Forgiveness For The Sinner

“Peace at any price” is not a Biblical principle, for there cannot be true spiritual peace without purity (James3:13-18). Church discipline is not a popular subject and very few churches today really practice it. Too many churches just sweep things under the rug instead of obeying the Scripture by confronting the situation in love (Ephesians 4:15).

In the case of the person referred to in this passage, it seems that the church had disciplined him but now that he had repented, they refused to forgive him. Paul knows that Satan can and will use this incident to hinder the work of God in the Corinthian church unless it is properly handled. Satan’s first objective is to stop the Gospel from going out (4:4). If he can bring disunity to the church, then he has accomplished his objective. Paul urges the church to forgive the man and gives three basic reasons for this admonition:

1.     To Forgive him for his own sake (vv. 7-8). The purpose of Discipline is not to destroy but to edify & restore. 

2.     To Forgive him for the Lord’s sake (vv. 9-10). When others see this unforgiving spirit in Christians, they will have a hard time accepting the Lord’s forgiveness. 

3.     To Forgive him for the Church’s sake (v. 11). To harbor bitterness and possessing an unforgiving spirit grieves the Holy Spirit and “gives place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:27-32). 

“Spare the rod and spoil the child—yes; but, keep an apple, to give the child when he has done well.” Punishment should encourage and not discourage. In the last analysis, this can happen only when we make it clear that, even when we are punishing a person, we still believe in him.