Transcript

Wear Your Suit But Don't Bring One

1 Corinthians 6:1-8
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Pastor Randy Smith

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Despite the repeated warnings, neither Julie nor I were prepared for the sudden changes we were about to face. The encounter took us by surprise and called us to make several adjustments in our lifestyle in order to survive. Though we still carry many Midwest tendencies, after four years we are beginning to adapt to life in the Northeast.

Aggressive personalities and eating dinners after 6:00 p.m. Pork rolls, hard rolls and cheese steaks at the diner. Wa-Wa's and Acme's. Jug handles and parkway exits. Boardwalks. Bennies. Boroughs. Tide clocks, jetties, greenheads. Unless you live in New Jersey, these are all foreign concepts. You don't go "grocery shopping," you go "food shopping." You don't go "sledding," you go "sleigh riding." You carry your "pocketbooks," and not your "purses." You walk your child in the "carriage," and not the "stroller." And you definitely don't drink "pop," you drink "soda."

Although nobody's says they live in Hampshire, Mexico or York, it's perfectly acceptable to eliminate the "New" and tell people you are from Jersey. There are no "beaches" in New Jersey, only the "shore." And when you go to the shore, you never go "over to the shore," you always go "down to the shore," regardless of where you are coming from. We learned that not everybody here is Italian nor do they all pronounce the state "New Joisey." We also quickly concluded that the state, as we were led to believe, really isn't one big oil refinery after all.

These adjustments though rather extreme, were nothing compared to the adjustments I needed to make when I first gave my life to Jesus Christ over 15 years ago. I, like many at that time, believed following God was nothing more than a verbal profession. Little did I realize that He was calling for a total transformation of my lifestyle. Little did I realize until I began to study the Scriptures that the Lord's ways are diametrically opposed to the ways of the world. Possibly the greatest evidence that we have truly come to know Jesus Christ is when we have eyes to see things differently than we have ever seen them before.

All too often we unwittingly bring habits from our old way of living into our Christian life. Yet what might have been perfectly acceptable before is now a sure recipe for disaster in our own spiritual lives and the corporate life of the church.

The church in Corinth is a prime example of this spiritually immaturity and flawed way of living. We already learned in chapters 1-5 that this church had many of their own problems, problems because they assumed their lifestyle in the world required no change of behavior once they became a Christian.

They had a fleshly and worldly mindset (3:3, 19). They boasted about their favorite leader (1:12). They esteemed the wisdom and philosophy of the world (2:1; 3:19). They were filled with jealously, strife and arrogance (3:3, 5:2). They ignored sexual immorality (5:1). And this just touches the tip of the iceberg! Now as we begin chapter 6, assuming there was nothing wrong with it, they brought another worldly tendency into the church.

Permit me to tell you about that right now.

Litigation was extremely common in antiquity. Law courts were set up all over the land. Few efforts were ever made to mediate before running to the courts to argue and defend and protest. The culture was established on this principle and the new believers in Corinth saw nothing wrong with bringing this attitude into the church.

Paul states his concern in verse 1. "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?"

The Apostle is not denying the fact that conflict exists even amongst Christians. Conflict is a part of life and often used by the Lord to strengthen relationships when resolved in a biblical manner. As long as we dwell in this fallen world, conflict between individuals is an inescapable fact of life.

What greatly annoyed the Apostle Paul was not the fact that conflicts exist, but the fact that these Christians were actually engaged in bitter lawsuits against one another. They then exasperated this offense by taking their grievances before unbelievers, thus destroying their testimony in the eyes of the world. The specific cases were immaterial in Paul's eyes. What aggravated him so much was the fact that this practice was actually occurring in the church! "(How) dare (you)," he said in verse 1,"Go to law before the unrighteous!"

The great expositor, G. Campbell Morgan said Paul expressed a balance between amazement and indignation. He was shocked while at the same time expressed righteous anger. Remember, this was the church that boasted about their spiritual superiority while they tolerated a man sleeping with his stepmother and now lawsuits amongst brothers in Christ. It doesn't take much to realize Paul's righteous frustration.

Paul's response is justified, but how would the church respond to his correction? Lest this immature and arrogant church disagree with the Apostle, Paul listed six reasons in the following seven verses why lawsuits among Christians are inexcusable. These are the six points contained in your sermon outline.

How important can this subject be?

According to Ken Sande, "This is radical teaching in today's litigious and rights-orientated culture! Peace and unity among Christians is so essential to our witness for Christ that God commands us to take unresolved legal issues to the church rather than to the civil courts. Many pastors have neglected to teach regularly on this passage; so most Christians are completely unaware of this command or believe that it no longer applies. Worse yet, many churches deliberately ignore this passage and do nothing to help their members settle their legal disputes in a biblical manner" (Sande, The Peacemaker, p. 54).

This is the first time I have ever addressed this topic from the pulpit. We would do well this morning to listen to Scripture, understand this exhortation and apply these principles, so that our lives may give evidence to ourselves and to a watching world of our new relationship to Jesus Christ.

1. WE WILL JUDGE THE WORLD (verse 2)

The first reason we should avoid lawsuits amongst ourselves according to the Scriptures is found in verse 2. In the first sentence Paul asks, "Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world?

The word "saints," though commonly misused today, may simply be translated "holy ones." Paul used it often in this letter (six times - even in verse 6:1) to refer to all who have been made holy by the blood of Christ. All the Christians in Corinth were called saints. In other words, according to the Bible, every Christian is a "saint." We may not always act like it (like the Corinthians), but in the sight of God, we are forgiven and righteous and holy in Christ (1:8).

The Apostle goes on to say that we, the saints, will at the end of the age "judge the world." Much ink has been spilled by commentators to determine exactly when and where this judgment will occur. Some believe it will occur during a Millennial Kingdom. Others say it is our participation with Christ at the Great White Throne Judgment. Others take it more generally to speak of our status as we reign with Christ throughout eternity (see Jn. 5:22; Ac. 17:31; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 2:26-27; 20:11-12; 22:5).

To get caught up in these details was not Paul's point. Speaking to people who already had an over-realized eschatology (4:8), Paul kept his comments vague to not deter from the primary point he was trying to make. And his point is found in the second half of the verse. "If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts?" In other words, if we're going to be seated on God's Supreme Court one day, can't we handle the trivial matters of this life ourselves without running to the pagans whom we one day will be judging?

2. WE WILL JUDGE ANGELS (verse 3)

The second reason falls much in line with the first. The ante is raised in verse 3. "Do you not know that we will judge angels?

Paul is not clear on how this judgment will take place or which angels our judgment will be over (see Psm. 8:4-6; Isa. 24:21-22; Heb. 2:5-9; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; Rev. 20:10). Nevertheless, his conclusion is the same as before. If we will one day judge angels (verse 3) "How much more matters of this life?"

David Garland summarized verses 2 and 3 well. "Paul's purpose in these verses is not to articulate doctrine about the saint's role in the final judgment of the world and the angels but to point out a disturbing inconsistency between what they will be doing at the end of this age and what they are doing now" (Garland, 1 Corinthians, p. 203).

3. WE ARE DIFFERENT THAN THE WORLD (verse 4)

Let's continue. The third reason Christians should abstain from lawsuits with each other is that we are different than the world. Verse 4, "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?"

Allow me to say at this point that I believe Paul is speaking strictly of civil cases. If a criminal case occurs where a person is injured or others may be placed at risk, the governing authorities, in addition to the church, must be invoked immediately. For example, with all the pedophilia we hear about happening in the church today, such individuals must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. God does not want the church to serve as a shelter under the guise of 1 Corinthians 6 to allow such individuals to persist and go unpunished in their perverted behavior.

1 Corinthians 6 speaks to those within the church who have problem with another believer. The Apostle Paul is saying in these situations we have a responsibility to resolve the conflict "in-house." Why (as he says in verse 4) would we ever wish to invoke judges who have no account in the church?

Why appoint people who are enemies of the faith? Why appoint people who have no desire to reconcile the relationship? Why appoint people who we will be judging one day? Why appoint people who do not have the mind of Christ consequently being oblivious to spiritual things? Why appoint people who believe their law is superior to the law of God? Why show the world our inability to live at peace with one another and drag the fair name of Jesus Christ through the mud? Why would we ever wish to do any of these?

4. WE HAVE THE WISDOM OF GOD (verse 5)

Since we are not to appoint those of the world to solve our differences, point 4 tells us those whom we are to appoint. Verse 5, "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."

Instead of being so quick to run to the world, we should seek to resolve our differences within the church. Paul is aghast that they cannot find one wise man within the church to help resolve a conflict. Their inability to settle their own differences is an affront to the glory of God when you consider the resources He has provided His children.

Thanks to the grace of God (1:4), the believer is far more qualified and far more equipped than the unbeliever in these areas. Paul already told these Corinthians they have the "mind of Christ" (2:16). He already told them "the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God" (3:19). He already told them "(they) were enriched in (Christ), in all speech and all knowledge…so that (they) are not lacking in any gift" (1:5, 7).

Let me ask you, what constitutes the disposition of a good judge? Wisdom? Truth? Equity? Kindness? Severity? Love? Justice? Are you willing to tell me that the world possesses these attributes to a greater degree than those within the church? How can we expect the world to solve our problems if we can't solve them ourselves with all we have been given? Lawsuits within the church are not only spiritually wrong; they should also be practically unnecessary!

Conservative associate Supreme Court justice, Antonin Scalia said of this text: "I think this passage has something to say about the proper Christian attitude toward civil litigation. Paul is making two points: first, he says that the mediation of a mutual friend (in the church) should be sought before parties run off to the law courts." Justice Scalia continues, "I think we are too ready to see vindication or vengeance through adversary proceedings rather than peace through mediation. …Good Christians, just as they should be slow to anger, should be slow to sue" (Scalia, "Teaching about the Law," Quarterly 7, no. 4, p. 8-9).

Although I am not aware of lawsuits ever being a problem within this church, and I hope they never are, I still envision the day when we have trained counselors within the church to resolve interpersonal differences we might experience. People that are prepared to assist our ever-growing flock resolve conflicts and restore relationships. "Blessed are the peacemakers," said Jesus, "For they shall be called sons of God" (Mt. 5:9).

Our Lord wants this Body to live at peace (Mk. 9:50). He died on the cross not only to bring peace vertically between Him and mankind (Rom. 5:1). He also died to bring peace horizontally between those in His spiritual family (Eph. 2:14-18). As Paul made clear to these Corinthians as early as the tenth verse of the first chapter, there is no place in the church for divisions that result from factious individuals, immature thinking or unmended relationships (cf. Phil. 4:2). The glory of God is at stake! Furthermore, if we mended our differences early enough and kept short accounts with each other, the practice of lawsuits would be nonexistent.

Although time permits me from going into detail, through the sufficiency of grace we have the ability to live at peace with one another (1 Thes. 5:13). And through the sufficiency of Scripture, we have wisdom to mend relationships God's way.

It is no surprise that chapter 6 comes on the heels of chapter 5. In the same way we are to restore one to God, we are to restore one to another person. Jesus Christ Himself delivered to us the principles of Matthew 18. If someone sins against us, we are to go to that person in private (Mt. 18:15). If the individual refuses to listen, we are to enlist the help of others in the church (Mt. 18:16-17).

Again, the goal is reconciliation (Mt. 5:23-24; Rom. 12:18). The goal is to find a biblically acceptable and mutually agreeable solution to the conflict. If two in conflict cannot come to a satisfactory solution, possibly enlisting a mediator or an arbitrator from within the church will bring a remedy. Nevertheless, lawsuits are out of the question and the church must hold its members accountable to reconcile their differences and live at peace with one another. God takes that very seriously!

Remember the words of Jesus? "Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering" (Mt. 5:23-24).

5. WE ARE FAMILY IN CHRIST (verse 6)

We must continue with Paul's fifth reason why we are to avoid public lawsuits. Verses 6, "But brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers?"

I do not believe this point needs much elaboration. We are the family of God. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. How embarrassing and degrading it is when family members take one another to court and have their case advertised on the front page of the New York Times! How are we adorning the Gospel and the good name of our heavenly Father when His children need to air their dirty laundry before the world? Do you think He wants His family to be characterized by bitterness and exploitation and greed or by peace and unity and love? Family members must prefer one another. And family matters must be settled within the family.

6. WE MUST ACT CHRISTLIKE (verses 7-8)

Finally, the sixth reason we are to avoid lawsuits. Verses 7 and 8, "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."

I believe the sixth reason is the most powerful of all. It is also a fitting conclusion because it takes us full circle, back to the remarks I made in the introduction of this message. When we come to Christ, beloved, God expects us to change. And if we change according to His counsel, our attitudes and our actions will be contrary to the world. The wisdom we once lived by will be foolishness and that which we once ridiculed and rejected amongst those "Jesus freaks" and "fanatical Christians" will be seen as the wisdom of God.

Paul already told these Christians "the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God" (3:19). The wisdom of the world led them to crucify Jesus (2:8). And only through the wisdom of God can anyone receive a Messiah who dies accursed on a cross as a criminal of Rome.

In this final point Paul is beseeching this church to see things through the wisdom of God. While the world says, "Fight for your rights" and "Defend yourself at all cost" and "Look out for number one" and "Get all you can from another," the Apostle says, "Why not rather be wronged" and "Why not rather be defrauded?" Let me ask you, when is the last time you were willing to be wronged and defrauded for the sake of Christ?

You see when we go to court with another from the family God, as Paul says, "It is already a defeat for you" regardless of whether you win or whether you lose.

You see lawsuits:

• Destroy relationships

• Stir up anger and greed

• Damage our witness for Christ

• Focus on how I might prevail over another

• Assault another's character

While reconciling our differences God's way:

• Encourages forgiveness and unity

• Promotes reconciliation

• Deals with the sin issues involved (root cause of our problems)

• Changes harmful habits

• Points people to Christ

• Demonstrates our willingness to endure affliction for Christ

• Enhances self-examination

• Seeks the best for others

Yes, I am saying spiritual issues take priority over legal issues. Yes, I am saying another person in Christ and the Lord Himself is to be considered more important than yourself (Phil. 2:3). Yes, I am saying that we need at forsake the wisdom of the world and at times, overlook an offense, even if it means we are wronged and defrauded. Why? Because this is the call of Jesus Christ, and this call to humility and selflessness is completely foreign to the world and unfortunately to most in the American church today.

Paul knew it. Listen to what he, the Apostle (!) told these Corinthians: Remember chapter 4? "When we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now" (4:12b-13). In chapter 9 he humbly said, "To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some" (9:22).

Paul knew it. Jesus knew it even better. The Apostle Peter wrote: "For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously" (1 Pet. 2:21-23; cf. Phil. 2:5-8).

Ladies and gentlemen, do you know this way of life?

Jesus never said the Christian life would be easy. As a matter of fact He said, "The way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it" (Mt. 7:13b). And many who call Him "Lord" will hear those chilling words on the last day, "I never knew you, depart from Me" (Mt. 7:23).

My friend, I speak this to you in love. If you know nothing about this call of Christ, the true wisdom of the cross which promotes an attitude of humility and self-denial and submission, you do not know the Savior, regardless of your profession and love for sound doctrine.

This morning the Scriptures gave us many reasons why we should avoid lawsuits with others in the church. By way of summary lawsuits:

• Contradict our future role on God's heavenly court

• Employ secular solutions to spiritual problems

• Fail to utilize our spiritual resources

• Defraud a family member in Christ

• Refuse to reconcile relationships

• Destroy our testimony before the world

• Fail to demonstrate Christlike behavior

We can see that Paul was dealing with a very immature church. But do you know what? Their problem was much deeper. They failed to demonstrate the essence of the Christian faith. They failed to demonstrate the fulfillment of the law. Simply put, they suffered these problems because they failed to display the greatest mark of a true believer.

Therefore Paul wrote seven chapters later in this letter: "Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Cor. 13:4-7).

If we can adopt this spirit from the Holy Spirit I promise you we will never deal with lawsuits or a host of other interpersonal problems for that matter here at the Grace Tabernacle!