Grace Vs. Satan- 2 Corinthians 2:5-11- Kairo EM Worship

Intro

A couple months ago, we talked about forgiveness, based on the story of the Merciful King.
This week we’re talking about forgiveness, and Madeline asked, are you going to give the same sermon again?
No, in fact, strangely, I think the sermon today is a logical continuation of the last sermon I gave.
I’d like to start off today by how I ended last time. Today’s intro will be last sermon’s outro.
VIDEO:
In that sermon, the idea of forgiveness comes from the Greek word Aphiemi, which means to let go.
We talked a lot about how God has been merciful to us. He has let us go of the sin and offense against him.
And because the merciful King let us go, we too ought to let our fellow man go when they sin against us. We’re not to hold it against them. We are to set them free.
But now what? Is that the end of forgiveness? Just to let it go and squash it? That’s it?
Well if the last sermon was about showing mercy, and not giving those who sin against us what they deserve,
Then this sermon is about grace. And giving them what they don’t deserve.
Mercy and Grace go hand in hand.
Prayer
Before we start, let me take you to a sweet passage in 1 John 5:16-18.
Let me ask you a question. What is love? How do we know what love is?
1 John 5:16 “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers... 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”
In 1 John 5:18, John teaches this Christian principle that love is a verb. It is not just something we verbalize with words or with our mouth, although that too is important.
But his point is that it’s not just something we say we do or that we say we are.
You will be able to tell what love is by it’s fruit, by it’s demonstration in actions and in truth.
In deep theological terms for all you theologians, you can’t just talk the talk, you got to walk the walk.
We’ve got to demonstrate our love by what we do.
Forgiveness is driven by love. And if love is to be in Action and in truth, then so must forgiveness.

Forgive in Action

Here in 2 Cor. 2:5-11, there’s a situation where one person is guilty of sin, and the majority of the Church is acting out against him, whether it’s some kind of punishment or agreed discipline that they’re putting him through.
There are different theories, but I don’t want to get caught up in the debate.
Remember that one guy in 1 Cor. that Paul wrote about. There was some guy in the church who was sleeping with his mother in law, his dad’s wife. And Paul tells the church to judge him and put him out of fellowship to hand him over to Satan. Not so that Satan can have him, but “that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.”
Others say that Paul’s not referring to that guy, but to someone else in the church who either personally insulted and criticized Paul, or headed some kind of opposition against him. Paul talks about how he has forgiven already, and you can only forgive someone who’s committed an offence against you, and so he must be talking about something personal between the sinner and Paul.
So some people believe that Paul is writing to them again saying, “ok, that’s enough. The discipline has served it’s purpose, and if you keep going, it is going to overwhelm him. He’s sorry, and he’s repentant, now welcome him back in to the church.
Realize that Church discipline always has the purpose of restoring and reforming the sinner. It is never the goal to condemn and cut off.
In v. 7 Paul says “Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.”
So whoever it is and whatever he’s done, Paul begs the Church, “Please, I plead with you, reaffirm your love for him and make sure he knows that you love him.”
In other words, don’t just tell him you forgive him, but show him! Make sure you comfort him with action and show him that you indeed do love him.
How do you love the one needing forgiveness? Dear brothers, Let us not love in words or tongue, but in action. Let us not forgive in words or tongue, but in action. Talk is cheap.
EX: IF you’ve been keeping up with the news, one of the biggest stories the past couple weeks was the murder of an 8 yr. old girl named Sandra Cantu. She was last seen skipping and jumping down the street. Later she was found raped, murdered, and stuffed into a suitcase and thrown into a pond.
The news of her murder outraged people across the city, CA, and nation.
Hundreds and hundreds of people came to send flowers and light candles and give gifts in memory of Sandra.
As police were transporting all the flowers and gifts, they came across a letter that read “To My Killer”. Inside the letter wrote “Dear killer, I forgive you. But God will judge you. Sandra”
And I thought about it, and it sounds like there is a lot of anger in that letter. It sounds like “Don’t be afraid of me, but you better be afraid of GOD! God’s gonna git you”
TO me, it sounds like it’s just words. You say you forgive, but you haven’t really forgiven. It’s easy to say “I forgive you.”
The Bible calls us to not only say you forgive him, and not only relent on your punishment or discipline toward the offender, but now go and proactively comfort the sinner and love him. Show him that he is loved and accepted by you and the Church.
Welcome him into your house. Cook him a meal. Invite him over to stay with you. Write him an encouraging letter. Throw him a party.
Your comforting and loving actions will be fruit of true forgiveness. It will be evidence that you have forgiven.
What can we do to show them that we do forgive, but even more so, that we love them.

Application: Last time I spoke on forgiveness back in November, I realized from some of the response that many people in this place are in need of showing forgiveness.
Many of you in this room have been hurt, have been mistreated, have had trust broken.
The emphasis of that sermon was to forgive in the sense that we let it go. The greek word for forgiveness is aphieimi. We’re not going to hold it against them. We’re setting them free.
But I noticed something interesting here. Whenever Paul uses the word forgive, the Greek is a different word. It’s not aphieimi, but its “Charisomai.”
The root word is Charis. It means Grace. Charisomai is to show favorable grace. Meaning, you are giving them something they don’t deserve. You are showing them grace. You are forgiving them.
He says forgiveness isn’t just letting it go (aphieimi), he’s saying go and show them grace (charidzomai). You comfort them. Go and show them love and forgiveness by what you do to them.
You want me to go out of my way to comfort and love the one who wronged me?
Yeah, they don’t deserve it. But neither did you when Christ showed you his love and forgiveness and died for you on the cross.
Do you realize that you sin against God, and he didn’t only show forgiveness to you by being merciful in withholding wrath from you, from withholding eternal condemnation and damnation from you.
He showed you forgiveness by being gracioius to you. Showing you favor when you don’t deserve it.
There is something about his action toward you that demonstrates amazing grace.
You don’t deserve it, but he gave you his Son to Die for you!
You don’t deserve it, but he gave you his Spirit to live in you.
You don’t deserve it, but he gives you his Power to transform you.
You don’t deserve it but he gives you his joy to strengthen you.
You don’t deserve it but he gives you his comfort to encourage you.
You don’t deserve it, but He gives life and life abundantly.
I suppose God could have just declared from Heaven, “Ah, he believes, let him go.” “Don’t punish him”.
And in his love and forgiveness, he lavishes you with all this.
And for what? For sinning against him and spitting in his face?
For those of you in here who God is calling to forgive, will you show the repentant offender against you that you really do forgive him or her.
How can you practically comfort them in their sorrow? What things can you do to proactively love on them to demonstrate to them not just the mercy of God, but the grace of God?

This is how we know what love is. Christ showed it to us by what he did, not just by what he said.
In the same way, don’t tell your brother or sister you forgive him. Show them. Love on them.

So don’t only forgive in words but in Action,
But not only in action… but in Truth.

Forgive in Truth
10If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake.” (NIV)
Paul is asking them to forgive, and if you do, than so do I!
It reminds me of how Jesus taught in Matt. 18, when he’s talking about forgiving the brother who sins against you.
He says 19"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
If two or more of you can agree on forgiving a brother, than you can be sure that the Father in heaven has forgiven him.
Not that God’s forgiveness is dependent on us, but when we decide as a body to forgive, you know that there is sense of sweet agreement. God is with us, and there is unity in our decision to forgive the brother.
So Paul says, Look. If you forgive this sinner, than so do I!
And then he says in v. 10, that what I have forgiven, I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake. “ (NIV)
“what I have forgiven… has been for your sake in the presence of Christ.” (ESV)

Now, where does Paul go to be in the sight, or in the presence of Christ to forgive?
HE doesn’t go anywhere! He is always in the sight of Christ, and always in the presence of God. God sees all things!
And so his point is that when he forgives, he has truly forgiven! IN TRUTH. Before Christ. “God as my witness”.
Paul is saying that we need to forgive with our actions, by comforting him and affirming him with our actions…
But how else can I prove that my forgiveness is genuine, I have forgiven him in the presence of Christ. Before God, in truth, I have REALLY forgiven him of what he’s done to me.
EX: Monica asking me for forgiveness, and needing to come before God to make sure it’s true.
See, it’s easy to forgive in words, but show no action.
But it can be just as easy to show action, but not truly forgive.
We can pretend like we’re cool, and we put on a smiley face when we’re around them, but deep down inside, you know, and even more so, GOD knows, that you haven’t truly set the person free.
Would you be able to say that before God, you have truly set the person free in forgiveness?
Ex: Dean. I wanted to show that clip again, because I realized something after that sermon. Some of you guys came to me and asked about Dean, and asked if we still talked.
What I shared with you in that story is true, his act of forgiveness caused me to worship. The experience of being forgiven when I knew I didn’t deserve it completely blew me away.
But here’s the thing. Two years later when I went off to college, I noticed something. When we hung out with our friends, Dean never showed up. When I wasn’t there, I would hear that he would be.
Turns out that two years after the incident, everything had resurrected. He had still harbored anger and bitterness inside. Apparently all my friends knew about it but didn’t want to tell me.
I called Dean to apologize once again and reconcile. He explained to me that every time he thinks about it, he gets a sick feeling in his stomach. He said he realizes he never really let it go.
Paul sets the example, and says that I have forgiven him in the presence of Christ, and from the depths of my heart, I have forgiven him.
When you forgive, have you come before God and forgive your brother or sister in the sight of Christ?
Don’t just forgive with words, but with loving action. Don’t just forgive in loving actions, but in action and in truth.

Why is this so important to Paul? Why does Paul urge them extend themselves to the brother and forgive him so sincerely?
11in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
So that Satan wouldn’t win. He refuses to let Satan have the advantage over us.

Beware the schemes of Satan
11 “in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”
In Eph 4:26-27. “do not let the sun go down on while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
EX: My sister getting her foot in the door. When we were growing up, me and my sister had a special relationship- We Hated each other. We would physically fight all the time, and my mom would buy me toys, and the condition would always be, “Please don’t fight with Jess.” Then we’d get home, and it’d be on.
But see, she had these things that came out of her fingers called nails.. they were freak of nature. People wouldn’t believe they were real, they thought the were Press On nails.
And so she would chase me around the house, and I came to learn that the first place to run is the bathroom, the door with a lock. And I would run, but sometimes she would get there quick enough to at least get her foot in the door.
I knew, that if I let her keep her foothold, and I didn’t actively fight to get it out, I was doomed. Because once her foot was in, then she would get her thigh in. And once her thigh was in, It’s game over.
Paul says in Eph 4 that when we are angry at each other, the devil gets his foot in the door.
“Foothold” in the Greek literally translates “topos”, which means place or location. When you give him place in your relationship, you’ve given him access to set up shop where he can run his business.
We need to be aware of Satan’s schemes.
One of his schemes is to divide. Satan loves to bring division to the body of Christ.
Satan schemes to cause those in the Kingdom of God to divide against themselves.
Why do you think God speaks so adamantly against greed, selfishness, envy, pride, hatred, anger, murder, stealing, lying, etc? Because these things DIVIDE. They Break relationships.
It is the antithesis of “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Satan wants to divide us and cause us to rebel against the Greatest commandment given by God.
Even Jesus taught that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand (Mt. 12:25).
Realize that Satan has limited ability and authority in this battle against the Kingdom of God.
Remember in Job 1, Satan comes before God, and God goes, “Where have you come from?” And Satan says, “From Roaming throughout the earth and going back and forth in it.” 1 Peter 5:8 says that Satan prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”
God says, you can do anything you want to the things around him, but on him you must not lay a finger.” God gives him limited access to what he can do to Job.
He doesn’t cry and complain “Ah God, that’s not fair.” but Satan takes it and runs with it.
See because Satan is creative. He’s clever. He’s witty. He can figure out ways to destroy the Body of Christ…or ways to have the Body of Christ to destroy itself
What a great way to destroy the Body of Christ by turning it’s members against each other, What a great way to destroy the kingdom of God by turning it’s subjects against each other in unforgiveness.
It’s great because it’s one of those devices where it’s so subtle, that we don’t realize that we’re being divided by unforgiveness.
Anger can’t be hidden. Hatred is obvious. Murder is the talk of the town.
But unforgiveness, no one has to know. It can be this deep rooted sin that hides itself deep in the heart of the offended one. You can keep it all to yourself.
As long as I just keep my distance
As long as I don’t have to be chummy with him.
As long as we don’t have to be too close.
We’ll just go to church on Fridays and Sundays and I’ll just make sure I sit on the other side.
Unforgiveness is so easy because it’s so easy to get away with.
And so Satan wittingly will scheme to root us in bitter unforgiveness.
But Paul says WE WILL NOT be outwitted by Satan, but we will expose darkness and be aware of his schemes.
We cannot tolerate unforgiveness, lest we let the DEVIL have his way in us.
EX: FCBC Retreat. I spent a lot of time with a guy named Kevin. He was obviously rejected, and spent time by himself a lot. No one talked to him. I spent a lot of time with him, because it was easy. I didn’t have to talk much. He had so much to say. SO much anger and bitterness because of all the rejection he’s received. Even the counselors have rejected him.
During the retreat, he kept telling me about this one retreat where he was uncontrollably angry. He kept coming back to this one time and just could not describe enough how much people pissed him off.
On the last night, he wanted to confess something to me, that was so shameful. He said that one time, he was so desperate, that he prayed to Satan to help him.
I was like “WHAT?@!!” That is a NO NO. Anyone who knows anything about Spiritual warfare knows that we are never to invite Satan into our lives. By doing so, you give him permission to have influence over you, and he takes you up on it and acts like one of those unwanted visitors who make themselves at home and never wants to leave.
Even when you engage in activities like ouiji board, or fortune telling, or séances, you invited Satanic influence in. But Kevin straight up asked the Devil to help him.
I hope that disturbs you, because that is extremely disturbing.
But guys, please listen. We will not be outwitted by Satan, we will be aware of his schemes.
When we insist and persist in unforgiveness, we are unwittingly giving Satan access to our lives. We are giving him a place, a topos, a foothold to set up shop, and build his business.
Please be aware of Satan’s schemes. AS crazy as it is for someone to pray to Satan, let us be aware of ways we may give permission for outside influence
We cannot tolerate unforgiveness; but MUST forgive as Christ forgave us. Both in Mercy, and in Grace.
In action and in Truth.
IN obedience to our King, and in defiance to our enemy.