Work for Joy

Good morning again to you. Redeemer, welcome. If you're with us on a regular basis, welcome to you. Special welcome if you're visiting with us. And I know with colleges coming back into session in the last month or so, I mean, some of you are like, it's already halfway through the semester.

But welcome to the students that are with us as well. And if you're visiting with us, we hope that today we'll be uplifting to you. This is the time where we get to dig into God's Word together.

So I'm going to ask you if you would open your Bibles. We're in the New Testament book of 2 Corinthians. So if you would like to find 2 Corinthians, we're not all the way through chapter 1 yet, but we will be today.

2 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 23, and we're going to take it on through verse 11 of chapter 2. So I'll read God's Word for us, and you can listen, and then we'll ask the Lord's blessing on our time.

2 Corinthians 1:23

Paul writes,

Let's pray once more, shall we?

Father, will you open your Word to us as we look into it today, as we study. Father, help us to come with open hearts and minds. Let your Spirit, Lord, speak to us in specific ways.

You know our circumstances. You know our struggles. You know the victories that we've come through. And so we trust in your Spirit to do the good work.

We pray this in Jesus' name, our Savior. Amen. Amen. Well, now we don't exactly know everything about the situation here between Paul and this church.

And this is a very, very personal letter. I think the words I just read might be some of the most personal words that we've ever heard from the Apostle Paul in all of the New Testament.

But we do our best to try to reconstruct what's going on with the bits and pieces that we have here. From what we can piece together from not one but two letters that Paul wrote to Corinth here in our Bible,

we know that Paul planted this church and that he stayed here for about 18 months before moving on to other gospel work. Originally, he told them he was going to return for an extended visit.

He said maybe even a full winter. But he had to change his plans. He writes about this in 1 Corinthians, about how some nefarious individuals were using this change in plans to try to discredit him.

Here he says this in 1 Corinthians 4, verse 18. He says, Some are arrogant as though I were not coming to you, but I will come to you soon if the Lord wills.

1 Corinthians 4:18

And I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. So we know from history that Timothy delivers that first letter to the Corinthians.

He comes back to Paul and only he brings kind of some disturbing news, not good news. It seems that the problems that Paul had written to address in 1 Corinthians, they still persisted.

More than that, one particular individual in this church, we'll call him a ringleader, this offender had raised a personal attack, a direct attack on Paul himself.

And the effect of this was that it prompted Paul to abandon his plans to come to them for a lengthier stay. And what he had to do is he had to make what you might call an emergency visit, a crisis visit.

We've called this the painful visit because that's what it was. It wasn't pleasant. It was painful for both Paul and for the church because what happened was Paul confronted this ringleader and the church did not have his back.

They didn't. And it left Paul very pained by their response. He thought about returning. He thought about running right back there. Maybe make another crisis visit.

But in wisdom, Paul decided otherwise. And what he did instead is he wrote to them a third letter. I should say a second letter. We're not sure if it's a second or third.

What we call the severe letter. It's not a letter that we have in the Bible. But he wrote them this severe letter that he references several times here in 2 Corinthians.

So here we are. We've picked things up in the end of chapter 1. We've heard Paul talk to them about his terrible afflictions and trouble in Asia.

We've heard him say, hey, I have been simple in my approach. You've seen simplicity. I've been completely sincere. Those qualities have marked my ministry.

And now Paul's ready to give them finally the reason for why he did not return for another visit. Why didn't I make a second painful visit to you?

Here's why. Verse 23, it was to spare you. To spare you guys. God is my witness, he writes. It was to spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth.

He says, I had pure motives. There's nothing nefarious here. I did it out of consideration for what would be best for all of you. Let me ask you just a quick question just to kind of make it real for us.

Have you ever disappointed anybody in your life? Ever? Maybe once? And maybe it was a family member like a child. You know, they were disappointed that there was a change in plans.

Maybe it was a spouse or just a really good friend. And you didn't do it. You know, God is your witness. You did not do it because you're a promise breaker or because you just didn't care or you forgot or got lazy.

Maybe you did it in light of, say, some new information or upon deeper reflection about what would really be best. And you had to change your plans.

I want you to understand, this is Paul. Paul, he decided against making a second painful visit and he knew it would have been really painful, perhaps more painful than the first one.

Because he would have had to confront them even more severely. So, what he does instead in lieu of a visit is he writes the severe letter. Imagine if he had gone and had to say these things in person.

And even later here in this very letter, he tells these Corinthians in chapter 13, verse 2. He says, hey, you know, I'm going to come again.

And when I come, if I still find you guys disobedient, what he writes is, I will not spare you.

But he's not there yet. No, in patience, in godly wisdom, Paul understands that being really stern right now with his use of authority, which he was capable of doing, which he had done at other points and other places, he knew that wasn't the best approach right now.

And so, what he decided to do was diffuse the bomb, or maybe you could say pop the cork on it and let things kind of breathe for a while. He had the painful visit.

He's praying for them, I'm sure. Let them think about things. And isn't there wisdom in this sometimes? For any of us who've ever been in a confrontation, in a relational difficulty, sometimes immediately going after it is not the best thing.

It's a wiser course. It can be an act of love. And with Paul, it was exactly that. It was an act of love toward these Corinthians that he didn't come again.

So, he goes on in verse 24. And what's he say? He says, not that we lord it over your faith. What he's saying is, you know, we don't domineer you.

He is their apostle. He has rightful authority. But I'm not exercising it in some kind of tyrannical sort of way. In fact, later, in two chapters from now, chapter 4 of this letter, Paul will even describe himself as a servant of theirs for Christ's sake.

He says, we work with you for your joy. Joy is the goal. The joy of seeing full reconciliation. That's always been the goal with Paul. So, verse 1, chapter 2, verse 1.

I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you. For if I cause you pain, it's like who's going to make me glad? And what I need from you guys, I need you to make me rejoice.

I need to be glad again. And that's the goal. Again, our work with you has always been for joy. And we want you to have true and lasting joy.

The kind of joy that's going to enable you to stand firmly in your faith. Verse 3, Paul goes on. He refers to the severe letter now. He writes in verse 3, And I wrote that letter as I did, so that when I came, I might not have to suffer pain

from those who should have made me rejoice. We remember that Paul planted this church. I mean, I love you guys. You know, you're my church for over 20 years now, but I didn't plant you.

I can only imagine if I had been the one that really started this work that we call Redeemer. And that's what Paul was to this church. He was their planter.

He was their apostle. He was their spiritual father. They were like his spiritual kids. Remember, Paul had great joy in the children here in this church, like any parent would have with children.

Have you remember the time that maybe if you're a parent, the time that you brought your children into the world and the joy that it gave you?

Or joy from adoption? The Bible talks about kids. Psalm 127 reminds us that our children are a gift and a blessing from the Lord. Proverbs 17, verse 6 describes, get this, grandchildren as a crown.

Proverbs 17:6

Grandchildren are a crown for their grandparents. Gifts, blessings, crowns. Kids and grandkids should give us absolute joy. And we love taking joy in our children and in our grandchildren.

And Paul very much wanted that. He wanted that. And honestly, it was right for him to expect that here in Corinth, to take joy in them. But he had to exercise some discipline on his kids.

He had to write that severe letter. He had to give them the discipline that that letter was. It was necessary. And it wasn't easy for him to do it.

That's what he reveals to us in verse 4. He says, I wrote to you guys as I did, but I wrote it out of much affliction and anguish of heart. Much affliction.

You could say it was gut-wrenching for Paul. It caused him inner turmoil to have to write those words. It created anguish in his heart. It literally broke his heart to have to do it.

But he had to. He tells them, Guys, I was literally crying as I wrote this severe letter. I mean, I spilled many tears. You know, a flood of tears.

I can imagine he's trying not to smudge the page, the ink. I think commentators on this passage talk about the enormous emotional energy Paul would have expended on this letter, on this situation.

And that reminds us that discipline is never painless. It's never painless for the one who receives it, but it's also not painless for the ones that have to give it.

I remember years ago when Terry and I were new parents. You know, our kids are almost all grown now. And back when we were new parents, you know, you create these children, you bring them into the world, and you love them.

They're gifts. They're a blessing. And they're so adorable. And they're so cute. And you never thought you could love anyone more than you love your kids.

But then these adorable, cute kids do bad things, right? They do bad things. Even my kids have done bad things. I know it's hard to believe.

No. They disobey. And they test limits, don't they? If you're a parent right now of a kid, say, any age, they test limits. Teenagers, you should be better to your parents.

And little kids, yeah, all right. But whether you're five years old or fifth grade or a senior in high school, you're always kind of testing your limits, some more than others.

And so we really felt like the Bible teaches, we believed and still believe, although we're past the stage now, that sometimes physical punishment is necessary.

Not for every infraction, please hear me. Not for the spilled milk or, you know, just the unkind word. But for us, we reserved it for defiance.

When their hearts were defiant. When your child knows what they're doing is wrong and chooses to do it anyway. When they hear what you say and choose not to obey.

When they're challenging your authority by being defiant. We believed in self-controlled, loving, private spanking. We did. And it was painful.

You know, I was spanked as a child when I grew up. I knew what it was like, but I was now in the driver's seat. And I didn't realize how hard it was going to be.

It was hard. It was painful for me. Painful for the kids too, I'm sure. But we did not enjoy it. We took no pleasure in it. But we knew it was for their good.

We knew that the Bible speaks of the dangers of sparing the proverbial rod. I don't recommend an actual rod. The proverbial rod. We knew that as Proverbs chapter 22 verse 15 says, we knew that folly is bound up in the heart of a child.

Proverbs 22:15

And it takes the rod of discipline to drive it from them. And when you have seen the process of discipline work out, as we did, when you have seen the restoration of your child to the circle of blessing, where your child now obeys and submits their will

back to the parent's authority, when you've seen that folly be driven from their heart, and you know, sometimes it doesn't stay driven. It comes back.

But you know what else returns, at least right away in the moment, as you're hugging and reaffirming your love and seeing smiles again? You know what returns is joy.

We would see that literally, the joy returned to the household because our child knew that they were loved. They knew our abundant love for them as parents, and that's exactly what Paul's talking about at the end of verse 4.

The abundant love, the return of joy. He goes on in verse 5. Now with an eye not on himself or even only on the offender, the troublemaker in this church, now Paul has an eye on the effects of this man's sin

and the damage that it's ravaged on the whole church. Verse 5. Now if anyone, if this offender has caused pain, he has caused it not so much to me, but in some measure, not to put it too severely, to all of you.

He's talking, Paul's talking about relational damage because this church and its relationship with their apostle Paul has really suffered. And yet in verse 6, we realize, and this is absolutely huge, don't miss this, it's a big development, we come to learn that the church

has now actually responded rightly. They have heeded the correction of the severe letter from Paul. And we learn that the majority in the church, that's interesting, it's not a 100% vote, it's a majority, they've done what Paul has called for.

They have reprimanded the offending party. They've taken decisive action upon this ringleader. And we don't even know who he is, he's not named, we're not even told precisely the nature of his sin, what he did.

We know at the very least that he opposed Paul and challenged his apostolic authority. Who knows, maybe he was caught up in some specific sin as well.

But we now learn that the church has enacted a process of church discipline on this man so that Paul can now say, it's enough. It is sufficient.

The offender has expressed sorrow. The troublemaker has experienced conviction. And it's all happened because of, and in light of, the discipline that the majority administered.

Again, we don't know exactly what form their discipline took. Most scholars think it was probably some form of exclusion from the church. A, you are not welcome in this fellowship until you repent and cease from what you're doing.

So this offender was probably excluded from the fellowship of the church. You know, these days, it's not such a big deal. Somebody gets mad.

Usually, they'll beat the church leadership to the punch. Before they can exercise discipline, they'll get mad and leave. And there's, what, 50 other churches across town to pick.

That's typically what happens in our day, unfortunately. But if we remember what the ancient world is like at this time, and specifically the city of Corinth, there's really one church here.

It may have had many manifestations across town and homes, but there's one church. So this is a very big deal, especially when the civic authorities are not looking too kindly on Christians right now.

Who are you going to have? So Paul writes in verse 7, it's enough. So, now, you should rather turn to forgive him, verse 7, forgive and comfort him, or, he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.

So I beg you, verse 8, I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. And notice he says, he doesn't say, give your love again to him, it's always been there.

It never left. It's now simply reaffirm it. You know, it's strange, when we read these words from Paul, we almost get the impression that the church has maybe been a little too severe.

that maybe Paul is needing to kind of nudge them, maybe more than nudge them, like, remind them, like, okay, the discipline did what it was supposed to do.

And maybe now you're overcorrecting? The pendulum swinging too far back the other way? We ask ourselves, is this what's happening? Has this church swung the pendulum too far the other way?

Gone from inaction and being unwarrantedly lenient toward this man to now being overly severe? It seems like maybe. And Paul does not want to see this man overwhelmed, he says, with sorrow.

Literally, the term here, overwhelmed, is it has the sense of, like, drowning, being consumed or drowning in one's grief. This man's really repentant.

Paul says, don't let him drown in his sorrow. It's time for you to reaffirm your love for him. That love that never left, that was always there.

The very same love that's been driving this whole process with him. This necessary but painful process. Now, it's time for you to publicly forgive the man and give him comfort.

You know, sometimes we in the church do this well and sometimes we get it backward too. Sometimes we give all the grace and the comfort and the welcome to persons claiming to be Christian who still live unrepentant lives.

That's out of balance. And sometimes we do the opposite. We have some among us that maybe fall into a sin and we never want to forgive. There's no grace for you when there should be, after repentance, there should be restoration, full forgiveness.

Church, we have to get this right. We have to get this right. Sin, repentance, forgiveness, restoration. And all of it together, when we get to restoration, that's when we see the return joy.

Paul goes on to offer them just three quick things in the last three verses, verses 9, 10, and 11. The first thing he offers them is he tells them, guys, you know this was a test.

That's what he says. A test of your character. A test to see if you'll be obedient in everything. The second thing he wants them to know is that their offer of forgiveness as a church is not coming without or before Paul's own offer of forgiveness.

He says, I also forgive. In fact, Paul even goes so far as to kind of downplay the offense that this man caused to him personally. He tries to depersonalize it as if it were not a very big deal when we know it actually was.

He doesn't do this from dishonesty but from wisdom and humility. I'm fine, guys. Let me lead the way in completely forgiving him first. And finally, the third thing he does in verse 11 is he closes with a quick reminder

about spiritual warfare. The spiritual battle that we're in, he says, do what I'm telling you now. Forgive and comfort and complete the restoration process with this man.

Bring him back into your fellowship. Verse 11, so that we won't be outwitted by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his designs. Literally, of his schemes.

Paul's saying, we know his tricks. We know his playbook. We know what kind of plays he likes to run. We know what our great adversary is up to, what he's like and how he tries to work which is to meddle in these kinds of situations and tempt us and speak lies to us and further escalate the conflict.

Well, this morning, I believe Paul is modeling for us how we should deal with damaging sin in our lives with loving confrontation and I think there is some application here.

certainly, yes, at one level in the church but I think also possibly beyond this realm. Some of this, we can and should apply in our homes and perhaps in other relationships as well.

Now, there's quite a bit to digest here and so maybe as a way to help us do that, let me just try to organize a few points for us. Let me try to put some things into order that I think Paul is giving us.

I'm going to offer you six points today. I know it's a lot but we'll move quickly. Six points and the first one I'm going to start with might seem rather obvious but at the risk of stating the obvious, we're going to do it anyway.

Point number one is this. Sin is damaging to us and disruptive to our relationships. Sin is damaging to us personally and disrupting to our relationships.

you know, I think it would be enough if sin was only damaging to us and it didn't affect other people but that's not the way it usually works.

Sin corrupts our hearts and minds. Yes, it leads us down destructive paths if we don't put it in check and confess it. It confuses us about what's really good.

Sin can delude us and numb us and when we keep giving in to it, it gets worse. Sin is damaging to us in that way but you know what? Today, that's not even Paul's real focus.

His focus is on how disruptive sin is. You know, it's ironic what we don't know. We don't know the nature of the offender's sin. We don't know his name.

We don't know if he's given in to, you know, rivalry and selfish ambition or if he's meddling in idolatry in Corinth or if he's caught up in immorality as we know was a problem in the church.

Here's what we do know. We do know how it affected the relationships. It disrupted them. And really, ever since the Garden of Eden with that first couple and their very first sin, that's what sin brought.

Disruption. First and foremost, it disrupted Adam and Eve's relationship with God. But then, you know, right away, we get to chapter 3 as those words of the curse are spoken.

We see that it disrupted their relationship with each other, with husband and wife. So that now that there would be strife in the marriage and jealousy and a competitive desire to lead or to respond by being harsh.

And here in this church in Corinth, sin had certainly disrupted the relationships here too between the apostle and this church because of this offender.

It created a ripple effect that ruined what good work the church had going because the apostle was alienated from them. And that's why sin and interpersonal situations cannot go unchecked because it will do not just damage, it will also bring disruption.

Number two. Second point. Though painful, number two, though it's painful, wise confrontation is needed. It's needed.

And I mean, talk about painful. Let's start with Paul. What did he tell us? He said, my severe letter that I wrote, it came out of great anguish of heart.

I was heartbroken. I had much affliction. It was gut-wrenching for me. I had to write a tear-soaked letter. This was painful for Paul to do.

He did not take any pleasure in. It was hard. It was a hard thing he had to do. And sometimes confrontation is hard. It's not easy. And we have to do it.

I would venture to guess that most of us don't like confrontation. And a few of you that say, oh, I do, I love confrontation. Well, maybe in certain circumstances, but probably not as a general rule.

Confrontation's not easy. You know what I prefer? Avoidance. Right? Like, just avoid it and it'll resolve. It'll go away if I ignore it. And that's what I prefer.

I prefer things to just get better all by themselves, right? Oh, look, everything went away. Everything's fine, I guess. When it's not.

Confrontation comes with the risk, doesn't it? You know what the risk is? Is that you're going to get the person you're confronting upset. People don't like to be confronted.

Feelings get hurt. Relationships get impacted. But there are times when it's worth it. Desperately worth it. And Paul knew this was one of those times.

You see, Scripture tells us to overlook offenses sometimes. It tells us that we need to bear with each other. You know? We don't have to make a major confrontation out of every little thing that happens.

But there comes a point where confrontation is necessary. Paul knew it was necessary. That's why he didn't just walk away, sail off to another part of the empire, I'll go plant a new church somewhere else.

Well, he did that, but he didn't want to give up on this one. He loved them. He cared about them. Even when they had rejected him. That's the true test of love, isn't it?

When it's still there when you've been rejected. And Paul also profiles something else for us here, and I would say that's his wisdom. He's wise in the way he confronts them.

So, first what he does is he writes the first letter to the Corinthians and kind of outlines some of the problems and hints that there are some rivalries already in chapter 1 of 1 Corinthians.

And then he leaves, and then the trouble really starts to spiral, and he has to write the severe letter. Before that, he made a painful visit.

But he didn't make two painful visits, did he? He made only one because Paul had enough wisdom to know how much this church could take at one time.

And so he says, I refrain from coming again on another painful visit. I postpone doing that. Instead, I sent you this tear-soaked, stern letter.

And I would say there's lessons here for us. Sometimes, face-to-face confrontation is needed. But sometimes, not right away. Not this very instant when feelings might be hot, when the situation might be very volatile.

Listen, if the Apostle Paul could give this bad-behaving church, these bad-behaving kids of his, a cooling-off period, then maybe we could too.

Paul also shows us wisdom by not stomping his fists down, lording authority over them. He says, I didn't domineer. I didn't come in with an iron fist.

You know what else he doesn't do? He doesn't over-personalize the conflict, which is really hard to do when you're at the center of it. He doesn't make it about himself.

If anything, he takes steps to depersonalize the conflict. But all the while, when he's doing these things, exercising that wisdom, never do we see Paul weaken any godly standards.

He doesn't fudge from the full truth. This is not a conflict avoider, a truth-bender, so nobody gets hurt. He always, always keeps his eye on God's standard and on the goal.

And of course, the goal is restoration. It's a lot of wisdom here. Next point, number three. Point number three is to know that sorrow and repentance are key, maybe I should say are critical, before restoration can happen.

Sorrow and repentance, these are key before restoration can happen. Now again, we learn this a bit indirectly in verses six and seven, but if we're paying attention, we see what has happened.

Sorrow and repentance have happened. The church has issued its decision, administered its discipline, we think probably publicly in a gathered worship service.

They have publicly put this offending man on notice that he is not welcome in the fellowship until he repents, and it's been effective. Paul says, what you've done was sufficient.

It's enough. The man is deep in godly sorrow for his sin, and then restoration comes. Notice when. It's after that repentance. And we know that's true of our own relationship with God.

Reconciliation to God the Father and to each other does not happen before repentance. Without repentance, please hear me, the work of Christ's cross cannot apply to your heart.

You have to first repent. And we can't bypass this step. We can't bypass repentance, and I gotta tell you, too often today, in some circles, this is what's happening.

You wanna make Jesus your friend? You wanna get closer to God? Great! Sing some songs with us. We have good coffee. We're gonna have a new foyer, maybe?

But repentance can't be bypassed. And this is the whole reason for the discipline process here, to get to this, to produce this fruit, and that's what repentance is.

It is a fruit. It's the very same fruit that John the Baptist once preached about down by the muddy Jordan River when he had some repentance folks come and repent of their sins and be baptized, and he had some other folks that came out just to watch, just to see the spectacle, because John was apparently a spectacle.

And what did he say to those religious leaders who were not repentant? He said, you need to produce that fruit. Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

Here's how Paul's later going to describe this appropriate process of grief and sorrow and how it's meant to lead to repentance. Chapter 7, 2 Corinthians chapter 7, I want you to hear his words.

2 Corinthians 7 · chapter mention

Verses 9 and 10, he says this, as it is, I rejoice not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. point number three is to always remember that sorrow and repentance are key before restoration can happen.

Let's go on to number four. Point number four. Discipline can be underdone and overdone. Discipline can be underdone or overdone. Let's talk about it being underdone.

I'm guessing that might be a word that was on Paul's mind at the time before he heard of the response. Just after he left from the painful visit those many months ago, this is underdone.

I sure wish the Corinthian church would have given me their backing against that ringleader. I wish they would have stood up with me, stood by me.

Their response was very, very underwhelming. That's what I would call discipline underdone. They were not willing to join Paul in standing up against this sinful man.

And yet, by the grace of God, after that severe letter and some time to process with the Holy Spirit, no doubt, working on hearts, we know that the church had finally come through, right?

They did what was needed with this offender. And they did it by majority. They ruled that this man needed to be put into the process of church discipline.

And yet, what happens now? What almost sneaks in without them even realizing it? Almost as if there's some sinister dark force out there that's prowling around looking for an opportune moment to meddle in a process.

It looks almost like they're about to make an overcorrection. Like they're going to overdo the discipline. Were it not for Paul's careful words of counsel and his direction here.

And so he says, hey, don't let this pendulum swing too far now in the other direction, guys. We don't know how he learned of this. Maybe through Titus, who he sent with a severe letter.

Maybe through some other reports and members of other households that visited Paul in Ephesus. But he somehow learned that this ringleader was deeply sorrowful.

And he says to them, you see that now, he is repentant. He's almost, from what I hear, overwhelmed by his sorrow. And it's looking like almost worldly grief.

And worldly grief produces death. And we don't want that. So recognize his godly grief and don't be overly severe. Don't hold anything against this man now that he is sorrowful and repentant.

Reaffirm your love for him. Verse 8. Verse 7. You should turn to forgive and comfort him now. Include him again now fully, fully restored into your fellowship.

You know, I talked about disciplining our small children years ago, a few moments ago. And I can vividly remember that. I don't remember the spanking.

I remember the hugs. You know? I remember the tears of joy because there was a restoration that was happening in our family. And so there was a warm embrace.

There was a reassurance of love. There was encouragement from parents. There was a time. There is a time for that. There's a time for both. Isn't that the principle behind Ecclesiastes 3 to remind us that there's a time for everything?

What does it say in Ecclesiastes 3 verses 4 and 5? Here's just a couple of antitheses. The writer says there's a time to weep and there's a time to laugh.

Ecclesiastes 3:4

There's a time to embrace and there's a time to refrain from embracing. To apply the principle here, I think we would say there's a time to discipline and there's a time to restore.

Because when there's repentance and godly sorrow, this is the time to embrace again. So remember this, parents, remember this, church, we can underdo and we can overdo biblical discipline.

Next point, number five. Number five. Satan schemes to undercut healthy discipline. Satan schemes, he schemes in a lot of ways, but one specific way we see here is he schemes to undercut

healthy discipline. I mean, do we even have to say this? Again, don't we know that he is in fact that roaring lion on the prowl? And he's looking for someone to devour.

Paul reminds this church and it's a reminder for every church and for every household and every one of us that Satan has his wits. and he seeks to outwit God's people.

And one of the ways that he does it is by getting us to underdo and avoid healthy biblical discipline or by getting us to overdo it and be overly severe.

We ask ourselves, are there homes where discipline is underdone? And are there homes where discipline is overdone? And probably, yeah, that's the case.

I can probably say my home's been that. At some points. We ask ourselves, are there churches where people fall into sin and repent but still find themselves permanently and completely rejected?

Never restored? Sadly, I'm sure there are. And Satan is pleased with that. For him, it's a win. And we must avoid that. And are there also churches where people fall into sin and find themselves completely and permanently

affirmed and never confronted because maybe sin has been redefined or it's just ignored? Sadly, there are those too. And you and I should do all that we can to avoid either of these extremes.

Satan schemes. Satan schemes. And he schemes in a lot of different ways. And one of the ways that he schemes is to outwit godly leaders and godly parents by undercutting healthy discipline.

He undercuts all of the stages and elements. Starting with the recognition of sin and how damaging it is. Then moving on to the wise confrontation process.

That critical step where sorrow and repentance over sin are required. He wants to trick us into skipping past that one. And the very last and best step, the bestowal of forgiveness and the reaffirmation of love.

He'll try to outwit us here too. He almost got the Corinthian church on this one. We cannot let Satan outwit us, church, because when we do, we miss the last part, the last stage.

And it's the best part and we will save the best for last. This is the sixth and final point, number six. It's to know that the aim, the aim of loving discipline is restoration and a return to joy.

That is the aim of loving discipline. Restoration and a return to joy. How many times does Paul mention these key words here in our passage?

He uses the word painful like five different times. But you know, he also uses the word joy or a form of it and he uses it just as many if not more times.

Joy. Verse 24, we work with you for joy. Verse 3, I felt sure that my joy would be the joy of you all. And, if you haven't noticed, this whole process of discipline is surrounded by love.

He talks about abundant love. And once a person in sin passes through the God-ordained process to restore them, there can be joy again. A return to joy.

Because that's what a forgiving, loving, comforting, growing community of imperfect saints will know and feel and experience when they're obedient.

obedient. So Paul says, I gave you this test. It was always about more than just one offender and a weak church that didn't do the right thing.

It was a test to see if you're obedient. And when you're obedient, you're going to see loving discipline move a sinner through the stubbornness of their sin to sorrow and repentance and find that place where they can be receiving God's forgiveness and comfort.

And that's going to culminate in them being restored and in all of you being able to reaffirm your love as the family of God. And when this happens, Paul says, this is all joy.

So church, let's remember this morning that sin is damaging but it's also disruptive to relationships. Let's remember that when God has given you a role and you're in authority over someone or have a relationship with someone that sometimes

wise confrontation may be needed even if it's painful. Let's never forget or bypass the critical step of godly sorrow and repentance. It is a first step before restoration.

And let's also remember that godly discipline whether in the church or in the home or in a relationship somewhere that you have, it is easy to underdo it and it's also easy to overdo it.

We can go to extremes and let's never forget that we have an enemy out there who schemes, always schemes against us. But if we are faithful, we will see the loving aim of all discipline which is restoration

and a return to joy. let me ask you if you bow your head and stand with me as the team comes and let's pray.

Lord, I don't know, maybe right now there are some of us here this morning that can pinpoint a situation that we're in or maybe something from the not too distant past where Lord, there is an application to what we've been talking about here in one of these steps.

Father, maybe there are struggling parents here this morning that need this fresh reminder of this biblical and healthy process. Lord, if we were not sinners, we wouldn't need a healthy process of discipline but Lord, you know we are.

you sent your son to save us. We also know from your word that discipline is not pleasant, it's painful. Hebrews chapter 12 says no discipline at the time is pleasant, it's painful but we can be trained by it.

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

We can grow in our faith, grow in wisdom, grow in purity. We can be trained by it, Lord. And you also say in Hebrews that it produces a harvest of righteousness and Lord, that's what we want.

That's what we want for our lives, harvests of righteousness. That's what we want in our homes, a harvest of righteousness. And so we pray, Lord, committing ourselves to strive after your principles, to do it according to your ways and Lord,

keep the sinful impulses and the flaws that we have at bay within us, Lord, and let us never forget that we are being schemed against. But you are stronger, you are more powerful and you have all wisdom and knowledge, Lord.

We can count on you for all the support that we need and we have it by your Holy Spirit. We thank you this morning. We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.