Correction & Forgiveness

Correction

Paul had to write a difficult letter to the church at Corinth to correct some things that needed to be corrected. There was false teaching, immorality, lawsuits among brethren, misunderstandings of marriage, idolatry, drunkeness in the church, disunity in the church, doctrine on the resurrection of Jesus, just to name a few. The church at Corinth needed significant correction.

Paul wrote to them in an effort to correct their many issues. His hope was that they would receive the letter and make the necessary adjustments. He knew that if they would make the changes the church would be much healthier. He knew that the church would be in harmony and be more of an impact for the kingdom of God.

This letter was painful for Paul to write. It had to be like punishing your child. None of us like to do it, but it is necessary and for the child’s own good. If we fail to correct our children they will live a life of mischief. Their lives will be full of misery when they grow up. If we correct them when they are young, they will avoid a lot of the consequences that come with poor choices.

Paul had to make corrections to the young church at Corinth so that it would be able to remain effective in reaching the community for Christ. If the letter was not written, then the church would have been fractured and not able to sustain itself.

Correction is painful

4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears 2 Cor. 2:4

This letter was difficult for Paul to write because he knew it was going to cause sorrow. When a person is corrected it is often followed by a sense of shame. My parents were like many parents when it came to raising me. There expectations were that I would be a person of integrity, obey them, do my chores, make good grades, and be a productive part of society. These are things that we want for all of our kids. However; there were many times that I did not follow what they expected of me. It was in those times that I had to be corrected. My parents had different means of correcting me. Sometimes they could just talk to me sternly. Other times they would take privileges away from me. In severe situations dad would get his leather belt and correct me. He would tell me “son, this is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.” I always wanted to say well we can all avoid pain if you put that leather belt back in the closet where you got it. But i cherished my teeth enough not to say that.

I didn’t understand that until I became a parent and had to correct my children. When you have to correct your own children, it hurts you. You actually have pain when you have to correct your children. It hurts your heart. The pain is so bad that sometimes we fail to correct our kids because of the pain that it will cause us.

The alternative is not to correct your kids and when they get older, someone else will correct them like the police, judge, or some other person. That correction will be much more severe than any punishment you would have administered.

It pained Paul to have to correct the church at Corinth. That was his baby that he started by the calling of Christ. He desired for them to be a thriving church that followed Jesus, grew in faith, made disciples, and reached the lost. They were not able to do this because they had too much internal strife. The church had lost its purpose and direction. Paul had to get them back on course. In order to do so he had to go through the pain of correcting them.

Correction is an expression of love

Paul wrote the letter as an expression of his love for the people at Corinth.

not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.2 Cor. 2:4b

Correction should never made for punitive reasons. Correction should always be made for the betterment of the one being corrected. It is an expression of love. If you love someone and you see that they are doing wrong and going to face undesirable consequences for doing wrong, then you must correct them. Because the pain of the correction will always be less than the pain of the consequences.

The Letters to the Corinthians When a Christian Rebukes (2 Corinthians 1:23–2:4)

When John Knox rebuked Mary Queen of Scots for her proposed marriage to Don Carlos, at first she tried anger and outraged majesty and then she tried ‘tears in abundance’. Knox’s answer was: ‘I never delighted in the weeping of any of God’s creatures. I can scarcely well abide the tears of my own boys, whom my own hand correcteth, much less can I rejoice in Your Majesty’s weeping. But I must sustain, albeit unwillingly, Your Majesty’s tears rather than I dare hurt my conscience, or betray my commonwealth through my silence.’ Very often, we refrain from rebuke because of mistaken kindness or because of the desire to avoid trouble. But there is a time when to avoid trouble is to store up trouble and when to seek for a lazy or cowardly peace is to run an even greater risk. If we are guided by love and by consideration, not for our own pride but for the ultimate good of others, we will know the time to speak and the time to be silent.

Correction is an expression of love that will benefit the one being corrected. It is when correction is taken as a personal attack that correction is rendered ineffective. Love must always proceed correction.

Forgiveness

There was a ringleader in the church that opposed Paul. This person made things very difficult for Paul. He was splitting the church. This is not what Paul desired. Paul called him on the carpet and the church disciplined the man. The man repented. So Paul is instructing the church to forgive this man. The church didn’t feel that the man had suffered enough for what he did to Paul, so they continued to keep him out of the church. This caused the man tremendous sorrow. So Paul is writing to the church to forgive him. Paul says that he has forgiven the man and that they should forgive him as well. If they don’t forgive the man then Satan would have one. Satan would have used the mistake of this man to create disunity in the church.

Forgiveness is difficult

When we are hurt by someone, our natural desire is for them to hurt as bad as they hurt us or even worse. There is nothing that we can do that will take the hurt away except forgive. Even if you “get even” you have not resolved the issue. Now you have someone that is mad with you. This is a lose/lose situation. We must learn to forgive in order to restore relationship.

There are some offenses that require supernatural forgiveness. These are the offenses that you are going to ask the Lord to enable you to forgive.

What is forgiveness

Forgive - stop feeling angry or resentful toward (someone) for an offense, flaw, or mistake.

You release them and yourself from the pain that they caused you by forgiving them.

You relinquish your right to hold against them what they did to you. Does this mean that if they have committed a crime against you that they are not punished for it? absolutely not. The courts will be the one who hold the person accountable. Not you! You must release them from wanting to get even.

Forgiveness is necessary

Paul instructs the church to forgive, reaffirm their love, and comfort the offender. He instructs the church to do this because the sorrow caused by the rejection of the church could lead to excessive sorrow. Since this man has repented he is to be forgiven. The punishment that he has already endured is sufficient.

Unforgiveness drives a wedge in relationships that foster hate for one another.

21 “You have heard that [k]the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be [l]liable to the court.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be [m]guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘[n]You good-for-nothing,’ shall be [o]guilty before [p]the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be [q]guilty enough to go into the [r]fiery hell. 23 Therefore if you are presenting your [s]offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your [t]offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your [u]offering. Matt 5:21-24

Jesus instructs people to reconcile broken relationships before presenting your offering to the Lord.

9 The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. 10 The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.1 John 2:9-11

We must forgive our brother in order to walk in the light.

26 Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil [s]an opportunity.

The longer you let your anger toward someone, the stronger you allow Satan to have opportunity in your life.

Jesus forgives us of all our sin. We should forgive others!