The power of sin and forgiveness within Community.

There are times when members within the Church have to be asked to step down from positions because they have been caught in a sin that is severe and has damaged the community. This is Biblical if it is done with grace and love. If it is done with the love that Christ has shown to every member then it can be the most powerful transformative process in bringing wholesome change to the individual. That is the case here with the Church and Paul.

“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. ⁶ The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. ⁷ Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ⁸ I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. ⁹ Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. ¹⁰ Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, ¹¹ in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” (2 Corinthians 2 v 5-11)

We don’t know who the man was but we do know his sin grieved the community not just Paul. It appears that the Church took Paul’s advice to discipline this man. It is a word that seems to have lost its way in the Church these days. However the whole point is not to be punitive but to be restorative. Paul calls for a period of forgiveness to commence now that the man seemingly has repented.

Healing within the community of the Church requires every member to contribute in order to bring full reconciliation. Satan seizes on every opportunity that he can within the Church either through permissiveness or unforgiveness. Both can cause irreparable damage in the Church.

The Church has a message to our world that we take sin seriously but forgiveness is also taken seriously too.

In our approach to Easter the Church’s willingness to forgive demonstrates that we have understood and received forgiveness in our own lives.