Week 14, Day 2: Dealing with the Penitent Sinner

Today’s Reading:  2 Corinthians 4:1-5:21

Some thoughts from yesterday’s reading…

Paul addresses a subject in 2 Corinthians 2 that seems to be very difficult for many Christians to put into application.  In 2 Corinthians 2:6-11, Paul writes about the response of those who had been rebuked in his first letter.  He had written to the church, and had demanded that they deal with one who was living in adultery (1 Corinthians 5), giving very specific instructions as to a plan of action.  It seems, from reading this chapter, that the church had done what Paul demanded, and their actions had brought the sinner to repentance.  The problem in this chapter is that there were some who were not accepting him back, and were treating him in a way that was not appropriate.

Paul gives instructions in these verses pertaining to the church’s responsibilities when one repents.  Their discipline had worked, and now the sinner was trying to be a part of their work once again.  Paul told the Corinthians that they were to forgive and comfort this one, lest he be swallowed up in too much sorrow.  He told them that they were to reaffirm their love for him.

There are many Christians that just do not seem capable of forgiveness.  They will hold a sin over a brother or sister’s head forever.  They simply will not accept repentance.  But, that is not the way that we are to be.  Our responsibility (and it should be our loving concern) is to forgive those who repent of wrongdoing, and accept them back into the number of the saints.  Far too often, churches put further requirements or punishments on those who sin than what God requires!

The church has been given the role of keeping itself pure.  If sin is in its midst, then it must be dealt with.  Sometimes that means that the church must inflict the unpleasant task of disciplining an errant saint.  But, if the actions revealed in scripture work to return the sinner to the fold of God, then we have no further obligations to impose further judgment against them.  In fact, the contrary is true.  Paul said to forgive and comfort.  The returning sinner is in a weakened state, and will need support and encouragement.  Rather than “piling on” more guilt, we should be conscious of what we can do to help build such a one up.

Interestingly enough, if Paul is indeed discussing the situation that he first wrote of in 1 Corinthians 5, it is interesting to note how he speaks of it in this chapter.  He is intentionally (it seems) vague on the details of the one he is writing about.  He was not going to call him out, causing him even more harm, and perhaps causing him to be separated even further from his brethren in Corinth.  Paul was not going to join in the rejection of this man by emphasizing his sin (which was forgiven) once again.  We should learn from Paul.  We need to be an encouragement to those who confess their sins, and build them up.  If we did this more often, perhaps the idea of confessing sins one to another would not bear such a negative connotation.  We would begin to see it as a method of gaining support during our times of struggles.  And, we all have times of struggles!