Year 5, Day 86: 2 Corinthians 2 & 3

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Forgiveness

• Forgiveness: Forgiveness is when our sins are absolved by God.  We do not deserve this forgiveness, but God grants it to us anyway.  We cannot earn forgiveness, but God gives it to us anyway.  As we are forgiven by God, He also asks us to forgive others.  In fact, Jesus Himself teaches us to pray for our forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer when He says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Forgiveness is one of the powerful messages of the early part of 2 Corinthians.  You’ll remember that in 1 Corinthians Paul had some harsh words for dealing with sin and people who needed to be corrected.  But now that the correction has occurred, the people need to be forgiven and the community needs to go forward.

You see, sometimes correction brings hurt.  Sometimes hurt has to happen in order for harm to be avoided.  As an obvious example, a mother slaps her hand across a toddler’s hand that is reaching towards a burning stove.  Another example is a parent refuses to let their child go to see a movie that they are not mature enough to deal with the content.  Another example is a pastor that counsels a dating couple to not have premarital sex.  In each of those examples, a person is prevented from doing what they want to do.  They experience hurt.  But the hurt is intended to prevent them from actually experiencing harm.

However, the hurt really is only justified is there is also forgiveness.  A child who is disciplined because of bad behavior needs to feel forgiveness in order for the relationship to continue.  An employee who has been chastised needs to know that they are no longer in danger of losing their job once the employee has demonstrated that the lesson has been learned.  In the same manner, a sinner who is corrected out of their sin needs to feel forgiven so that they can experience union once more with the community at large.

After all, this is the pattern that we see with God.  We sin.  There is usually punishment and consequence to our sin.  But then we are forgiven.  Then we experience union with God once we have repented.  God does not hold onto our sin after He forgives us.  In His forgiveness, He removes our guilt from us.  In the same manner, we also should imitate God and forgive as He forgives.

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