Revering the Word
2 Corinthians 2 Forgiveness, restoration, and the aroma of good news.
Good morning everyone. This morning we are in 2 Corinthians chapter 2. Very briefly, let's just begin for in verse 1 verses, but I determined this for my own sake that I would not come to you and sorrow again. Now I want to reaffirm what we talked about in the prior chapter that Paul spent a lot of time in Corinth. He received some questions and heard of some of the problems that was happening in Corinth after he left and that's what then compelled him to write 1 Corinthians. So he writes that letter dealing with some things that were happening in the church in regard to disorder in spiritual gifts, use in the church and also problems with sexual immorality. After he wrote that letter he, there were some false teachers that came into Corinth and they started undermining Paul's ministry and they had some success in undermining Paul's ministry and some of the Corinthians bought into it and Paul was very disappointed in their lack of loyalty to him. He ended up both doing two things. One going to Corinth and having a what's called a painful visit, a sorrowful visit and that's why in 2 Corinthians 1 here it says, but I determined this for my own sake that I would not come to you in sorrow again. He's talking about that middle time when he came and had a painful visit with them that didn't go well. He also wrote to Corinth what's called the severe letter which has been lost. We don't have that letter and it's where he largely rebuked them for entertaining these false teachers. So all of that has happened in the past. At this time Paul has received a more positive report from Titus about what's going on in Corinth and the fact that they really have turned away from the false teachers and realized they were in error. Paul was delighted to hear about that and that's now what we have in 2 Corinthians. Now one of the issues that came up as well that's addressed in this chapter 2 comes from 1 Corinthians 5. I'll just take you there briefly and here's one of the things that the Corinthians had problems with. It is actually reported that there is immorality among you and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles that someone has his father's wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your mist. So there's great sexual immorality and someone's taking their father's wife and he is asking them to remove this person from their midst. So there's more than one problem that Paul is dealing with here in 2 Corinthians. Two things. One, the false teaching that he's correcting. Two, he's got this issue about this person that really they've excommunicated from their church because of section immorality. Both of those things are going to be addressed in 2 Corinthians chapter 2 here. So let's pick it up again with that backdrop. Again, he's got a more positive report that things are going better in Corinth and they're providing more respect to Paul's leadership. So he says in chapter 2 of 2 Corinthians verse 1 but I determined this for my own sake that I would not come to you in sorrow again. When he came and had that painful visit and wrote that severe letter it caused him great sorrow. I think he was worried that they were gonna respond negatively to him and maybe not want to hear from him again and his heart grieved because he had spent a lot of time building up that church and if the relationship goes dysfunctional he's just gonna be sad about all the time he invested to build the body of Christ there and if there's turmoil and angst and division with him it would cause him great sorrow. So he says in verse 2, "For if I cause you sorrow who then makes me glad but the one whom I made sorrowful?" Question mark. So what he's trying to say is you know what if I cause sorrow to you how are you gonna make me happy? I mean we don't want to all be in sorrow with one another. You know we're going to encourage one another to follow the Lord and hopefully have there be joy. Verse 3, "This is the very thing I wrote you so that when I came I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice having confidence in you that my joy would be the joy of you all." So he wrote that hoping you know the things he wrote even correcting them admonishing them. He wasn't hoping it would turn out poorly he wanted it to turn out well so that they could share in joy and continue to grow in the faith but he was concerned that they might receive it in such a way that it didn't produce what he wanted and then there would be sorrow but he's glad to hear that they are repenting turning away from false teachers and doing what's right. "For out of much affliction," verse 4, "an English of heart I wrote to you with many tears," he's talking about that severe letter, "not so that you would be made sorrowful but that you might know the love for which I have especially for you." And sometimes when you do hard things with people and you say hard things that need to be said because of problems it's not that you don't love someone. Sometimes by having truthful hard conversations it's because you do love someone and you need to share the things that need to be said. You know sometimes when you just ignore everything you know it's not actually love so hard conversations can be part of a loving relationship and that's what he's talking about here. Verse 5, "But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me but in some degree in order not to say too much to all of you." And then verse 6, "Sufficient for such a one is the punishment which was inflicted by the majority." Now it appears that the person whom they who took his father's wife repented and they excommunicated him and it appears Paul might be referring to that person again also in this chapter of this letter and now because he repented he's saying that they should restore him. So listen to this again in verse 6 and 7, "Sufficient for such a one is the punishment which was inflicted by the majority because you temporarily excommunicated him so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow." So he's saying that you know what let's restore this person now even though we did need to provide some church discipline we did need to say what was wrong we needed to point out the error but the person repented and now we're in a position of restoration. "Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him." And Paul in this chapter is really speaking about even amidst the problems of the past that people would come together in love and in grace and in forgiveness and have restoration. Verse 9, "For to this end I also wrote that I might put you to the test whether you are obedient in all things and now he's saying you know what you're you're obedient in excommunicating but now what I want you to do is I want you to be obedient and forgiving and restoring." Verse 10, "But one whom you forgive anything I forgive also for indeed what I have forgiven if I have forgiven anything I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan for we are not ignorant of his schemes and basically what he's saying is you know what when we don't love and forgive the way we should we don't have restoration the way we should when we sit in bitterness and resentment that place is the place of Satan that's where Satan can have his schemes and Paul saying you know what we need to forgive and move on and move forward and not allow the devil to have his way in unforgiveness and bitterness now recall that this person was doing something completely wrong that they excommunicated and he repented so you know if the person kept continuing in sexual immorality we wouldn't have this this kind of restoration but because of because of repentance we have forgiveness and we have restoration now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me and the Lord I had no rest for my spirit not finding Titus my brother but taking my leave of them I went on a Macedonia and he was saying you know at first he was really struggling even though he had an open door for ministry in Troas without having the positive report that eventually he received from Titus he was very concerned about the Corinthians and you know what was going on and how they were responding to his communications but later on he did receive positive word and he was greatly comforted and that's really what we get into here in verse 14 but thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of him in every place and Paul is really turning to a point of praise here because the situation is turning out well and he is calling it a sweet aroma hallelujah for we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are being perishing and really you know what that's what we're supposed to be we're supposed to bring the light of Christ we're supposed to bring a positive aroma of who God is to the world around us however the gospel is not always desired the gospel is not always wanted because ultimately the gospel also says the good news says that you can have forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ you can be forgiven of everything you've done wrong you can be promised to turn a life but the gospel also says is that if you don't receive Jesus Christ you're going to be condemned for being a sinner and you're going to be lost forever meaning the solution to the sin problem today offered by God is to believe in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins depending upon how you respond to that it is either a beautiful sweet aroma because you receive the forgiveness of God or you say you know what I don't want to accept that and I don't want to accept Jesus well as a result then the gospel saying you're under the punishment for your sin and basically you're on a path to hell because you are going to pay for the consequences of your own sin even though God wants to pay it for you through his son you're not willing to accept it so now it becomes it becomes a stench to you because you're rejecting the gospel and that's what we have here but we are trying to bring a sweet aroma if you'll just but receive it for we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing to the one and aroma from death to death meaning those who are unwilling to receive the gospel were an aroma from death to death to the other to those who do accept Jesus in the gospel and a aroma of life to life so the gospel is good news you just got to accept it you got to believe it and and then you can have the forgiveness of sins and then come into alignment with Jesus Christ learn about him follow him obey him allow him to give you the Holy Spirit so that you can live a fruitful life for his name but if you reject him yes you're gonna feel under condemnation because you are under condemnation we all are I would be too because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God but God did what he needed to do through Christ to forgive us hallelujah and it is a sweet aroma to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and then Paul says this and who is adequate for these things for we are not like many pedaling the word of God but as from sincerity but as from God we speak in Christ in the sight of God and Paul is not pedaling he's he's he is a true man of God out of authenticity insincerity preaching the word of God and he's doing it in the sight of God God knows his actions God knows his desire to proclaim the gospel and to proclaim it rightly and there are false teachers out there pedaling things and pedaling things in insincerity but that is not of Paul and that is not what we are to be either we are to realize that we are in the audience of God through Christ he knows our actions and may we proclaim the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ so more receive the great promise of forgiveness and eternal life a sweet aroma oh make the aroma sweet of the gospel by receiving it it's good news hallelujah Jesus is good news God bless you all