Avoid Lawsuits and Hell

Posted: March 24, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Christ, Church, Church Membership, Eternity, Grievances, Jesus, Judgement, Justice, Justification, Lawsuits, Sanctification, Sermons, Sexuality | Leave a comment

What do you do when you have a grievance with a fellow believer in Christ? I know that there should not be any grievances in the church because we are called to be holy, but you and I are still battling our sinful natures and sometimes there are dust-ups between believers. What do you do when you have a grievance with a fellow believer in Christ? 

Let’s find out the answer today from 1 Corinthians 6:1-11. We are going to learn how to avoid lawsuits and hell by the powerful cleansing and justifying work of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is part of our theme for the year to Live Wisely and we are continuing our series called Holy Together in the Gospel in 1 Corinthians.The Church of Corinth had been chasing celebrity and quarreling. They were immature and immoral. And this was evident in how they were prone to prosecute one another rather than love one another. If you don’t have a Bible, please raise your hand and we would love to give you one. Let’s read 1 Corinthians 6:1-11. Read 1 Corinthians 6:1-11.  

This is another hard passage to read and preach and I acknowledge that some of you have been embattled in lawsuits. There was or still is a lot of anxiety around such legal actions. God is calling us to a different way. A holy way – to be holy together in the gospel! So here is the action point today: Settle grievances! Settle grievances quickly! I know that I often wait until the end of my messages to tell you the action points but settling grivances both the big idea and action point for today from 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 – Settle grievances! 

How? How do we settle grievances? We settle grievances by 1) Not going to court first (v. 1, 4 & 6). Look again at verse 1, “When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?” “After divisions and tolerance over sexual immorality, the third evil in the church of Corinth which the apostle endeavours to correct was prosecuting legal suits before heathen judges.”[1] “To sue a fellow believer reflects self-interest rather than concern for the welfare of others or the glory of God.”[2] Paul even minimizes in verse 2 calling these matters trivial matters in light of all eternity. However, “A trial between two brothers before pagan courts is no innocent matter; it reveals how lacking in truly Christian wisdom the Corinthian believers were, and therefore how poorly they understand their true place in Christ.”[3]Have you ever been shamed by unbelievers? Have you ever had somebody say, “And you call yourself a Christian”? Christianity and the church was all new to the City of Corinth and these lawsuits would have undermined the gospel. May the world not be able to shame us for not living up to Christ’s standards, which in their hearts and consciences they know too.

Now we need to clarify and define some terms. Bible Scholar Michael Wilkins says, “Paul seems in these verses only to be addressing disputes related to property or money, rather than criminal cases, which fall under the jurisdiction of the state.”[4] And this is still true today and is really important for us all to hear, especially when churches have tried to deal with abuse cases internally. Criminal matters should be handed to outside authorities who will act as servants of God. Romans 13:1-5 declares, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.” Abuse is not one of the trivial matters. This should always be handed over to outside investigators without judgment of the accused or the accuser.  Remember, 1 Corinthians is a call to holiness. And as lawyer and former abused gymnast Rachel Denhollander says, ‘Christian responses that minimize the evil of abuse have in turn minimized the righteousness of God.”[5]

You might ask what about church discipline? Won’t that produce righteousness, especially after we learned last week that handing over an unrepentant sinner can destroy their flesh (1 Corinthians 5:5)? Didn’t Jesus tell us in Matthew 18:15-17 to go to our offending brother or sister in Christ first? Check out Matthew 18:15-17, 15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” In matters of an alleged crime other than those of civil disobedience, Romans 13:1-5 comes before Matthew 18:15-17! Only when we have to obey God before men would Matthew 18 come before Romans 13 when it comes to crimes. Romans 13 trumps Matthew 18 in criminal matters. This is our practice here at Temple Baptist Church. “Obey the criminal courts, do not go out of your way to invoke the civil courts.”[6]

In civil and family matters, we should settle our grievances by not going to court first. We are not “to lay them before those who have no standing in the church” (v. 4). “Pagan judges have no status in the church.”[7]Settle grievances by not going to court first in these cases. Your first call should be to your brother or sister, not your lawyer. Matthew 18:15-17 does apply first. And if we follow Matthew 18:15-17 going one-on-one, then two-on-one and finally to the Elders and Pastors and Church, we will hopefully win our offending brother or sister over. They will be restored.

And this leads us to the next way we settle grievances. Settle grievances by 2) seeking the judgment of the church (v. 2-3, 5) Look again at verses 2-3, “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world?”Time out! Last week we learned from 1 Corinthians 5:12-13, “For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. Purge the evil person from among you.” So part of verse 12 reinforces the teaching that we are to settle grievances by seeking the judgment of the church, but then 1 Corinthians 6:2 teaches the church will judge the world. There is not a contradiction of teaching, only a matter of timing. Believers will join Jesus in judging the world in the final judgment. Let that sink in. “The people of God will participate with Christ in the final day of judgment.”[8] I don’t know if it will be like a jury or a multi-judge pronouncement like the Supreme Court, but we will judge unbelievers and verse 3 goes onto say even angels (elect and evil). I don’t know if God will roll the tape and show us what others have done so we just echo his pronouncements. I personally am going to love joining Jesus in pronouncing demons that have tempted me and others and attacked my family and we get to send them to hell. How about you? 

What about now though when we have grievances? Did you realize that through the Holy Spirit, He gives us wisdom to handle these trivial matters? Look at verse 5, “I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers.” “Some think Paul was using a bit of sarcasm, ‘You are better off asking the weakest member of your church to settle the matter, than to go before the most qualified unsaved judge.”[9] “Or Paul may be saying that God can use even the ‘least’ member the church to discern His will.”[10] This is why we don’t have two tiers of memberships (mature and immature). If you are a member here, you are saved and baptized. God has washed, sanctified and justified you. You and I through the power of the Holy Spirit will be given wisdom if we ask for it according to James 1:5. Prayer precedes our pronouncements. God will help us! So why are we going to hand our matters over to people who we will eventually judge ourselves? There is an End Times/Final Judgement motivation in our practical dealing with grievances. 

Let’s keep the big picture in mind. This leads me to the third way we settle grievances. Settle grievances by 3) absorbing the loss now so you can receive eternal gains (v. 7-8, c.f. 3:21-22). Look at verses 7-8, “To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud – even your own brothers.” “Better to lose money or possessions than to lose a brother or sister in Christ and lose your testimony as well.”[11] We can be temporarily deprived because everything is ours (eventually) in Christ. Remember 1 Corinthians 3:21b, “For all things are yours.” What are you going to gain if you sue? Will you win your brother’s or sister’s money and not your brother or sister? Will you be reconciled if you sue one another? It is unlikely! What if this shows you are greedy and you actually do not get to spend all eternity with God the Father and His forever family?

We are still trying to fix our problems today with Old Testament solutions. Wouldn’t it be better to be defrauded? And anybody who has gone through legal actions knows that there is so much sideways energy spent. This is why Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:23-25, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard and you be put in prison.” If you want to let it play out in the courts you are putting yourself at great risk. You may be judged against. Often human courts are overly harsh. This is because as fallen human beings we got confused after eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. We call good evil and evil good. Jesus calls us to a new ethic. Settle grievances and save yourself grief! You have everything in Christ. Let it go. Maybe some of you need to reconcile with your brother or sister today? Maybe it is marital situation? Maybe it is money issue? Don’t delay in getting right with people. Settle grievances quickly!

Why? This leads us to the final and ultimate motivation and way we settle grievances. Settle grievances by 4) trusting in the transformational cleansing and justifying work of Christ (v. 9-11).Interesting Paul’s thinking leads to a question in verse 9, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?” This may appear at first glance that Paul is changing his focus from the Corinthian Church to unbelievers. Instead, he is still aimed at the believers. He is brilliantly attacking the sinner and the legalist. The legalist? Yes, the legalist who wants to only live by the law and take matters to court. Paul goes on to say in verses 9-10, “Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” So the person who is defrauding others may be in the category of a thief or a swindler and they will not inherit the kingdom of God and they shouldn’t deceive themselves to think otherwise. When Paul earlier was saying to the believers that it is better to be defrauded, he wasn’t validating fraud. He is saying that such people will go to hell and miss out on the glorious inheritance of being a co-heir with Christ. But Paul is also saying that the one who is only greedy and wants his or her day in court so they can recoup and maybe get damages for being wronged may also go to hell and miss out on the glorious inheritance of being a co-heir with Christ. 

Think of it this way. If somebody stole a toonie from you, would you call the police, press charges, hire a lawyer to get your toonie back as well as seek a quarter for emotional damages? By the way, the lawyer might take the quarter and ask for you to split the toonie into two loonies where you get one and he or she gets one for legal fees. Was it worth it? Especially when you are a billionaire for all eternity because of Christ? 

And what did Christ do? He gives us a new identity. Notice verse 11, “And such were some of you.” Past tense! “God has forgiven the Corinthians believers and views them as righteous and their lives have been really changed for the good.”[12] No wonder, “Every part of a believer’s life is to reflect the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.”[13] Through Christ, the former life doesn’t identify you. What does Christ do? He gives us a new identity in Him.  He cleanses from the mud of sin and Satan. He justifies us. That is a legal term itself. God declares the righteous – not guilty. That is the court we should have in mind – God’s court and what Christ has done as our advocate. Did you realize that our divine legal defense team consists of Christ (1 John 2:2) and the Holy Spirit (John 16:7) as our Advocates? They work together to defend us, wash us clean and make us holy.  “To be washed or baptized is to be sanctified.”[14] “God has given us everything we need to live a holy life in this world.”[15]

And so when we have grievances instead of turning to sex or money or some other idol for comfort, we should run to Christ. I would be remiss if I did not remind us from 1 Corinthians 5, “The sexual life of God’s people is to be characterized by faithfulness and purity.”[16] Anybody can be changed by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ! Anybody can be changed by Christ’s shed blood. The arm of the Lord is not too short to save. Even those who attack from the outside and try to bring us to court. Paul describes the greedy and the revilers. I’ll remind you from last week that in the original Greek, the word for reviler is “one who is incorrigibly given to the vice of abusing the character of other people.”[17]  God can change abusers and if the abuser has really changed, they won’t want to be around vulnerable areas of their life. 

Then there are those who practice homosexuality. “Koitai (from the word we get coitus) is a vulgar term for sexual intercourse.”[18] This is why the term “effeminate” in the NASB is not strong enough and is confusing in our culture that sees gender fluidity or a continuum of gender. “The terms used in verse 9 refer to male homosexuals.”[19] We must have compassion for people who struggle with same-sex attraction just as we must have compassion for those who struggle with inappropriate opposite-sex attraction. But notice the emphasis on practice, which is all encompassing. All sexual talk, all sexual-viewing and all sexual contact outside of marriage between one man and one woman is wrong according to God and His word. Pre-marital, extra-marital and homosexual sex offenders will not inherit the kingdom of God. Later on 1 Corinthians 7:1-3, the sexually negligent is also addressed. Why is God so concerned about our sex lives? The late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau infamously said, “There is no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.”[20] We now see that what happens in the bedrooms is celebrated in the public sphere and the government has legislated it and does care about what happens in our bedrooms. The Lord God, ruler of the universe, does not stay out of the bedrooms of Canadians or any other human around the world. This is especially true if we are believers in Christ. Jump down to 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, “Flee sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” Our bodies don’t belong to us alone. They belong to Christ who bought them. This is why what we do with our bodies is really important whether that is what we eat, where we go, what we watch, what we say and how we live out our sexuality. Our bodies are to reflect the worship of God as temples of the Holy Spirit. And one of the ways we can use our bodies, the temples of the Holy Spirit, is to settle grievances quickly. Settle grievances because God settled His grievance with you and me at the Cross of Jesus Christ!

[1] Charles Hodge, A Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians (London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1964), 92.

[2] Roger Mohrlang, The NLT Study Bible (Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, 2017), 1934.

[3] Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistles to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1987), 237.

[4] Michael J. Wilkins, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), 2198.

[5] Rachel Denhollander, “Justice: The Foundation of a Christian Approach to Abuse,” Fathom Magazine, November 19, 2018.

[6] Archibald Robertson & Alfred Plummer, The International Critical Commentary – 1 Corinthians (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1971), 110.

[7] F.F. Bruce, The New Century Bible Commentary – I & II Corinthians (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1980), 60.

[8] Wilkins, 2198.

[9] Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary – Volume 1 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1989), 588.

[10] Wiersbe, 588.

[11] Wiersbe, 588.

[12] Mohrlang, 1935.

[13] Mohrlang, 1935.

[14] Richard H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul’s First and Second Epistle to the Corinthians (Columbus: Wartburg Press, 1946), 250.

[15] Mohrlang, 1935.

[16]  Mohrlang, 1935.

[17] Lenski, 229.

[18] Fee, 244.

[19] Wilkins, 2198.

[20] Source: https://www.cbc.ca/archives/no-place-for-the-state-in-the-bedrooms-of-the-nation-1.4681298. Accessed March 21, 2024.