Not always easy, but important

Apr 07, 2026

Not Exploited by Satan

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If you forgive anyone for anything, I also forgive him—for indeed what I have forgiven (if I have forgiven anything) I did so for you in the presence of Christ, so that we may not be exploited by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes).

2 Corinthians 2:10-11 (NET)

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I thought this would be an interesting one on the heels of the “love your neighbor as yourself” verse.

Admittedly, I haven’t thought about bitterness & unforgiveness as exploitations of Satan.

Yet here we see Paul implying that it is.

Then Paul has the confidence to say that he’s not ignorant of Satan’s schemes.

What schemes could those be?

Are we too ignorant of them today?

Well I think the end goal of the Enemy is fairly straightforward:

Put as much distance between God and us as possible.

We know that Jesus bridged the gap between the Father and us. And that work leads us believers into eternal relationship with God.

But as we live here on the earth, we’re still prone to sin.

And every time we sin we are causing a little (or big) rift of separation between God and us.

That’s why we need to be constantly practicing the truth of 1 John 1:9:

Confess our sin and trust God to be faithful & just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I.e., close the gap.

Thwart the schemes of Satan.

Paul knew the damage a root of bitterness (and unforgiveness) can cause. Which is why he was so quick to forgive.

More than that logic, he also recognized how much God forgave him.

We ought to also recognize how much God forgives us.

Making it easy to forgive others.

(I know it’s not always easy, but it is important.)

— Ricky Ketchum

Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV®Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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