Sunday, January 25, 2015
TEXT: 2 CORINTHIANS 2:1-11
Key Verse: “So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow” (2 Corinthians 2:7).
The penitentiary, that is, the prison, is meant to correct the ills of society. Statistics reveal that instead of rehabilitating offenders, jail terms in prisons tend to harden the majority of criminals. They come out of prisons worse than they went in because of their belief that the society hated them for even sending them to jail.
In the Corinthian church, indiscipline became commonplace to the point of destroying the very spiritual fabric of the church. Apostle Paul, as the supervising shepherd of the church, provided a remedy by the excommunication of a member who was found guilty of fornication.
Although this particular member repented of his sin, he was left in the cold. Apostle Paul had to write this second epistle that superceded his earlier instruction to lift the discipline of the errant but penitent member. He reasoned that an endless discipline instead of correcting an ill, could harden the errant disciple in his sins.
Church discipline is necessary and essential to the spiritual health of the church. But an endless and erratic discipline without grace could harden the disciplined. In our homes, parents should discipline their erring children with appropriate punishment that is commensurate with the offence. Besides, the guilty must be punished to enable him lead a better life and not necessarily to snuff life out of him altogether.
As we maintain an uncompromising stance in keeping God’s law with regards to discipline in the family, church and society, let’s do so from God’s clear perspective - the ability to temper justice with mercy.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: ACTS 24 - 25
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Discipline without love is cruelty.
Higher Everyday for Youths - Link: http://highereveryday.dclmhq.org/
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