Restoring the fallen. 2 Cor 2:5-11. WBC 1 May 05pm
INTRO
Recently, a church that is well known and dear to me has been dealt a huge blow.
Actually- it is being dealt with well, and some good is already coming from it. The church has always kind of ’fancied itself’, almost like God was ’lucky to have it’ and you were lucky to join it- but the church has met recently to repent of arrogance, pride and self-satisfaction. Some have stood to say how quick they have been to judge others… staff included.
A long-waited for turning point may have been reached.
Their youth Pastor, who was due to have his leaving do on the Friday to start a new church the following week, was discovered on the Monday as having had two affairs the prior year. All were absolutely devastated. Church, partners…. Youth Pastor who had been so frustrated that he hadn’t been able to do what he wanted in the Youth the prior years…and now had torn some of that work down and, resultantly, had no church.
In the previous 12 years 2 elders had behaved similarly
It’s a huge issue. Dealing with falls. Dealing with the fallen
- it happens. (need to be humble and human about it)
- it happens in the charismatic church (has been a major weakness of the last 30 years)
o leaders (sometimes) in the church (often)
How do we deal with these things? How do we proof our churches so they don’t happen to us? How do we restore those who have fallen
- though negligence, weakness, own deliberate fault?
How do you proof our churches?
- proof your/our lives!
o There is no substitute for walking close with God… and in the right way with oneanother
o Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God- that’s what the Lord requires of us. In the end it’s v simple
" But it’s not for religious, restless, zealots. Walking with God is not enough
Illustr: Angela. We were working on her husband. He respected and liked the people in the church. Would often come to church things. It was good and getting there. Slowly. Until Angela left him for one of the men in the church with whom she felt she could ’serve the Lord better’. We tried to talk to her. Reason with her. Discipline her. In the end they both left to ’worship’ elsewhere
(God have mercy on us all)
Keep your lives free from sin. Do not covet. Seek the Lord rather than a ’high’. Watch inappropriate closeness. Be careful who you counsel.
There are many different ways in which people can fall, of course
THE ISSUE
So- what had happened here in Corinth?
- traditionally this has been about he restoration of the fallen person in 1 Cor 5:1-12 (read)
However- this can’t be the whole of the story as this (2 Cor 2) is about someone who has grieved Paul personally (and he’s being very humble and playing it down)
- 1 Cor is sexual sin. This is something else
- After 1 Cor there has been (2 Cor 2:1-4) a painful visit and a painful letter (involving the discipline spoken of, here)
o Paul wrote that letter to (2 Cor 7:12) demand disciplinary action and test whether the church would respond
So- it’s kind of hard to tell what issue/person is being spoken of, here. We only have one side of the conversation.
- most theologians think this was an issue of someone who opposed and hurt Paul deeply
If it’s linked to the 1 Cor 5 issue, here’s what I think MAY have happened. MAY not MUST… but it serves to illustrate
- Paul writes 1 Cor for many issues (not ’painful letter’), and ONE is to address the almost incest of 1 COr 5
- When the letter is read to the church no action is taken!
o The man disregards it. Attacks Paul’s ministry: ’what right does HE have….!’
o And the very atmosphere of the church enhances the problem:
" Lots of immorality. Like yeast through the dough
" The Paul/Peter split. Some were questioning Paul, anyway.
" Their wrong understanding of love: not ’tough’ love
- Paul visits and is verbally assaulted by this person (hence sin against him)
- Thinks it best to leave and writes a very hard painful letter (that we don’t have)
Now- the situation has progressed
- they have excommunicated him. Disfellowshipped him. As Paul requested. Got more serious/mature about their faith….
…. And Paul sees another way in which Satan (who has been used to teach this bloke a lesson) could outwit them
- he could snatch this person out from the church and a person, dear to Jesus, could be lost. To the church. To Christ
THE MOTIVE
So here’s the motive behind all Paul does, and all the ’disciplining’ and restoration in the Bible
- it’s not retributive (n fact Paul plays down his hurt. "IF he hurt me… I’ve already forgiven". What a disciple!)
- it’s REMEDIAL
It’s about restoration. Restoring the sinner. Getting them back into fellowship with God and the people of God
- because if you walk in this kind of extreme darkness… you have no fellowship with God, whatever you feel!
1JN 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
So- this must be our motive in everything that we do. The individual, and the fellowship’s best
- and this answers some of the questions we’ll ask later (Should we ’disfellowship’, ’abandon’ etc)
And we must remember- that is God loves the ’Seeker’ who is made in His image but has not yet become a child of His by adoption- how much more does He love a child of His that has gone astray!
A young man once described going astray from God "like he was at sea in deep water, deep trouble, and all his friends were on the shoreline hurling biblical accusations at him about justice, penalty and wrong …but there was one Christian brother who actually swam out to get me and would not let me go. I fought him, but he pushed aside my fighting, grasped me, put a life jacket around me, and took me to shore. By the grace of God, he was the reason I was restored. He would not let me go" (Swindoll 195).
from www.sermoncentral.com Bringing the Wanderer Home Text: James 5.19-20 by Chris Hodges
Illustr: My heart for those who have ’lost it’. Not just the prodigals, and the children. But those who have become ’disillusioned’ and hurt.
The statistics. 20% in contact with church. Another 40% USED to be! Feel the Father’s heart! Would love to do a ’disillusioned anonymous’
The motive of restoration is seen clearly in Gal 6:1
GAL 6:1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ
There’s wisdom for you! Watch yourself!
So- if we love… we will discipline…. And the aim will be restoration
Illustr: I heard this great story.
A story tells of 2 friends who were travelling through the desert. During the journey they had an argument and one friend slapped the other in the face.
The one who was slapped was upset but, without saying anything, wrote in the sand:
TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.
They kept walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to have a swim.
The one who’d been slapped got into difficulties and started to drown, but the friend saved him.
After he’d recovered from his near drowning, he carved on a stone.
TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.
The friend who had both slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now you write on a stone, why?"
The friend replied "When someone hurts us we should write it down in the sand where the winds of forgiveness can blow it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it on a stone where no wind can ever erase it."
LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE.
THE QUESTIONS
So, here are some of my questions
OK. the aim is restoration- but restoration to what?
- yes to God’s people
- yes to God…obviously
- but (my opinion, here)- I’m not sure people always have to be restored to the ’Ministry’ they had before. To that place of prominence, pedestal, exposure, temptation, vulnerability. For THEIR sake I’m not sure it’s fair!
o I’m talking back to Pastoring, place of spiritual authority, leadership. Whole diverse ministries
o Have to think: what is best for the person and people of God
o I’ve had a tad of experience, here, wrt church leaders and many have fallen AGAIN. (God have mercy)
o There are many more ways to serve God than being pastors or prominent leaders.!
Aren’t we in danger of some kind of hypocrisy, here?
- someone gets caught or exposed… and there are LOTS who haven’t
o (ie LBC- couple who just weren’t wicked enough to use a condom)
We need to keep that in mind! Be humble and not highlight certain sins!
BUT these passages are dealing with things that ARE exposed
o and those we HAVE to deal with
o in fact: God, in His mercy, does! It’s His mercy that causes Him to bring things to light. And He will!
o (rather have it dealt with, than take it with you!)
o and- as far as an issue becomes public it must be dealt with lovingly
" by the GROUP
So- Mat 18, you find issues being (finally) taken to the church
- here- because it was a whole church issue, the whole church was involved in the discipline
But if an issue is private- deal with it as privately as possible.
- the discipline is as public as the exposure
So- this kind of answers another question. "Should we be involved in discipline?. Obviously (if we love!) the answer is "yes"
But should we ’disfellowship’, "excommunicate"?
- I never have, yet. It would have to be v serious for US to take it to the point where someone were banned from a ’means of grace’
o Worshipping with us. Communion (I think that’s to their conscience. But, search your hearts, first!)
- But, obviously, if the issue escalates- that might be a result
- BUT note- If this is the person of 1 Cor 5 who Paul said ’excommunicate!’- he is now wanting him to be restored
o So: excommunication isn’t irreversible!
The aim is to make them stop and think and come back into fellowship, holiness and faith
What about ’disfellowshipping’? Breaking contact?
- well: in all of this you have to remember there are, as the BCP puts it, different kind of ’falls’:
o "negligence, weakness, own deliberate fault"
o (it’s there in Judaism: chet, avon and pesha. Rebellion is the thing that cannot be atoned for. How can it be?)
- so: this is only talking about the most extreme. Not even ’prodigal rebellion’ (the Father certainly didn’t disfellowship him, though the older brother wanted to!)
o most examples it’s a case of HELPING them through
But there is a place for ’letting someone go’ (cf rich young ruler) or ’breaking fellowship’
- if you’ve tried all else. Last means to try and save their soul
…BUT. What I’ve always done, and what Paul did here, is keep a door open. Have someone who keeps a door open.
And when someone comes back… in any way v7 "forgive and comfort him so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Reaffirm. Forgive. Don’t let Satan outwit."
QUESTIONS and INTERCESSION
- I cannot tell OR the King of love my shepherd is
- Have you not said
