"If you will forgive a certain person, rest assured that I forgive him too. Insofar as I had anything personally to forgive, I do forgive him, as before Christ. We do not want Satan to win any victory here, and we know his methods!" (II Corinthians 2:10-11, Phillips translation)
In last week's lesson (on II Corinthians 1:23-2:4), the apostle Paul determined to delay making another visit to Corinth, "for his own sake," he said, wanting to spare them from the "rod of correction" that he would otherwise have to use if he came, because of their sinful ways! Instead, he wrote a letter, the so-called "severe letter," that "brought tears to his eyes," but he also wanted them to know the special love he had for them and that, despite the severity of his letter, his motive was not to make them sorrowful but to lead them to repentance and bring back their joy in the Lord!
And so, as we came to last night's lesson, we found Paul seeking to downplay any sorrow that the man who insulted him publicly during his visit had had on him personally and suggesting that it probably caused more hurt and sorrow for them that it did him! He wasn't about to wallow in self-pity or display a "poor me" mentality! He didn't want the Corinthians to inflict pain on the man on his behalf! And particularly since the man had apparently repented! It was no longer an issue for him! It was over and time to move on!
This is specifically what he wrote in verses 6-11 (and it speaks for itself!): "Sufficient is the punishment which was inflicted by the majority (of the Corinthians), so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him; otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow! Wherefore I urge you to raaffirm your love for him. For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things! But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes!" (Verses 6-11) Wow!
Anthony Lee, last week, saw this as the apostle Paul "taking a high road pastor approach" to this incident! "Here is virtue at its noblest!" MacArthur notes! (It's important to realize that Paul first commended the leaders in the church of Corinth for disciplining the offender! And Kirk pointed out the Biblical approach to church discipline at IBC, beginning with Jesus' words in Matthew 18:15-18! Constable noted that, in this passage, the apostle Paul "combined the strictest fidelity with the greatest tenderness...and that as long as the offender offender persisted in the offence, he insisted on the severest punishment! But as soon as he acknowledged and forsook his sin, he became his earnest advocate"! MacArthur notes further that "there's no place for man-made limits on God's grace, mercy, and forgiveness!")
In II Corinthians 12:9-10, Paul later wrote: "My grace is sufficient for you (me!), for power is perfected in weakness! Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am well-content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong!") And particularly after learning that the man who caused all the pain and disruption had now repented!
Interesting to see what Paul later wrote, in II Corinthians 7:5-13, presumably looking back at this very incident: "For even when we came to Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side; conflicts without, and conflicts within! But God, who comforts the depressed (ah, the "God of all comfort"!), comforted us by the coming of Titus (bringing the good news!); and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more! For though I caused you sorrow by my letter (that "severe letter"!), I do not regret it; though I did regret it (when it "brought tears to his eyes"!)--for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while--I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us!"
"For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation (and restoration!), but the sorrow of the world leads to death! For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you; what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter! So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the offender nor for the sake of the one offended, but that the earnestness on our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God! For this reason, we have been comforted!" Wow!
MacArthur notes that "a man is never more noble and never more like God than when he forgives! That's the most god-like thing he can do! There's nothing more glorious that a person can do for another person than to forgive! God is a forgiving God, and Christ is a forgiving Lord, and one who is like God and like Christ is a forgiving person!" Proverbs 19:11 says, "A man's discretion makes him slow to anger, and that it's his glory to overlook a transgression" (against him)!
Remember the example of Joseph in Genesis 5):18-21, after his brothers sold him into slavery (and God, in his sovereignty, caused him to become prime minister in Egypt); "Do not be afraid (he later told his brothers, when they had to cone to Egypt for food!), for am I in God's place? You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this result...I will provide for you and your little ones!' So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them!
And how about the story of the "prodigal son," in Luke 15! And the incident of the martyr, Steven, in Acts 7:59-60, asking God "not to hold this sin against them"! And, in our very day, Ericka, the wife of Charlie Kirk, who said she "forgave" her husband's killer! But Jesus was the most perfect example of all, when hanging on the cross, and calling on the Father "to forgive them (those who crucified Him!), "for they know not what they do"!
The Bible has so much to say, both about confronting those who sin and about forgiving others who sin against us! Here are a few:
Galatians 6:2 says, "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted!"
Hebrews 12:11 says, "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness!"
Ephesians 4:32 says, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you!"
Colossians 3:13 says, "Bearing with one another and forgiving one another, just as the Lord has forgiven you!"
Hebrews 12:14 says, "Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord! See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many are defiled!"
And the Lord's prayer, where it says, "...And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us...!
MacArthur, in his message on "the blessings of forgiveness" notes that "the price of refusing to forgive is high"! It produces hatred, bitterness, animosity, anger, and retribution! The act of forgiving, on the other hand, is healthy! It's wholesome! It's sensitive! It produces joy! It brings peace! It solicits love! And it's the most noble thing a saint can do for another! It's Christianity at the highest level, bringing a little bit of heaven to earth!
May we be known, and remembered, as people who forgive!
Dear Lord, deliver us from the bondage of an unforgiving heart!
Mobsters! Go with God! Peace be with you! Til we meet again!
In last week's lesson (on II Corinthians 1:23-2:4), the apostle Paul determined to delay making another visit to Corinth, "for his own sake," he said, wanting to spare them from the "rod of correction" that he would otherwise have to use if he came, because of their sinful ways! Instead, he wrote a letter, the so-called "severe letter," that "brought tears to his eyes," but he also wanted them to know the special love he had for them and that, despite the severity of his letter, his motive was not to make them sorrowful but to lead them to repentance and bring back their joy in the Lord!
And so, as we came to last night's lesson, we found Paul seeking to downplay any sorrow that the man who insulted him publicly during his visit had had on him personally and suggesting that it probably caused more hurt and sorrow for them that it did him! He wasn't about to wallow in self-pity or display a "poor me" mentality! He didn't want the Corinthians to inflict pain on the man on his behalf! And particularly since the man had apparently repented! It was no longer an issue for him! It was over and time to move on!
This is specifically what he wrote in verses 6-11 (and it speaks for itself!): "Sufficient is the punishment which was inflicted by the majority (of the Corinthians), so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him; otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow! Wherefore I urge you to raaffirm your love for him. For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things! But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes!" (Verses 6-11) Wow!
Anthony Lee, last week, saw this as the apostle Paul "taking a high road pastor approach" to this incident! "Here is virtue at its noblest!" MacArthur notes! (It's important to realize that Paul first commended the leaders in the church of Corinth for disciplining the offender! And Kirk pointed out the Biblical approach to church discipline at IBC, beginning with Jesus' words in Matthew 18:15-18! Constable noted that, in this passage, the apostle Paul "combined the strictest fidelity with the greatest tenderness...and that as long as the offender offender persisted in the offence, he insisted on the severest punishment! But as soon as he acknowledged and forsook his sin, he became his earnest advocate"! MacArthur notes further that "there's no place for man-made limits on God's grace, mercy, and forgiveness!")
In II Corinthians 12:9-10, Paul later wrote: "My grace is sufficient for you (me!), for power is perfected in weakness! Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am well-content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong!") And particularly after learning that the man who caused all the pain and disruption had now repented!
Interesting to see what Paul later wrote, in II Corinthians 7:5-13, presumably looking back at this very incident: "For even when we came to Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side; conflicts without, and conflicts within! But God, who comforts the depressed (ah, the "God of all comfort"!), comforted us by the coming of Titus (bringing the good news!); and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more! For though I caused you sorrow by my letter (that "severe letter"!), I do not regret it; though I did regret it (when it "brought tears to his eyes"!)--for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while--I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us!"
"For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation (and restoration!), but the sorrow of the world leads to death! For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you; what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter! So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the offender nor for the sake of the one offended, but that the earnestness on our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God! For this reason, we have been comforted!" Wow!
MacArthur notes that "a man is never more noble and never more like God than when he forgives! That's the most god-like thing he can do! There's nothing more glorious that a person can do for another person than to forgive! God is a forgiving God, and Christ is a forgiving Lord, and one who is like God and like Christ is a forgiving person!" Proverbs 19:11 says, "A man's discretion makes him slow to anger, and that it's his glory to overlook a transgression" (against him)!
Remember the example of Joseph in Genesis 5):18-21, after his brothers sold him into slavery (and God, in his sovereignty, caused him to become prime minister in Egypt); "Do not be afraid (he later told his brothers, when they had to cone to Egypt for food!), for am I in God's place? You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this result...I will provide for you and your little ones!' So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them!
And how about the story of the "prodigal son," in Luke 15! And the incident of the martyr, Steven, in Acts 7:59-60, asking God "not to hold this sin against them"! And, in our very day, Ericka, the wife of Charlie Kirk, who said she "forgave" her husband's killer! But Jesus was the most perfect example of all, when hanging on the cross, and calling on the Father "to forgive them (those who crucified Him!), "for they know not what they do"!
The Bible has so much to say, both about confronting those who sin and about forgiving others who sin against us! Here are a few:
Galatians 6:2 says, "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted!"
Hebrews 12:11 says, "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness!"
Ephesians 4:32 says, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you!"
Colossians 3:13 says, "Bearing with one another and forgiving one another, just as the Lord has forgiven you!"
Hebrews 12:14 says, "Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord! See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many are defiled!"
And the Lord's prayer, where it says, "...And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us...!
MacArthur, in his message on "the blessings of forgiveness" notes that "the price of refusing to forgive is high"! It produces hatred, bitterness, animosity, anger, and retribution! The act of forgiving, on the other hand, is healthy! It's wholesome! It's sensitive! It produces joy! It brings peace! It solicits love! And it's the most noble thing a saint can do for another! It's Christianity at the highest level, bringing a little bit of heaven to earth!
May we be known, and remembered, as people who forgive!
Dear Lord, deliver us from the bondage of an unforgiving heart!
Mobsters! Go with God! Peace be with you! Til we meet again!
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