So You’re a Priest: Grieving for Grace

This is part 4 of a sermon series through 2 Corinthians. Last week ("Good Grief!") I said that grief is the pain, the friction, caused by the desires of this world rubbing up against the call of another world, the world for which we have been made. Today let’s see how that looks in the church.

2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Commentary

Today’s text is a continuation of the text from last week (2 Cor 1:23-2:4). Although the two texts together are one, long argument, there were two distinct, but related, points to be gleaned by breaking the argument in half. Last week, I spoke mostly about the grief (the friction between this world and the next) felt by the sinner. It was pain that led to a change of heart, a change of attitude. This week, we’re looking at the grief felt by God’s agents of grace, who have to bear with loving and encouraging the unlovable. Grief can soften even the heart of a saint.

v5 grief. The repetition of the word here is a tipoff that the passage continues Paul’s argument from the previous passage. The verb tense used here indicates long, drawn-out action: you grieve now because of past events when someone grieved you. Isn’t that the way it is for us? We find ourselves depressed and unable to cope because we have allowed ourselves to be victimized by others. (NOTE: Do not read what Paul is not saying! Paul does not say not to punish the sinner. Rather, the punishment inflicted thus far is enough, and Paul will not pile on more. Instead, now is a time for healing.)

v7 forgive/comfort. The Biblical antidote for victims is invariably the same. Forgive your enemies and pray for those against you. Remember a few weeks ago, I said, "Comfort does not mean being comfortable." How would that apply here?

excessive sorrow. The NIV uses the word sorrow instead of grief, but it’s the same word used in v5. Is the grief Paul fears depression and self-condemnation by the sinner, or judgment and unforgiveness on the part of the church? Either way, it’s the friction of two worlds colliding!

v8 reaffirm your love. The one punished still belongs, still has a place.

v10 forgive. Curiously the verb tense is the same odd tense (perfect) used in v5 denoting present status due to past action: past forgiveness implies current forgiveness. There is no taking back of forgiveness. There is no such thing as conditional forgiveness. This is pure grace.

v11 Anything short of forgiveness gives Satan a foothold.

Application

We don’t know who the troublemaker was, but 1 Corinthians gives some likely candidates—those involved in: incest (1 Cor 5); making rules about eating meat sacrificed to idols (1 Cor 8); impropriety in worship (1 Cor 11,14). In at least one case, Paul advised expelling the sinner from the group. So how does that jibe with Paul’s instruction here to forgive and comfort? How do we judge, discipline, and yet forgive?

Forgiveness must always be unconditional. Anything less is an abuse of power; anything less is lording it over those who are caught in the snares of this world. Unconditional forgiveness must precede discipline; it must precede contrition by the sinner; it must precede any attempt to love or comfort the sinner. When we try to deal with the sinner without forgiveness first, we risk acting out of our own pain, grief, and neuroses.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean going back to the way things used to be. Certainly that’s not what Paul wants here. However we, agents of God’s grace, turn into agents of grief when we refuse to forgive. The grief we feel is the need to nurse old wounds even as God calls us to something better. Letting go of the past is going to feel like losing, or dying. But forgiveness by us frees us to be fair in the discipline and limits meted out. Step into your future; let God heal you so you can heal others.

Points to Ponder

Does forgiveness mean forgetting the evil, or not letting the memory of evil consume us?

Where do you need to unconditionally forgive someone? What comfort do they need from you?