Confession #1: I can count on ten fingers the number of times in 44 years of pastoring I exercised church discipline.  Confession #2:  The older I get, the harder forgiveness becomes.

I’d better explain.  First, church discipline.  By that I mean church elders calling a church member to repent of his sin. What sin?   Not just any sin, but “something so evil that even the pagans don’t do it” (1 Corinthians 5:1,2).  Or a sin that a member has refused to repent of  (Matthew 18:15-18).  Many church leaders argue that doctrinal error also calls for church discipline.  I agree, but argue the doctrine must be foundation (such as the deity of Christ), not controversial (details of Last Day events).   The goal, of course, is always restoration.

Second, forgiveness.  I guess I find forgiveness harder now because my age and illness tend to make me a grumpy old man.   I feel weak and vulnerable.  So, when someone hurts me or one I love, I retaliate.  And at at this point, my only means is to withhold forgiveness (as if that hurts my offender!).

Now. I drone on like this because in today’s text, 2 Corinthians 2:5-11, Paul touches on both church discipline and forgiveness.  Let’s set the scene . . .

Paul had heard of urgent troubles in the Corinthian church and decided to make an unannounced visit.  It didn’t go well.  Whatever happened, Paul retreated quickly to Ephesus.  From there he wrote a letter (lost to us) calling for the church to repent and to discipline one offender in particular. In 2 Corinthians 7:8-13,  Paul refers to that letter . . .

I am no longer sorry that I sent that letter to you, though I was sorry for a time, for I know that it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to have remorse and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way.  For God can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation. We will never regret that kind of sorrow. But sorrow without repentance is the kind that results in death.  Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish the wrongdoer. You showed that you have done everything you could to make things right.  My purpose was not to write about who did the wrong or who was wronged. I wrote to you so that in the sight of God you could show how much you really do care for us.  We have been encouraged by this.  In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was at the way you welcomed him and set his mind at ease (NLT).

Years ago commentators supposed the chief offender to be the incestuous man of 1 Corinthians 5.  More recently commentators hold him to be a particularly boisterous adversary of Paul who was leading the church into some of the sins Paul confronts in 1 Corinthians.  Whoever he was and whatever wrongs he’d committed, the church repented and disciplined the offender.  Apparently, he too had repented.  Now, Paul urges, it’s time to forgive him . . .

If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent– not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him.  Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.  I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven– if there was anything to forgive– I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes (2 Corinthians 2:5-11).

A few points call for comment . . .

PAUL’S CONCERN FOR THE PENITENT OFFENDER.

” . . . you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.”  However egregious the sin or stubborn the sinner, he’s repented.  He mustn’t be left drowning in sorrow outside the church community.  Again, the goal of church discipline is restoration.  Every confessed sin, however evil, must be forgiven by the church because it is by Christ.   This seems inapplicable to us, because these days a church-disciplined member simply picks up his Bible and joins the church down the street.

PASTOR AND ELDERS SHOULD BE THE “FIRST FORGIVERS.”

I get that from Paul writing, “I have forgiven [him] in the sight of Christ for your sake . . . ”  I say be the “first forgivers” like the “first responders.”  Get it?  The leaders set the forgiveness example, even if they have been especially sinned against.  If any leader holds a grudge, it will grow into bitterness.  And bitterness becomes known.  And spreads.  Soon a whole group hold hard hearts against the penitent member.

A sharp disagreement arose between the elders and me.  This was years ago in New Jersey.  I don’t remember the issue (really), but I was convinced I was right (really).  Since we couldn’t resolve it, we called the state superintendent of the denomination to which we belonged.  Surely he’ll support his pastor! I thought.  Nope.  As wrong as those elders were (really), he caved.  It took months to get over my anger and forgive the guy.  Had I not, bitterness would have spread and infected the church one way or another.

SATAN SCHEMES TO USE UNFORGIVENESS TO HIS ADVANTAGE.

Paul forgives and urges the church to forgive “in order that Satan might not outwit (or gain advantage over) us.  For we are not unaware of his schemes.”  When was the last time the devil showed up in your church’s pulpit wearing red long johns carrying a pitchfork?  He’s way sneakier than that.  Paul knows he schemes to take advantage of us through unforgiveness.

I read several commentators and preachers on this text.  All make church discipline the main topic.  Wrong.  Paul’s topic is the need for the church to forgive the penitent sinner.  Six times Paul writes “forgive” in one form or another.  The church didn’t need to be better at church discipline; they needed to be better at forgiveness.

* * *

I contend the same is true today.  However weak we may be at church discipline, we’re weaker at forgiveness.  I would argue that in most congregations on most Sunday mornings sits at least one member with an unforgiving heart toward another.

What did Jesus teach us to do if our brother or sister sins against us?

“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over” (Matthew 18:15).

Sometimes we can forgive our brother in our heart.  Often, though,  the offense demands a face-to-face meeting.  Sure, it’s tough.  Sure, he may refuse to listen.  But I think we fail most in “church discipline” at this first step:  we refuse to try to “make it right” one-on-one.  When we don’t, Satan’s got the advantage.  The offense we say we’ve forgiven, lurks in our gut.  And eventually it morphs into hard-hearted unforgiveness.  Not only does that split a segment of the church; it prevents the Father from forgiving us.

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.  “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.  Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.  “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’  The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.  “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’  “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.  When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.  “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’  In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18:21-35).

‘Nuff said.