Paul had explained, "If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together" (12:26). And later in 2 Corinthians he will reference the same interconnectedness: "Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?" (11:29). Clearly, there is profound spiritual commonality between all true believers.

Discipline had accomplished its purpose. (5, 6) This is the point that is made in 2 Cor. 2:6: "The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him." It has accomplished its goal, but in this church the people are insensitive to that fact. They aren't watching for repentance. They have disciplined the man and written him off. I think Christians have often been guilty of writing fellow-believers off too soon. We have been known for shooting our wounded. We must be better than that!

The Commanding Responsibility To Forgive

6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.

The punishment — the extended exclusion from the church — has been "enough." Paul's fear that the offender "may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow" conjures up the picture of a terrible end because "overwhelmed" is literally "to swallow up" and is an allusion to the judgment of Korah when Moses prophesied that the earth would swallow up the rebellious:

And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, "Lest the earth swallow us up!" (Numbers 16:31-34)

Paul sensed that the excommunication had left the man so drowning in despondent sorrow that he was in danger of being sucked down into the earth in death. Perhaps he was even contemplating suicide.

Unfortunately there is a worldly sorrow that brings death. Judas experienced that kind of sorrow. The Scripture says in Matt. 27:3 that When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." "What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility." So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

Did his remorse lead to repentance? No. It led to suicide.

He felt Guilt. And he repented.

He felt Grief. And Paul wanted the church to extend forgiveness to relieve that grief.

What we find here is that Paul wrote a letter in which he rebuked the church. 

How grateful he is that in this case the sorrow produced was a godly sorrow that led to a change of heart.

The process of discipline, especially the ultimate discipline of excommunication and isolation from the Church and friends, is a traumatic experience in and of itself. Coupled with the guilt, shame and reproach brought upon one's family it could drive a person to the breaking point. But, if at the breaking point the person repents and asks God's forgiveness but at the same time is refused forgiveness by his friends, he may be swallowed up by excessive sorrow. He may have a nervous breakdown, he may turn bitter against God, and he may even commit suicide.

Obviously none of those results are the goal of discipline. The goal is restoration and the way to get there is forgiveness.

For Paul, forgiveness was of paramount importance for the sinner and for the church, and he concludes the thought by saying, "So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him" (v. 8). Paul did not merely beg the Corinthians to forgive the sinner — he viewed it as a matter of obedience. "For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything" (v. 9).

The Compelling Reasons To Forgive

To clinch his appeal to forgive the offender, Paul cites his own example as a model for the Corinthians: "Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ" (v. 10). Just as Paul had minimized the pain that the offender caused him, he minimizes his own forgiveness of the man with the dismissive "if I have forgiven anything," as if it were no big deal. The implicit message was, "I, the offended, did it, and you can do it too."

10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ,

Not Forgiving Is Disgraceful.

It shows a heart that hasn't experienced grace.

When we pray the Lord's Prayer, we ask him to effect this reality: "forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Matthew 6:12). The Lord drives the truth home in no uncertain terms in the next sentence after the great prayer: "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses"

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32). This "forgiven people forgive" teaching was so integral to Jesus' teaching that he devoted an entire teaching to it in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, which concludes,  But forgiveness and restoration is just as important. The motivation for forgiveness comes from a very simple fact, GOD HAS FORGIVEN us! Ephesians 4:32 says,

"'So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart'" (Matthew 18:35).

Not Forgiving Is Discouraging.

It shows a heart that treasures animosities.

Why is it so important that the Church forgive, comfort and reaffirm its love for a repentant member? The answer is given at the end of v. 7: "so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow."

Not Forgiving Is Delighting the Devil

11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

We must be willing to forgive, comfort, and reaffirm our love for the repentant.

Verse 8 adds that forgiveness and comfort must be joined by a reaffirmation of love. The word "to reaffirm" was a legal term used of ratifying covenants (it is so used in Gal. 3:15), and it suggests that the Apostle is urging them to make their love clear and certain. "Help him to feel the security of knowing he is loved by the Body. Don't leave him wondering about whether he is accepted. Don't make a second-class citizen out of him." (6:14, 15).

If we keep shutting people out because we "don't like them" we are doing the devil's work of stopping the lost from joining to the Saviour. We become a cult. Ungracious. Unloving. Controlling. Abusive.  We are defrauding ourselves of someone who belongs with us. Paul has in mind that Satan might take advantage of the situation and defraud the congregation of one of its members permanently.

The Confronting Exemplar To Forgive

"Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ" (v. 10).

"Paul could be saying, 'As I stand in the sight of Christ, I have forgiven the offence.' Alternatively, it could mean his forgiveness has the approval of Christ. In this case the translation would run: 'What I have forgiven has been forgiven in the sight of Christ who looks down with approval.' Finally, the expression could reflect the fact that at the time of writing the apostle had not had opportunity to express his forgiveness face to face with the offender, but nevertheless he had already forgiven the offence 'in the sight of Christ'." Colin Kruse  

What he is saying is that Paul forgave. Because not forgiving is something awful.  Forgiving is what the Lord Jesus is about.

Did The Lord Jesus Forgive You Freely?

Did The Lord Jesus Forgive You Fully?

Did The Lord Jesus Forgive You Finally?

You Must Forgive Freely

You Must Forgive Fully

You Must Forgive Finally

If there are people whom we refuse to forgive despite their repentance and pleas, we had better consider whether we are of the faith.

True Christian forgiveness is, as Paul declared, a matter of obedience "in everything" (v. 9). Brother and sister in Christ, you can do it. The late Corrie ten Boom recalled in her book The Hiding Place a postwar meeting with a guard from the Ravensbrück concentration camp where her sister had died and where she herself had been subjected to horrible indignities:

"It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, the former S.S. man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbrück. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there — the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie's pain-blanched face. He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing.

"How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein," he said. "To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!" His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side. Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more?

Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him.

I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness. As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me."

Christians, you can do it! God's Word says, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you" (Eph 4:32). "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive" (Col. 3:12, 13).

The effect of forgiveness is seen in the parable of the prodigal son.

When the son returned there was Reconciliation

When the son returned there was Jubilation