This week, we are asking a fundamental question: should Christians sue other Christians? Should followers of Jesus file lawsuits against one another? Is it ever O.K. for one Christian to take legal action against another Christian? And who wins when one Christian sues another Christian?
In a section of a letter to a church that we have been looking at recently, we see that a man named Paul had a lot to say about this issue of Christians suing Christians. In 1 Corinthians 6:1-11, Paul explains to the members of the church at Corinth, and to us today, that when Christians take other Christians to court by filing civil lawsuits that appear before nonchristians, we reveal four things about our day to day lives as Christians.
Yesterday we discovered that when we take one another to court before nonchristians, we reveal a faulty focus. Paul then continues by explaining to the church at Corinth, and us today, that Christians filing lawsuits against Christians reveals something else about our day to day lives. And that something else is that when we take one another to court before nonchristians, we reveal a faulty reflection. We see this in 1 Corinthians 6:3-6:
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?
Paul here is revealing for us that reality that in eternity, follower of Jesus will judge the angels. Angels are God’s special agents who are unseen supernatural spiritual beings who have supernatural but limited knowledge and power to accomplish God’s will or resist God’s will through their activities. Paul’s point here is that followers of Jesus will be divinely commissioned by God to sit on a tribunal that will judge how these supernatural beings fulfill their role as God’s special agents.
Paul then asks the members of the church at Corinth that, in light of this reality, are you not able to handle the ordinary and everyday matters that occur here on earth? Paul again is confronting the church on their failure to live up to their responsibilities and their role in relationship to one another in the church.
Paul also asks the members of the church at Corinth a question to expose the reality that the courts that had been established in the city of Corinth to handle the ordinary and everyday matters that occur here on earth are overseen by individuals who have no standing or merit as Christians in the church. The judges in these courts are not Christians and do not look at life through the prism of the teachings of Jesus and the Bible. And because of this reality, these courts could provide judgments that are not aligned with the message and teachings of Jesus, which could further promote and reinforce the unchristian behavior that was occurring in the church.
Paul then hammers home his point by stating that the fact that they rely on nonchristians to solve their lawsuits against one another should shame the members of the church. In addition, he sarcastically asks the church if they could not find one person among them who could help render a legal decision between two fellow believers. Paul then continues by stating that instead of handling their lawsuits amongst themselves, they had to expose their selfish and sinful behavior to the world by seeking legal resolution from nonchristians.
Paul is exposing the extremely poor reflection of Christ that the churches unchristian behavior was presenting to the community. The fact that the members of the church could not resolve these issues internally resulted in their sin being exposed publicly, which resulted in a poor reflection of Christ to their community.
And in the same way, when a community that is supposed to be marked by unity and a Christ-like response to conflict ends up suing one another civilly and publicly, we present a poor reflection of Christ to those who are far from God.
So, what reflection do others see when you are involved in conflict? Do they see Christ? Or do they see something altogether different?
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