DAY #266: 2 Corinthians 2:1-3:5

From the letters of 1 and 2 Corinthians, we know that the Corinthians not only had problems with incest (1 Corinthians 5:1-2) and adultery (1 Corinthians 6:9), but they were also troubled by incessant arguing (1 Corinthians 1:10), disruptions during the worship service (1 Corinthians 11:17-22), and even lawsuits between believers (1 Corinthians 6:1-8). Moreover, a group of false teachers were preoccupied with criticizing Paul’s actions and authority.

His severe reprimands in this letter were aimed at securing a change of heart in the Corinthian believers. He knew his rebukes would cause much sorrow, but he was hoping that it would lead to repentance. That is why Paul claimed here that his motive was love. Sometimes the most loving action a person can do for a fellow Christian is to confront him or her with the truth. The truth often hurts. Confronting a person in the wrong with the truth, however, can be the best thing a friend can do.

Apparently, the majority of the Corinthians had realized that tolerating this man and the sin he encouraged would ruin the congregation. They couldn’t function as the holy people of God with such a rebel among them.

Knowing the appropriate time to rebuke and the appropriate time to forgive is the key to compassionate church discipline. This type of discernment is crucial for a church plagued with problems, as the Corinthian church was. Christians in positions of authority must consistently check their motives when it comes to church discipline. They must ask: Am I keeping the spiritual welfare of my church members—especially that of the offender—in mind?

The word for forgive is derived from the Greek word for “grace.” For Paul, forgiveness was the central point of the gospel. It is only through God’s grace—that is, his undeserved favor—that anyone is saved at all. So the Corinthians’ forgiveness of the offender among them was fundamentally based on Christ’s forgiveness of them.

Paul spoke of Satan more in his letters to the Corinthians than in any other of his New Testament letters. He saw the telltale signs of a demonic attack on the church at Corinth. Second Corinthians unambiguously identifies the “false apostles” in the Corinthian church with the clever deceptions of Satan.

This passage identifies another one of Satan’s evil schemes. In their zeal to purge sin from the church, the Corinthians could punish the offender without keeping in mind the purpose of discipline: to inspire repentance and promote reconciliation to God. Under Satan’s influence, the offender’s sorrow could easily be turned into resentment instead of repentance. Paul pleaded with the Corinthians to guard against such a tragic outcome.

SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

One of the hardest things for me to do is confront sin in another's person life. I hate it.

Yet, I have learned, if I don't confront an issue when I first see it, it will be harder to deal with down the road. The sin will have taken a deeper root in the life and hurt others along the way. So, as much as I despise confrontation it is crucial in the church, in a family and a life. We all need people in our lives who love us enough to wound us with the truth.

"Better is open rebuke Than love that is hidden. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; But the kisses of an enemy are profuse." Proverbs 27:5-6 (ASV)

The only way we will grow and mature into the people that God desires us to be is to have people who will speak truth into our lives. there is a certain level of blindness in all of us when it comes to seeing ourselves as we should.

"Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." Ephesians 4:15 (NIV)

Lord, give me a compassion for others like never before. Help me to love so much that I risk them "liking" me to speak the truth. Lord, give others the courage to speak truth into my life. Give others a heart to love me so much that they will confront sin and evil in my life.