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Pathways Through Paul
Daily Devotional
October 15
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Today's Pathway:
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Yesterday we saw in verse 5 Paul's attitude in dealing with a man in the Corinthian church who had been involved in wicked sin. In I Corinthians 5 Paul had told the church how they ought to be dealing with this man. He specifically told them in verses 5-7 that they were,
"to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus...Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump".
According to verse 6 in today's passage, the church had chosen to follow Paul's Biblically-based advice. Jesus taught in Matthew 18:17 that if an offender refused to repent he was to be treated by the church "as an heathen man and a publican". In order for this punishment to be effective, the vast majority of the church would need to commit themselves to treating the guilty man in this manner. We understand from Paul's statement in verse 7 that because many did participate, the man must have repented because Paul now calls on the church to forgive him and comfort him. Church discipline has fallen out of fashion in many of our churches today, which probably explains why so many churches are in the spiritual condition that they are. Christ instituted church discipline, Paul expected it to be done, and we see in the church at Corinth that it accomplished its goal. Unfortunately, some sinning Christians just don't care, and they continue in their sin in spite of discipline, but that doesn't change the fact that discipline is Biblical, and that it is part of God's plan for restoring wayward believers.
I want to make sure that we pay attention to Paul's instructions in verses 7-8. Because the discipline was successful and the man had repented, the punishment that had already been meted out was sufficient. It was time for the church to change their attitude towards him. Sometimes church members can stay bitter against people who have sinned in the past, in spite of the fact that they have repented. Paul says that once confession and repentance has taken place, the individual needs to be forgiven and then comforted. The Greek word translated "forgive" is rooted in the Greek word for "grace". It means "to bestow a favor unconditionally; to remit a debt, and thus to forgive". Forgiveness means that the man's sin will not be brought up to him again. David Garland wrote,
"Forgiveness does not require that the church reinstate the person into a position of authority again, but it does require his reinstatement into their fellowship."
Once forgiveness is given then the church should come alongside ("comfort") the man to aid him in his walk with the Lord. This needs to happen so that the man is not overwhelmed with sorrow. Galatians 6:1 tells us that the goal of any form of discipline must be restoration. If we refuse to restore our brother, and deny him our assistance in getting back on track spiritually, then the discipline was all for naught, and we are now in sin ourselves.
In verse 8 Paul summarizes the entire issue by begging the church to show the offender that they love him. They needed to love him enough to discipline him in the first place, and they now need to love him enough to forgive him, receive him back into fellowship, and help him to grow in his Christian life. Mart DeHaan wrote this:
"When a Christian returns after falling into sin and being separated from the fellowship of God’s people, we must avoid a well-you’ve-really-done-it-this-time attitude. Instead, we should convey love, acceptance, and a desire to see him fully restored. That’s not to say we’re to take his disobedience lightly. But when a person sincerely repents and comes back to the Lord, the best way to help him is to give him a warm 'Welcome home!'”
What is your attitude towards your brothers in Christ when they repent?
Pastor Mark J Montgomery
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