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Wednesday 22 September 2010

1 Corinthians 6:1-11 - Disputes between believers

This section can be looked at on various levels. One is the immediate problem, namely that church members were instigating lawsuits amongst each other. Paul says various things about this.
First, they should actually be able to sort out the matter themselves. Especially as they are so wise! (Or so they claimed to be). Secondly their top priority should be the furtherance of the kingdom of God (Matt 6:33), and sometimes it is better to be wronged than to hinder the growth of the kingdom.
Then there is the level of our attitudes. In seeking revenge they were themselves indulging in wrong doing. The desire to "get their rights" meant that they set out to get this at all costs. The world tells us that we must never lose out, must never be wronged, must always get our rights. Now we are not to be doormats, but it says in Proverbs that it is to a man's glory to overlook an offence (Prov 19:11, see also 12:16). We need to watch ourselves very carefully.
Then there is seeing their lives in view of eternity. We will be involved in judging the whole world, even angels. Sometimes we need to get things in perspective.
The greatest danger is not being wronged but doing wrong. If someone cheats us out of money then it is actually God they have cheated, they have far more to worry about than we have.
Now in this it does not mean that Christians must absolutely never get involved in lawsuits, it certainly does not mean that the law should not be involved in criminal cases. We need to look at the heart of the matter, and especially to examine our own hearts.

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