"Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many. So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him." II Cor. 2:6-8
Faced with irrefutable evidence of sin within the ranks, churches and individual believers are often guilty of one of two extremes; heedlessness or harshness. Either is erroneous and needs correction.
A member of the congregation at Corinth was guilty of gross misconduct, and the church had failed to address the problem. It was a sin the nature of which even the heathen would have abhorred. Paul, as a faithful apostle and spiritual overseer, had reproved the church sharply. Happily, for the public testimony of Christ, the church had received his rebuke, taken it seriously and removed the offender from its fellowship.
Happy is the church that has a pastor who has the discernment, devotion and discipline to confront sin when it raises its ugly head within the ranks of believers. And, happy is the pastor who has a congregation that will awaken and respond appropriately to biblically grounded reproof when such a situation arises.
It is the duty of faithful church leaders and a faithful church to confront sin and maintain purity within the ranks. Addressing the Jews in his epistle to the Romans, Paul cites their hypocrisy and charges, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you [Rom. 2:24]." That is a tragic condition, and if it was indicted by the Holy
Spirit under the law, it will be no less so under grace. The church of Christ should deal with sin in its ranks forthrightly and swiftly. But, it should deal with it appropriately.
The ultimate aim of the church when confronting sin in the life of one of its members ought not to be radical surgery, but redemptive restoration. It would appear that the Corinthian church had acted with reference to the case in point, but had, perhaps, overreacted. Paul sets about to introduce corrective action. It would seem that the offending individual had repented of his transgression, but was still rejected by the church. The apostle counsels, "Sufficient to such a man is this punishment which was inflicted of many," and urges forgiveness. God is a god of grace, and all of us are forgiven sinners. Were it not for grace, none of us descendants of Adam would ever populate heaven or stand at rest in the presence of a holy God. And there are none who have not had to be forgiven more than once—even, sometimes, for the same sin!
As careful as we ought to be to purge sin from the church, we ought to be just as ready to forgive the penitent offender. The apostle writes in another place, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted [Gal. 6:1]." As ourselves forgiven sinners, it ill behooves us to hold others at arms length when they falter, if they repent. "But," someone will say, "how will we know if they have truly repented?" Paul's position here seems to be, take him at his word. That is in line with the Savior, Who said, "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him [Luke 17:3-4]." Again it is written, "Then came Peter to Him and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times, but, Until seventy times seven [Matt. 18:21-22]." That really raises the bar!
The underlying principle, as the last sentence in our selected text indicates, is love. For the sake of the transgressor, love must reprove sin, but it must do so with tears, and with a passion to see the brother corrected and restored, not merely excommunicated. "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you [Eph. 4:32]."
It is the believer's duty to reprove sin; it should be his design to effect restoration; and his governing disposition must be love.
Yours for a pure church and productive fellowship,
"Pastor" Frasier
Faced with irrefutable evidence of sin within the ranks, churches and individual believers are often guilty of one of two extremes; heedlessness or harshness. Either is erroneous and needs correction.
A member of the congregation at Corinth was guilty of gross misconduct, and the church had failed to address the problem. It was a sin the nature of which even the heathen would have abhorred. Paul, as a faithful apostle and spiritual overseer, had reproved the church sharply. Happily, for the public testimony of Christ, the church had received his rebuke, taken it seriously and removed the offender from its fellowship.
Happy is the church that has a pastor who has the discernment, devotion and discipline to confront sin when it raises its ugly head within the ranks of believers. And, happy is the pastor who has a congregation that will awaken and respond appropriately to biblically grounded reproof when such a situation arises.
It is the duty of faithful church leaders and a faithful church to confront sin and maintain purity within the ranks. Addressing the Jews in his epistle to the Romans, Paul cites their hypocrisy and charges, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you [Rom. 2:24]." That is a tragic condition, and if it was indicted by the Holy
Spirit under the law, it will be no less so under grace. The church of Christ should deal with sin in its ranks forthrightly and swiftly. But, it should deal with it appropriately.
The ultimate aim of the church when confronting sin in the life of one of its members ought not to be radical surgery, but redemptive restoration. It would appear that the Corinthian church had acted with reference to the case in point, but had, perhaps, overreacted. Paul sets about to introduce corrective action. It would seem that the offending individual had repented of his transgression, but was still rejected by the church. The apostle counsels, "Sufficient to such a man is this punishment which was inflicted of many," and urges forgiveness. God is a god of grace, and all of us are forgiven sinners. Were it not for grace, none of us descendants of Adam would ever populate heaven or stand at rest in the presence of a holy God. And there are none who have not had to be forgiven more than once—even, sometimes, for the same sin!
As careful as we ought to be to purge sin from the church, we ought to be just as ready to forgive the penitent offender. The apostle writes in another place, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted [Gal. 6:1]." As ourselves forgiven sinners, it ill behooves us to hold others at arms length when they falter, if they repent. "But," someone will say, "how will we know if they have truly repented?" Paul's position here seems to be, take him at his word. That is in line with the Savior, Who said, "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him [Luke 17:3-4]." Again it is written, "Then came Peter to Him and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times, but, Until seventy times seven [Matt. 18:21-22]." That really raises the bar!
The underlying principle, as the last sentence in our selected text indicates, is love. For the sake of the transgressor, love must reprove sin, but it must do so with tears, and with a passion to see the brother corrected and restored, not merely excommunicated. "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you [Eph. 4:32]."
It is the believer's duty to reprove sin; it should be his design to effect restoration; and his governing disposition must be love.
Yours for a pure church and productive fellowship,
"Pastor" Frasier
No comments:
Post a Comment