…so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.
2 Corinthians 2:5-11
After Paul’s “painful visit” to the church at Corinth, the Apostle thought it better to send a letter of reproof in hopes that the church would amend its ways and seek reconciliation. The church had acted according to Paul’s instruction and the removal of the unrepentant sinner was accomplished. But, word has come to Paul that the one removed from the church had repented of his sin but the church was unwilling to re-instate him in the church. So, the letter Paul wrote makes clear that this reproof brought about the repentance that Paul was looking for among the Corinthians. Paul makes reference to one who has caused pain at Corinth and who has since endured some kind of “punishment by the majority.” Paul is speaking of someone who has come under the discipline of the church. There is speculation that the man in question was someone who opposed him during his painful visit to Corinth, but identifying the man is difficult. He may be the man who was engaged in an incestuous relationship with his stepmother. We do see that the church, after the painful visit with Paul and the hard letter of reproof, had taken action against the man, most likely excommunicating him. Certainly, Paul had wanted the church to take action as a necessary part of reconciling with the Apostle. Now, the church had gone too far and was not forgiving and restoring the man to the congregation upon his repentance. They had missed the purpose of church discipline, which is to bring about restoration to Christian fellowship, not revenge. So, Paul calls the church to forgive and reaffirm their love for the sinner by restoring him to fellowship. The end of excommunication, so far as concerns the power of the offender, is that, overpowered with a sense of his sin, he may be humbled in the sight of God and the Church, and may solicit pardon with sincere dislike and confession of guilt. The man who has been brought to this, is now more in need of consolation, than of severe reproof. When discipline is brought against a sinner, forgiveness and restoration must always be the goal. We cannot control whether the sinner will respond with repentance, but we can stand ready to forgive when the sinner turns from his transgression. As we are engaged in church discipline or even when we are facing someone who has sinned against us personally in a less significant way, let us stand ready to forgive when the person repents.
Source: S C Ball November 24, 2023
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