"Tough" Love

7/28/25 Bible Thought (2 Corinthians 2)

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Love must be at the root of all biblical confrontation.

In 2 Corinthians 2 the apostle Paul begins by addressing an issue in the church and someone in need of forgiveness.

Now, some believe it was the immoral man from 1 Corinthians 5 who was sleeping with his stepmother. Others believe it was someone else in the church who was stirring up trouble by opposing Paul’s apostolic authority.

One of the difficulties in understanding some of 2 Corinthians arises from our lack of complete knowledge about what happened between the two letters. Paul’s plans from the first letter did change (2 Cor. 1:16) but the intervening events are subject to interpretation.

Paul made a painful visit to Corinth (2 Cor. 2:1) apparently to deal with some issues in the church. Then, Paul wrote a letter rather than revisiting the church with another painful visit (2 Cor. 2:2-4).

The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (ZIBBC) overviews the possibility that Timothy brought bad news back to Paul after he wrote 1 Corinthians. After which, Paul makes his painful visit and writes a now missing letter to the Corinthians. Later, Titus returns with good news that the Corinthians had responded positively to Paul’s letter, while also warning Paul of a continued threat to his apostolic authority. As a result, Paul writes 2 Corinthians.^[1]

Regardless of the specific nature of the situation, there are a few things that Paul’s confrontation can teach us about proper confrontation of sin.

First, the apostle Paul’s confrontation was established in personal anguish, and second it was ultimately rooted in love.

He explains,

“For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you” (2 Cor. 2:4).

Paul wanted to be clear regarding the nature of his confrontation. It wasn’t to hurt the offender or bring them pain—instead, love was his chief motivator.

Now, we live in a day and age where love is identified chiefly as affirmation.

People believe that if you love them, you will necessarily agree with their lifestyle and all their choices, no matter how sinful they might be.

But is this true love?

Does true love merely offer its approval in every instance, even if it isn’t what is best for someone? Is not a good parent’s disciple rooted ultimately in the love they have for their child?

Certainly, it’s not loving to make someone comfortable on a road where the bridge is out. The most loving thing you can do is warn people of the impending danger!

Thus it is in the church as well. Sorting out sin issues and divisiveness in the church isn’t to bully people. It’s not picking on people who are different, but it’s ultimately rooted in love.

The apostle’s “tough” love was to bring about true repentance that would result in forgiveness. Not just forgiveness before Christ (see 1 Jn. 1:9) but forgiveness before the body with the final goal of restoration!

Paul forgave them, even though the offense was more personal for him. Now the onus was on the church to forgive. This was so that they wouldn’t be outwitted by Satan, “for we are not ignorant of his designs” (2 Cor. 2:11).

Satan’s desire would be for the church to remain divided. Not only this, but he would desire for the man to remain unforgiven! Unforgiveness is the devil’s business! Certainly, if God in Christ was willing to forgive us of our myriads of sins, then forgiveness ought to be issued by believers to others as well.

Do we love others enough to tell them the bridge is out? Are our warnings rooted in love and personal anguish? And if the sinner responds with repentance, do we forgive them as Christ has?

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^[1] Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Romans to Philemon. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 195–196.