Harsh discipline or lack of forgiveness can destroy a church, the body of Christ-which is Satan’s goal, who seeks to devour not only individuals (1 Peter 5:8) but also churches of God’s people.įather, help us see the need for discipline, repentance, and true forgiveness. Note that Paul sees this issue in a larger context, that of testing the obedience of the church in Corinth concerning both discipline and forgiveness, but also in spiritual warfare terms. ![]() Since Paul was not there at Corinth at the time of writing, he indicates that his forgiveness will be in solidarity with the Corinthian church toward the sinning individual. I forgive you genuinely.” Fellowship is restored, for reconciliation has been accomplished. Please forgive me.” The offended person says, in effect, “Yes, you sinned against me, and I was offended. Genuine repentance goes like this: The offender comes to genuine repentance and says to the person offended, “I have sinned against you and commit to changing my ways. No need for forgiveness because I didn’t take offense.” That sounds noble, but it fosters a shallow view of sin and superficial forgiveness. In Paul’s case, he didn’t say, “Hey, it’s not a big deal. This is not a forgiveness that ignores sin. However, just as many churches are slack in discipline, a church can come short of true, deep forgiveness. Whether the sin of 1 Corinthians 5:1–5, or the list of sins in 1 Corinthians 5:11 (“… an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler …”), or the unspecified offense against the apostle Paul, sin in believers needs to be dealt with firmly and decisively, with excommunication (that is, putting the person out of the fellowship) being the ultimate “tough-love” to bring a person to repentance. First, the offense was of the sort to invoke discipline by the church. No! There are two very significant truths involved here. We must not miss that this forgiveness is not a superficial waving of a feel-good wand that dismisses the offense. It is better to see this as a forgiveness for someone who offended the apostle Paul. Moreover, He did more than just forgive us our sins He imputed the perfect righteousness of His Son to us. Forgiveness can only come from those actually offended, that is, the injured parties, namely the father and (if it was a case of sexual abuse) the stepmother. If Paul had in mind here the forgiveness of the incestuous offender of 1 Corinthians 5, this passage would be a travesty. 10But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, 11so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes. In doing so you will be outwitting Satan, our adversary.9For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. Instead, defeat his schemes with a willingness to forgive everyone, for everything. Don’t let him trick you into holding a grudge or holding onto a hurt. ![]() Or anything else to keep us in a state of unforgiveness. ![]() Satan will seek to convince us that forgiveness is not necessary. Our lack of forgiveness hinders our relationship with God, our spiritual well-being, and even our physical well-being. And Paul gives us another one here Satan is not interested in us forgiving others. What is the consequence of a lack of forgiveness? Jesus ties our own forgiveness to our willingness to forgive ( Matt. Yet both of them were able to forgive those who were actively killing them. I have never been hurt as badly as Jesus on the cross, or Stephen at his stoning. Instead, I find clear instruction and examples concerning the need to forgive. How can I possibly be expected to forgive someone who has hurt me, and who is not interested in reconciliation? But there is no place in the Scripture that ever gives me an out an excuse to not forgive. Especially when the offense was malicious and hurtful, and there is no evident repentance. There are a number of times in the Bible where we are told to forgive other people. And what I have forgiven-if there was anything to forgive-I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. The Seven Churches of Revelation StudiesĪnyone you forgive, I also forgive.
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