Grieve The Sinner
“I will grieve for many who sinned before and have not repented…” 2 Corinthians 12:21b
In the 1840s, Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis was a physician in Vienna who discovered that childbed fever, which was killing thousands of mothers after childbirth, was being spread by doctors themselves because they weren’t washing their hands after performing autopsies or working with infected patients. When Semmelweis insisted that doctors wash their hands with antiseptic before delivering babies, the medical community mocked him. His warnings were ignored. Doctors felt insulted that someone would suggest they were the cause of such suffering.
Semmelweis grew more desperate as the death toll rose. He wrote letters, argued passionately, and even broke down emotionally because he knew he had the cure, simple handwashing could save countless lives. But his warnings were rejected. Tragically, he was later committed to an asylum, and he died brokenhearted. It wasn’t until years after his death that germ theory proved he had been right all along.
The Apostle Paul is concluding his second letter to the Corinthian church in chapter twelve. It’s a special glimpse into his heart as a pastor revealing his deep love and care for the church. The Corinthians had a reputation for being influenced by their culture and stumbling into immorality. His first letter (1 Corinthians) addressed many of the concerns he had heard about, offering both correction and grace to urge the church to deal with their sin. Yet even after this, Paul heard that many still “had not repented.” But notice, he isn’t angry. Instead, he is grieved. In this, we see the very heart of Christ, who desires that all sinners would come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
Paul understood the danger they were in as they continued to live in "moral impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality" (v. 21). It broke his heart, much like Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis, who pleaded for doctors to wash their hands to save lives. If the Corinthians would simply repent and be washed by the Lord, the penalty for sin which is death, would be cured. But instead, they were refusing and continuing in their sin. This grieved not only the Apostle Paul but the Holy Spirit! We live in a society today that is not much different from Corinth. I live in Southern California, and the description Paul gives in verse 21 feels like a mirror of the culture around me. But does it break my heart? Does it move me to plead with those lost in their transgressions? If I’m honest, sometimes yes, but other times, I think, "Well, let them be."
But that’s not the heart of Christ. His desire is to use us, not to hate or dismiss those trapped in sin, but to be loving channels of His grace, offering them the gospel, "the power of God unto salvation" (Romans 1:16). As American Christians, myself included, we can become cold toward those who don’t think, live, or believe like us. We can be dismissive, even antagonistic, toward those walking in darkness. But we are called to be witnesses to them. Like Dr. Semmelweis, who tirelessly pleaded with his fellow doctors to embrace the cure, we must lovingly share the only cure that has saved us from death: Jesus Christ.
The Lord would have us be compassionate—not tolerating sin, but grieving over it as He does, and courageously offering the hope of repentance and new life. It should break our hearts, because it breaks His. Grieve for those in your life that are unrepentive, pray for those who refuse to repent, it may be Christ might save them by using you. “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart” Psalm 24:3 esv Pray they would wash and be clean in Jesus name.
Agape, Frank
