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哥林多后书：2：5-11：5若有叫人忧愁的，他不但叫我忧愁，也是叫你们众人有几分忧愁。我说几分，恐怕说得太重。6这样的人，受了众人的责罚也就够了；倒不如赦免他，安慰他，免得他忧愁太过，甚至沉沦了。8所以我劝你们，要向他显出坚定不移的爱心来。9为此我先前也写信给你们，要试验你们，看你们凡事顺从不顺从。10你们赦免谁，我也赦免谁。我若有所赦免的，是在基督面前为你们赦免的，11免得撒但趁着机会胜过我们，因我们并非不晓得他的诡计。
保罗直截了当地指出他最关心的问题。在哥林多前书中，他谴责哥林多教会的会众竟然容忍其中一名成员的犯罪行为。这个男人和他的继母发生了乱伦的行为，而且仍然在发生。这种行为即使在希腊人当中也是不被容忍的。但是他们以为这种对罪的容忍是对那个人的爱，他们对罪的问题视而不见。保罗敦促哥林多教会对这个人执行教会纪律。进行管教。换句话说，公开的宣告，他的罪不被赦免，并把他逐出教会。
但最终的结果正是耶稣想要的结果。这个人为自己的罪悔改。但哥林多教会做的有些过分，继续把他排除在教会之外。当一个罪人为罪悔改，教会有责任也有特权告诉他，他的罪已经被赦免，恢复他与教会的相交的关系，恢复他领圣餐的权利。否则这个人的悔改就会成为绝望。而且不仅要告诉他，他被赦免了，而且更要这样在行动上对待他。对待他就像上帝对待你一样，就好像你从来没有做错过任何事一样。
要记住容忍犯罪并不是爱。而是忽视了对基督里的弟兄姊妹的关心。把我们中间那些犯罪的人除掉，并不是我们的目的，我们的目的是让他悔改，这样我们就能奉靠耶稣的名赦免他，恢复他的信心。
祷告：主耶稣啊，和那些生活一片混乱的人相处，从来不是一件容易的事。请赐给我们爱心去接近那些偏离正道的人，目的是要挽救他们。求你赐给我们耐心，让你的话语和圣灵在他们心里作工。赐给我们智慧，使我们知道什么时候该说什么。祷告奉你的名，阿们。
2 Corinthians 2: 5 If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. 6 The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. 7 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. 9 Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. (NIV)
Paul gets right to the point of one of his immediate concerns. In his first letter, he reprimanded them for tolerating sinful behavior by one of their members. The man was having sex with his father’s wife (which was probably his step-mother). That was even intolerable among the Greeks! But they confused tolerance with love and looked the other way. Paul urged them to put him under church discipline. In other words, to declare him not forgiven and put him out of the church.
Well, it worked as Jesus intended this to work. The man repented of his sin. However, the Corinthians went overboard and continued to exclude him. When a sinner repents of his sin, it is the church’s duty and privilege to tell him that his sin has been forgiven, and restore him to the fellowship of the church and the communion table. Otherwise, that person’s repentance may turn into despair. And not only tell him that he is forgiven, but treat him as such. Treat him as God treats you – as if you had never done anything wrong in the first place!
Remember that tolerance is not love, it is neglecting to care enough for brother or sister in Christ. And getting rid of someone who has sinned is not our goal, but to bring him to repentance so that we can forgive him in Jesus’ name and restore him to the faith.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, working with people and their messy situations in life is never easy. Give us love to approach those who have strayed with the goal to restore them. Give us patience to let your Word and the Spirit work in their hearts. Give us the wisdom to know what to say and when. In your name. Amen.