Evangelical Free Church of Embarass

This week I found three stories about less-than-smart crooks. One is about a man who escaped from a Pennsylvania prison. As he was running from the law, he checked into a Comfort Inn. The clerk asked for identification. He looked in his wallet, and all he could find was his prison ID card, so he gave it to the clerk who promptly called the police, and he was arrested.

Another story was about a thief in France who, using a toy gun, went in to rob a gun shop. Not surprisingly, the man working behind the counter was a gun expert, and he recognized that the guy was holding a toy gun. He immediately contacted the police. It was another less-than-smart choice.

And then, there was a burglar in Tulsa, Oklahoma who went into a clothing store and lifted 12 items of clothing. He was very smart, in that he took the sensor tag off each of the 12 items. Unfortunately, he put them in his pocket, and as he left with his loot the alarm went off, and he was caught. All three men had made less-than-smart choices, and all three went off to court and to jail.

I did some checking in our yellow pages this week. There are three pages that advertise churches in the area, and there are 22 pages that advertise attorneys. In many of those lawyer ads, you will find the word “litigation.” You and I both know that lawsuits are commonplace in our society. They are promoted and encouraged, and attorneys advertise their services prominently. It seems like everyone is taking someone to court – it’s an everyday occurrence. AT&T is suing MCI. Football players’ widows are suing the NFL. A city worker is suing the Superior City Council. A pastor who was asked to leave his church is suing it because they won’t let him stay in the parsonage and use the church office.

“Off to Court You Go” is the norm. Did you know that the Bible actually talks about lawsuits? Today’s passage, in 1 Corinthians 6, covers the third issue Paul addressed in his letter to the church at Corinth. It has to do with disputes between Christians that end up in court. It’s recorded in the first eleven verses.

“Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church? I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers? Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your brethren. Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

Observations

Here are some observations I made from this text. First of all, the subject clearly is lawsuits – specifically, believers having disputes with other believers, and taking those fellow believers to court in order to deal with the problem.

Paul used an interesting form when addressing the issue: He asked questions. In the New American Standard translation, the eleven-verse passage contains ten questions. There are some interesting phrases in the text that help us get a sense for Paul’s tone. For instance, in verse 1 he said, “Does any one of you dare….?” Three times (verses 2, 3, 9), we have the phrase, “…do you not know….?” There’s another interesting phrase in verse 5: “I say this to your shame.” And verse 9: “Do not be deceived….” Do those phrases give you any sense of Paul’s state of mind as he was addressing this issue? First, it’s obvious he was serious about it. Second, I think he was upset about it and he was frustrated with the Corinthian believers. Third, there is a sense of warning in his tone. It was a very serious subject.

Some other phrases or words that are probably important to the text keep popping up: “The unrighteous” and “the saints”; “the church” and “the world”; “believers” and “unbelievers.” I think he was trying to remind them of the differences between the two groups of people.

The other word that appears often is “judge.” It is from the Greek word “krinos”, which generally means “to judge”, but also has many specific meanings, depending on context. The New American Standard translation, in verse 5, helps us understand what Paul meant by “judge” here. He asked the Corinthians if there was anyone among them wise enough to “decide between.” That’s the idea of judging here – deciding between. You have two parties who don’t agree, and the judging talked about is deciding between them – hearing what they have to say, and then deciding (judging) what should be done.

Paul was writing to people who grew up in the Greek culture and were intimately a part of it before they came to Christ. In Greek culture, lawsuits were commonplace, no different than today. The Greeks loved to debate and contend, and their courts were filled with lawsuits. “Off to Court” was their first choice for dispute resolution and it was an everyday thing before they came to Christ. As new Christians they continued that cultural practice.

Paul’s teachings

What did Paul say about this? And what was God saying through him to this church in Corinth? I have narrowed the eleven verses down to three main points Paul was trying to get across. In the first six verses, what he was saying is that you should not take your disputes between one another as Christians to a worldly court. Take them to someone wise and respected in the church. Remember, the specific situation here was disputes between Christians. I don’t think Paul was talking about criminal cases or civil cases involving breaking the laws of the land. I think he was talking about simple disputes among Christian neighbors. Maybe it was over property; maybe it was over debt – not getting paid promptly; or some other disagreement. Regardless, it was about Christians in the church having disputes with other Christians, and choosing to go to the courts to settle them. Paul’s message was simple: Don’t do that. If you have a dispute with one another, don’t take it to the world’s courts. Don’t resolve it through a lawsuit.

Paul asked the Corinthians why they couldn’t handle disputes among themselves. He told them they were competent and capable as a body of believers. God had surely put someone wise enough and respected enough in their church body who they could go to if they had a dispute, and trust that person to resolve it, instead of taking it to some unbeliever in the courtroom.

The second reason for Paul’s teaching is that there is no value in having believers bring their fight before the world. I believe that this is what Paul was implying when he said, “Why would you as believers bring your dispute to the unbelievers?” It would be like hanging out your dirty laundry for all the world to see. Paul believed that it wasn’t good to do that, because it wasn’t good for the church’s testimony. It would just provide more fodder and more ammunition to a world that already is against you.

For several years, there have been two pastors in the Twin Cities who have carried on a public debate with each other over doctrine. Debating doctrinal differences is fine, but they have chosen to do it publicly on the radio, in newspapers, and in public forums. Many believers think it’s a good thing, but unbelievers think it’s a joke and have choice comments about these two pastors.

I believe Paul was telling the Corinthians that they needed to be careful. They should have been able to handle these disputes within the church. There would be no value in bringing them out before the world.

I think that a third reason for Paul’s instruction is this. He implied that, if you have someone wise and respected in the church to help make judgments for you, it provides for a Biblical approach to resolving the dispute. You’re not guaranteed that when you go to “Judge Judy.” As Christians, I believe we would want a Biblical approach. If you can find someone in your midst who can help you through a disagreement, it will be done according to Scripture, by God’s Spirit, in His love, with His wisdom, and for His purposes. There is no guarantee that a court in the world would approach the issue in this way. So, Paul said to find a fellow believer who is wise and respected who can help.

There’s another very important teaching here. In verse 7 Paul makes a powerful statement: “Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another.” What he’s saying is that there is something even more significant than believers going to the court to sue each other, and it is that believers even have disputes. Paul told them that they were defeated even before going to court simply because they were involved in disputes. He felt so strongly about this point that he said that it might be better to just be wronged and cheated than to bring one another to court.

We have our chart of the 36 “One Another” teachings, relational teachings found in the New Testament. I read through it yesterday and could not find one that says, “Sue one another.” It’s not there. Do you want to hear some that are there, that might apply to disputes among Christians? Love one another; Regard one another as more important than yourself; Be kind to one another; Live in peace with one another; Bear with one another; Forgive one another; Confess your faults to one another; Be humble toward one another; Do not provoke one another; Do not lie to one another; Do not bite and devour one another; Do not speak against one another; Do not complain against one another. The Corinthians needed to get back to these basics as they addressed their disputes.

Application

I’ll tell you what: In some respects, society today is just like the Greek society in Paul’s day. The whole concept of lawsuits is just as commonplace and popular today. It’s the first choice in many cases – encouraged and promoted. There must be some application for us. Maybe some of you have been involved in a lawsuit and you know what it’s like. I’ve never been involved in a lawsuit, but from what I hear, whether you win or lose it is generally not a good experience.

Maybe right now you’re involved in a situation where you’re wondering, “What do I do? Do I pursue a lawsuit?” Let me give you some questions to ask prayerfully, as you decide what to do.

First of all, ask the question, “Who is my dispute with?” Is it with a fellow believer? If that’s the case, you know what the Bible teaches. Is it an unbeliever? Is it a group of people? Is it a company? The first thing you have to do is identify who your dispute is with.

Second, what’s the dispute all about? What’s the issue? Evaluate that, and ask yourself how significant it is. Is this issue worth pursuing a lawsuit and all that it involves? Evaluate whether it is “a mountain worth dying for.”

Third, ask, “Why would I want to take this dispute to court, and why would I want to sue?” Think honestly about your motives. Is it to defend my rights? Is it to punish someone and get even for what that person did to me? Is it for financial gain – “What can I get from it?” Often money is a major incentive. “We’ll help you get as much as possible,” promise the attorneys. Be honest. Is financial gain the motivation?

Is it to win, to prove myself right? Is it just a prideful thing on my part that I’m going to stubbornly pursue? Or, would I do this to see that justice is carried out? Am I doing this to clear my name and my reputation? Am I doing it to preserve a principle? If I am doing it to see that justice will take place, to clear my name and reputation, or to preserve a principle, I need to ask whether there are other ways to make those things happen.

Another question to ask: Win or lose, what will it cost in money and time? Usually these things are expensive and take up a lot of time. What about my family and friends? If I pursue this, I will take them along with me. What will it cost them? What will it cost me, as a believer who wants to have a testimony for Jesus Christ in the world?

“Off to Court We Go” might be a familiar tune to people of the world, one that they play daily. But, “Off to Court We Go” should be a tune that is very unfamiliar to a child of God. The tune we play, when a dispute comes up with another believer, should be a tune about the glory of God and what will honor Him. It should be a tune about what will build love and unity between this person and me. It should be a tune that talks about me growing in Christ’s likeness, and it should be a tune about my testimony to the world as I lift up Jesus Christ.