"Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him" (2 Cor. 2:8).
Here we discover the blessed outcome of that heart-breaking situation involving the incestuous brother, which we read about in 1 Corinthians 5. The church had tolerated for too long the incestuous sin of one of their members. Displeased by the church’s lack of action, Paul commanded them to expel the immoral brother and cleanse the church, to turn him over to Satan that he might repent of his sins. This is exactly what happened. The church obeyed Paul’s instruction and, as a result, the man was convicted and repented of his sin. Paul, of course, had received news of the man’s sincere repentance and here exhorts the Corinthian church to end the discipline and to bring the penitent man back into its fellowship.
Evidently, as can happen in any church, the Corinthians had gone from one extreme to another, from refusing to discipline to going beyond the bounds of discipline. To keep them on the right track, Paul urged the church to reaffirm its love toward the penitent one. The purpose of discipline is to bring one to repentance so that he might be restored. Because this had occurred, there was no longer any need to discipline. “Undue severity is as much to be avoided as undue leniency,” Hodge wrote. “The character which Paul here exhibits reflects the image of our heavenly Father. His word is filled with denunciations against impenitent sinners, and at the same time with assurances of unbounded pity and tenderness towards the penitent. He never breaks the bruised reed or quenches the smoking flax.”
Once an excommunicated person has repented of his sin, he is to be reaffirmed in love and forgiven by the church. It is the responsibility of every individual to show him that love, as Paul himself was ready to do in this situation: “For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ” (2:10). Otherwise, the person might be driven to despair—something that Satan wants to happen to all God’s children—which will, in turn, disrupt the peace of the church. To avoid this, we must forgive and love those who have turned from their sin. We must welcome them back into fellowship without any bitterness of any kind. In doing this, we will model our Savior who forgives us our sins and remembers them no more.
While this passage deals with the formal restoration of a brother who has been excommunicated, all Christians are required to forgive those who have repented of their sins. Do you have a difficult time forgiving others? If there is someone you need to forgive, do so today. Call or go see that person and affirm your love to him or her.
