Paul gave instructions in his first letter to the Corinthian congregation in chapter 5 concerning a man engaging in a grievous sexual immorality. He said that they should cast him out of their congregation. Now, Paul reveals two motives behind that directive. (Some point out that he may be referring to another person’s sin and/or offense.) First, he did not want to be grieved by them when he arrived (3-4). Second, he was testing their obedience (9). They did as Paul instructed and cast the man out.
The man repented. So now, Paul is encouraging them to forgive and invite him to join them again. Paul had already forgiven him.
One interesting statement here is, “if there was anything to forgive.” (The reason some believe it is another offense.) Another is, “that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not aware of his schemes.”
Satan wants to destroy all of Christ’s congregations. He has various schemes to carry out the destruction. A particularly common one is to divide us. In this case, he used a man who persisted in incest, and the congregation’s leadership lacked discipline. Thus, Paul said the man needed to be cast out. They obeyed. He grieved and repented.
Satan’s scheme did not stop there. Now the congregation needed to forgive the man and unconditionally accept him back into the church. Forgiveness is an important act of love. Jesus taught me to pray, “Forgive us of our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” Holding regret and judgment is self-destructive to congregations and to me. Discernment, separation from persistent sin, and unconditional forgiveness should all be done in love.
