Confronting Sin
2 CORINTHIANS 2:5-11
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5If anyone has caused grief, he has not so
much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent--not to put
it too severely. 6The punishment inflicted on him by the
majority is sufficient for him. 7Now instead, you ought to
forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive
sorrow. 8I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.
9The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test
and be obedient in everything. 10If you forgive anyone, I also
forgive him. And what I have forgiven--if there was anything to forgive--I
have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11in order
that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. It’s one thing to see a brother caught in a sin; it’s another thing to confront him. The church members in Corinth had done both. They had followed Paulo’s instructions and dealt with another member who was guilty of sin (see I Corinthians 5:1-5 for a possible reference to this incident). So the hard part was over - or so it seemed. After they confronted the man with his sin face-to-face, the unexpected happened - this man’s heart softened and he repented. Faced with the need to forgive and restore him to the church fellowship, the Corinthian believers balked. Paul wanted these church members to take the next step. He told them to forgive the man and resort the relationship. Paul knew about Satan’s schemes (v. 11) and didn’t want this issue to become divisive. There’s a time to confront sin in our Christian brothers and a time to forgive. Ask God for the courage you need to do both, and the wisdom to know when.
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