Sunday Sermons
The Fall Out
The Fall Out
Paul is shocked to find out that the Corinthians are fellowshipping a member who is involved sin that even disgusts the pagan world (1 Corinthians 5:1). He then urges the Corinthian congregation to obey Jesus in this matter and withdraw from this unrepentant member (Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13). As one begins to read the Second Letter to the Corinthians we discover that the discipline commanded was exercised by the majority of the members (2 Corinthians 2:6), and that the sinner was repentant. Yet Paul equally notes many of the ramifications of this unpleasant situation:
Travel Plans were Changed
Paul had planned to visit the Corinthians twice on an upcoming trip (2 Corinthians 1:15-16), but this situation made him delay his visit and alter some really beneficial plans (1:23). Paul’s first letter had clearly caused a good deal of grief and sadness among the Corinthians, yet it had to be written, for they were not obeying Jesus in reference to church discipline. So Paul says, “What is the use of coming and making you sad, the very people that I want to encourage and to be encouraged by?” (2 Corinthians 2:3). Sin and disobedience had created a situation in which brethren could not be encouraged until the situation was faced and handled. As long as sin was being tolerated, joy between brethren was not possible. One of the first things that sin, any sin robs from a relationship or a life is joy (Psalm 32:3). When David spoke about how his hidden sin had sapped all the joy out of his life, I am impressed that it appears that such sorrow was not clearly reflected in his outward life. For the Bible is silent about anyone reaching out to him or confronting him during this time, until Nathan shows up. Such reminds me that the world is filled with many people that appear to be happy but are inwardly struggling and hurting (Proverbs 14:13). Solomon instructs us that only when we really get to know someone can we rightly judge if they are a happy or sad person (14:10), for there is a portion of one’s inner life that is often kept extremely private.
Third Parties Grieved
Paul had not sinned, but when he wrote the first letter he said, “For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears” (2 Corinthians 2:4). Thus the sin of one unrepentant member brought a lot of grief to someone who was faithful. This situation had also resulted in many of the Corinthians grieving over this man’s lost condition and having a negative impact upon the Corinthian congregation and in the eyes of the community (2 Corinthians 2:5).
Most of the Members Obeyed the Letter
“This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man” (2 Corinthians 2:6).
Swallowed Up By Sorrow
The man had been swallowed up by sin and when he broke away from Satan and the woman he had been involved with, Satan again tried to devour him (1 Peter 5:8). Yet this time the devourer was not lust, but sorrow and grief. “Overwhelmed by excessive sorrow” (NASV). “Driven to despair by his excess of grief” (Wey). As this man is coming back to God, Satan is trying to tell him:
- “They won’t forgive you”.
- “They will never accept you again”.
- “You have fallen too fall”.
- “You have done so much damage that God doesn’t want you”.
- “Your sin is so terrible that God will just always hold it against you”.
Excessive
What is excessive sorrow? It would be sorrow that does not believe God’s promise of forgiveness. Sorrow that prevents one from coming fully back to God. Sorrow that hinders one from living as a Christian and moving forward.
Swallowed Up
Other passages in the Bible speak of being devoured, or in the Parable of the Sower one is “choked”. At this moment I need to take inventory of my life. Am I in the processed of being “swallowed” by an emotion that is leading me away from God? Because I have seen people swallowed by anger, pride, bitterness, envy, discouragement, self-pity, loneliness, lust and worry.
Reaffirm Your Love
The Corinthians had loved this man during the time of withdrawal, in fact, that is why they could not socialize with him. So the word “reaffirm” does not mean that they failed to love him. “Assure him of your love” (TCNT). “Fully reinstate him in your love” (Wey). “The expressions of love to him ought to be as public and as unmistakable as the expressions of disapproval and condemnation. Confirm here means public testimony of kind feeling to him by the reversal of his excommunication” (Lipscomb pp. 38-39). This could include welcoming him heartily as he returned to the worship services. Giving him a pat on the back, a hug, a hearty handshake, and verbally expressing their joy to have him back, safe and sound and right with God. For this man to become involved with his father’s wife (1 Corinthians 5:1), the relationship with this woman must have been a matter of life and death to him. To risk everything for this woman must have meant that he had been completely captivated by her. So the fact that he severed the relationship was probably one of the hardest things he had ever done in his life.
Obedient in all Things
It is not enough for a congregation to be obedient in most things or some things. The Corinthians were meeting as a group, yet this was not enough. When unrepentant sin was among them, God expected them to love that member enough to confront him or her. Paul said it was a “test”. Not that God set up this situation, but rather, most of life will be a test to see whether we truly love God and others, or if we love our own comfort even more.
I Wrote to You
The First Corinthian letter was not a book of suggestions, rather, it was a book of inspired commands from the Lord Himself (1 Corinthians 14:37; 2 Peter 3:2; 1 Thessalonians 2:13).
Lest Satan Should Take Advantage of Us
Satan is always attempting to gain an advantage or place of leverage within God’s people (“us”). He tries to gain an advantage when people go into sin or error (hoping that we won’t want to deal with it), and he tries to gain an advantage when people repent (hoping that we won’t forgive) or that they won’t trust His promise to forgive them. At every step of the process he is trying to twist things to go in his favor. Yet Paul quickly adds that as Christians we are not ignorant of how he works (2 Corinthians 2:11).
His Devices
I was thinking, what are some of his common tactics or temptations in this area?
- Viewing any sort of church discipline as being mean-spirited and the opposite of love.Claiming that Jesus would never had taught such.
- Misusing passages such as “judge not” or “neither do I condemn you”, in the attempt to prove that confronting the sinner and then withdrawing from the unrepentant is contrary to Scripture.
- Disconnecting forgiveness from repentance.Thinking that saying, “I forgive them” means that we never have to try to help them out of their sin.
- Being afraid of losing members, rather than being afraid of allowing someone to end up lost without any warning.
- Trying to downplay sin or error by claiming that we are all probably sinning continually and we are all probably teaching some sort of error.
- Wanting someone else to talk to that member in sin or error.
- Just hoping that things will resolve themselves without any effort on our part.
- Thinking that because I have sinned in the past that such means that I can never talk to anyone else about their sin.
Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.net
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net
