“If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people?” 1 Corinthians 6:1-2 NIV.
Reflection: why is is important to resolve disputes between Christians inside the church?
We looked at Paul’s instructions to the church on how to deal with someone calling themselves a Christian but clearly living in sin. And in this chapter, Paul starts with how to resolve disputes between members of the church. Now, to remind ourselves what Paul is referring to here, we must look at what he means by “disputes”. The Greek word he used is pragma, which in scriptural context means “a deed; by implication, an affair; by extension, an object (material):—business, matter, thing, work.” So really a practical matter as opposed to a sinful matter, and generally thought of as a dispute that ends up in a lawsuit. And Paul’s point here to the church is perhaps threefold.
First, Paul recognizes that issues, conflicts over practical matters will happen even between believers, in business, in your work or workplace, regarding property, and even material things. Let’s think of a simple scenario where you have sold your 10 year old car to a brother in Christ. Now, you made it clear, even in the sales order that the car is sold “as-is”, with no warranty or guarantee from your end. Now the reason why you had decided to sell the car was that this particular year and make often ended up with transmission issues around 100,000 miles; your car was at 90,000 and you had started noticing some problems in shifting gears when it was very cold out. Now, you had not disclosed all that detail to the buyer, just made it clear that it was “as-is”. A month after selling it, you get a phone call from the buyer, letting you know that the transmission on that car had broken down and needed a complete replacement. A $6000 repair. And, the buyer had been told by the shop that this was pretty typical for that car and year. The buyer asks whether you knew about this, to which you have to answer “yes” of course, and there is silence on the other end. You go on, reminding them that this was exactly why you had sold it as-is. A few days later, you are served a legal document, a lawsuit, for knowingly selling a broken car.
We can easily see how such a simple thing like selling a used car can lead to a dispute, and can cause all sorts of rift even between brothers in Christ. Now, Paul’s point is that, instead of bringing a lawsuit here, this matter should be settled between them within the church body. To have a Christian mediator help them talk through it, and hopefully come up with a reasonable solution. Because, there were issues on both sides. The seller not informing the buyer of what was going on with the car was a bit dishonest. The buyer not looking into potential issues with a 10 year old car, but trusting the seller to tell him everything about the car was a bit ignorant. So there is probably a middle ground they could reach, without a lawsuit. Without the long term effects of rift, of unresolved issues, even lead to slander between fellow believers. The devil is certainly happy to be handed such tools to use within a congregation.
Paul goes on, and says something very interesting next. “Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church?” 1 Corinthians 6:2-4 NIV. His point is that we should practice resolving such simple and practical matters within the church body, and not hand it to a judge who will give a ruling, but will base the ruling on their interpretation of the secular law and not what is best to maintain a functioning church.
Paul goes on “I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one brother takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers! The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters.” 1 Corinthians 6:5-8 NIV. As followers of Christ, and members of the body of Christ, we must consider the functioning of the body. Not to damage another limb for our own personal benefit.