Rev. Ray and Pat Amos
Piling On
In football, the phrase “piling on” is used to describe the action of one or more players jumping on top of a player or group of players after a tackle has been made. The guilty team receives a 15-yard penalty for the infraction. The Corinthians were guilty of piling on and were flagged by Paul.
He had rebuked them for allowing sexual immorality in the body of Christ, such immorality as was not even found among the Gentiles (1 Cor 5:1-5). His rebuke worked, but they still couldn’t get it right.
Paul wrote a second letter, imploring them: “In my view, the majority of you have punished him well enough. So instead of continuing to ostracize him, I encourage you to offer him the grace of forgiveness and the comfort of your acceptance. Otherwise, if he finds no welcome back to the community, I’m afraid he will be overwhelmed with extreme sorrow and lose all hope. So I urge you to demonstrate your love for him once again” (2 Cor 2:6-8, VOICE).
Inciting a fellowship to “pile on” is one of Satan’s devices (2 Cor 2:11).
