Lawsuits And Legal Disputes

Alba 5-4-2025

LAWSUITS AND LEGAL DISPUTES

I Corinthians 6:1-8

There was a street in a town that was lined with lovely mature trees, manicured lawns, and three churches—all right next to each other. The three churches were each built in different styles and shapes. They each posted a sign out front, proudly displaying the name of the church. The three churches were named First Community Church, Second Community Church, and Third Community Church.

One day the ministers of these three houses of worship all happened to meet on the sidewalk in front of their churches. And one said to the others, “Maybe we need to define what we mean by community.”

Getting along with others can often be difficult. But how we deal with difficult situations will say a lot about our spiritual maturity or lack thereof. As we have been looking at this letter of First Corinthians here in the New Testament, we see that the church in Corinth had a lot of problems. They had different opinions as to which preacher to follow, and it was causing division. Then it was revealed that the church needed to deal with the problem of allowing open, unrepentant sin in the church.

Now in chapter six we find that disagreements are causing believers to take other believers to court to sue them. The church had shown a remarkable lack of concern about a peculiarly flagrant sin. But now church members seem overly anxious to take action when they are personally offended. The apostle Paul is appalled by their action and makes it clear, that first...

1. Christians Should Not Be Taking Other Christians To Court

Lawyers are always happy to get a client who wants to sue another person. It is their job to represent people who have been harmed in some way. But of course they get their cut if things go well. There have been a number of crazy but highly publicized court cases. Probably the most famous of all is the one about the woman who spilled scalding coffee on herself, and successfully sued McDonald’s. McDonalds refused to settle out of court for $20,000. However, they should have. The woman was ultimately awarded $200,000 in compensatory damages, which was reduced to $160,000 because she was found to be twenty percent at fault. But she was also awarded $2.7 million in punitive damages.

Such cases have encouraged even more lawsuits. And it can happen even among and between Christians. The board of trustees of a Baptist church in Louisiana filed suit to remove their preacher from his position. A few days later, another group, claiming to be the real trustees, filed a counter suit, asking that those who had filed the previous suit be removed as church members.

There was a family in Illinois who sued their church for injuries their 15-year-old son suffered at a church picnic when he fell out of a tree. His parents had watched him climb the tree, and had warned him to be careful because it was dangerous. But when he fell, they sued the church.

There were at least two members of the church in Corinth who were in the midst of some kind of dispute and had gone to court to sue. When Paul heard that had happened, he wrote in I Corinthians 6:1. “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?

The New International Version has that verse, “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.” And the New Living Translation has it, “When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers!” This is strong language. Paul finds it bizarre that Christians would choose to go before a judge who was probably a pagan to settle their disputes.

We need to remember that as an apostle, Paul is writing this letter under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So these are not just Paul's words, but God's words. And this is not just Paul's letter to the Corinthians, but is also God's letter for us. This sets a biblical standard for believers to follow.

There are several good reasons that it is inadvisable for Christians to take each other to court. 1. A secular judge doesn't understand kingdom values. 2. Often we go to court for revenge, not remedy. And 3. Christians fighting each other in public takes the focus off of the gospel and puts a negative light on the church.

As believers we need to understand that a relationship with Jesus changes who we are, and it should be seen in our actions, thoughts and desires. If we are changed, and Paul is declaring how changed these people were supposed to be, then we can change how we treat one another and can change the channels we use for getting satisfaction in any situation. We can humble ourselves and do what’s right, rather than what’s easy. This scripture makes it clear that Christians are not to take other Christians to court.