Rev. David Holwick Z
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
August 12, 1990
1 Corinthians 6:1-8
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I. Prominent place of litigation in American society.
A. More lawyers, cases than any other country.
Over 610,000 lawyers, 12 million suits (1977).
B. Million dollar lawsuits, sometimes over trivial matters.
1) Celeste receives $1,000,000 liability insurance form.
"Your hospital can't be trusted to cover you!"
2) Couple successfully sues city of San Francisco for $1 million
"for allowing their son to jump into a watery death
from the Golden Gate bridge."
C. Even Christians are caught up in it.
1) Note our high cost of liability insurance for church.
(for time you come to church and plaster falls on you)
II. Situation in 1 Corinthians 6.
A. Christians suing each other in pagan courts.
1) Very common in Greek world. (Notorious for it)
B. They were trying to take advantage of each other. 6:8
C. Paul is very irritated with them.
III. Appraisal.
A. Pagan courts operate from this-world perspective.
1) Retribution, getting even. (compare 6:8)
2) Pagan judges would have no standing in the church. 6:4
(Better interpretation than saying, "appoint judges
from least in the church")
B. Christians must operate from future-world perspective.
1) We will judge world, even angels. 6:2 [Competence]
a) (Human judges are nothing in comparison.)
b) We are competent to judge among ourselves. 6:2
2) Ultimate salvation is at stake. 6:9 [Priority]
a) Inheriting Kingdom must be highest priority, not victory
in trivial lawsuits.
C. When Christian sues Christian, God is rejected.
IV. The case for lawsuits.
A. The Old Testament is very concerned about justice.
1) Law courts are set up for our good.
2) Many laws concern fairness and justice.
3) Judged by God's standards, not bribes or favoritism.
B. Jesus - parable of woman who pesters judge for justice.
C. Paul himself used human courts.
1) Defended his faith before Gallio in Corinth. Acts 18:12-16
2) In Philippi, he referred to his rights as a Roman citizen.
3) Appealed to court of Caesar. (Ended up getting executed.)
4) Principle - gov't (and courts) instituted by God. Rom 13
D. Passage is limited to Christian-against-Christian lawsuits.
1) Lawsuits are permissible with non-believers.
a) However, allow biblical values to direct every action.
2) Lawsuits are permissible when the motive is justice, not pride.
3) Lawsuits are permissible when no shame is brought to Christ.
a) We should not air our dirty laundry in public. 6:6
b) Glorifying God must be our highest priority.
V. Difficulty with text for modern Christians.
A. Most commentaries try to find "permissible" cases.
1) Basic thrust here is avoiding lawsuits.
B. We must face up to fact we operate by world's system.
1) Be defrauded - it would drive us nuts. 6:7
a) Our world full of injustice.
We long for simple justice - more jails, more police.
Hard for us to accept being wronged.
b) "People's Court" and Judge Wapner.
1> Good guys are supposed to win.
2) We are materialistic.
a) Focus on property.
b) Focus on "rights."
VI. The Christian view of "rights."
A. Video on jailer being interviewed in Flint, Michigan;
prisoner in background screams, "I know my rights!!"
B. Paul puts rights of others ahead of our own. 6:7
1) Even if injustice (for us) is result).
2) Hard for us to accept.
C. Jesus agrees with Paul 100%.
1) Make peace before getting to court. Matt 5:25
2) Turn other cheek. Matt 5:39
3) If sued, give more than is demanded. Matt 5:40
VII. Beyond justice.
A. Higher than fairness - forgiveness & grace.
B. Seek reconciliation.
1) Christian Legal Society: reconciliation movement.
2) Justice without vengeance.
VIII. Lawsuits can't bring happiness.
A. Alexander Solzhenitsyn at Harvard graduation, 1978:
People in the West have acquired considerable skill in using,
interpreting, and manipulating law...
Any conflict is solved according to the letter of the law.
If one is right from a legal point of view, nothing more is
required.
Nobody may mention that one could still not be entirely right.
I have spent all my life under a communist regime and I will tell
you that a society without any objective legal scale is a
terrible one indeed.
But a society with no other scale but the legal one is not quite
worthy of man either.
Wherever the tissue of life is woven of legalistic relations,
there is an atmosphere of moral mediocrity, paralyzing man's
noblest impulses.
#1214
B. Most important "right" - to become children of God. John 1:12
1) Live by the Spirit, not legalities.
IX. Important court setting: our lives before non-believers.
A. Our faith is on trial every day.
B. If you were charged with being a Christian, would there be
enough evidence to convict you?
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