Discipline and Forgiveness

For I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you. For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. 2 Corinthians 2:1-11

We saw in I Corinthians Paul’s severe chastisement of this congregation for not having disciplined one among them who was living in open incest with his stepmother. That kind of behavior being tolerated for one indicates even more carnality being practiced by others, which may or may not be obvious, but causes great harm to the local church, hindering the spiritual growth of the entire body. Indeed, after Timothy visited and reported the large-scale infiltration of false teachers, Paul sent in Titus, his best trouble-shooter, to shape up the congregation.

When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord,  my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia. 2 Corinthians 2:12-13

Paul, as the apostle, had authority to teach the Church the gospel and church doctrines, and to instruct them in church discipline, but their salvation in no way depended on him. They stood firm on their own faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, as he reminded them in chapter 1 verse 24. He was in no position to “lord it over your faith,” but was their helper in understanding what their faith was all about. It was his great joy to be of help to them, as he knew their joy would grow in proportion to their knowledge of Jesus Christ. Because of the tension of this relationship at the time, Paul delayed his visit even longer, because he needed to hear from Titus about any results he'd had with the corrective teaching he was sent to do. Paul didn’t want to come and confront them with more burdensome criticism just yet. That is no fun, and would not be encouraging to them or to him.

He had learned now, from Titus, that corrections had been made, except for a few real wolves among them. Also, the incestuous member had been disciplined by the congregation, as Paul had advised them to do, and he had repented. Apparently for some, that wasn’t enough (maybe the Judaizers? Just a guess), and they were still holding his sin over his head. Paul said in verses 6-8, he’s been punished enough. He has repented. Forgive him, or he will become the victim of his own bitterness and depression. He needs your comfort now, not your ostracism. This is exactly the kind of discord Satan loves to take advantage of, to make us foolishly self-destructive in our witness and to neutralize our testimony to the world. If we are bickering and blaming each other, we are not proclaiming the glory of Christ. You forgive the repentant brother, Paul said, and I forgive him also, for your sake.

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?  For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

The “triumphal procession” of Christ and his Church is our testimony to the world, a “fragrance of knowledge” of Him and His work everywhere. We are the aroma—a sweet savor—an atmosphere of Jesus’ love and grace—to the lost and the saved. We represent the gospel message wherever we are. Our job is to represent it accurately. The same gospel brings life to the believer and death to the rejector We are not responsible for results. The hearers can accept it or reject it, but we must proclaim it.

“in the sight of God we speak Christ."