In 1904, Argentina and Chile celebrated the resolution of a border dispute, which nearly brought the two countries to war. They celebrated with a large statue of Christ erected high in the Andes on the border between their two countries. They called the statue, "Christ the Redeemer of the Andes,” and at its feet they engraved these words: “Sooner shall these mountains crumble into dust than Chileans and Argentinians break the peace which at the feet of Christ, the Redeemer, they have sworn to maintain.”
However, shortly after the statue was erected, the Chileans almost broke that peace. They began to protest that they had been slighted, because the statue had its back turned to Chile. Then, when tempers were at their highest in Chile, a Chilean journalist saved the day. In an editorial that not only satisfied the people but made them laugh, he simply said, “The people of Argentina need more watching over than the Chileans” (Scott Bayles, pastor, Blooming Grove Christian Church, November 23, 2014; www. sermoncentral.com)
Christ brings peace, but all too often His followers threaten that peace. So, what do you do when there is conflict in the church? Well, the worst thing you can do is ignore it. In fact, conflict can be very beneficial if handled appropriately.
Several years ago (1992), K-State Professor, Dr. Cornelia Flora, published a study identifying eight common traits of growing communities. Do you know what she listed as the #1 trait of a growing community? It was conflict!
She said, “Research revealed that in growing communities controversy was considered normal. It was not treated as bad, wrong, or abnormal, nor were the people who presented it. Instead, it was regarded as a necessity. Just the opposite was revealed in dying towns. People avoided controversy [and] refused to address issues” (The Ellsworth Reporter, January 7, 1993, p.1B)
So how can the church use conflict to its advantage? How can God’s people transform their disputes into development opportunities? How can believers capitalize on their differences to make a difference for Jesus Christ? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to 1 Corinthians 6, 1 Corinthians 6, where the God addresses this problem.
1 Corinthians 6:1 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? (ESV)
Paul is incredulous that some of these believers are taking their disputes outside the church for ungodly judges to decide. They are filing civil suits against each other in secular courts.
1 Corinthians 6:2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? (ESV)—I.e., trivial in comparison to world matters.
1 Corinthians 6:3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! (ESV)
If we’re going to judge heavenly beings in eternity, certainly, we can resolve temporal issues in this life.
1 Corinthians 6:4 So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? (ESV)—I.e., before unbelievers outside the church.
Paul’s jaw drops at the idea that they are relying on unbelieving judges to make decisions for them that they are far more capable of making for themselves.
1 Corinthians 6:5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers… (ESV)
Oh, how that must have stung, since they thought they were so wise.
1 Corinthians 6:6 …but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? (ESV)
Paul is incredulous! He cannot believe they are asking unbelievers to settle their differences for them. No! Settle your own differences. Resolve your own conflicts, especially when you…
CONSIDER YOUR FUTURE.
Think about what’s ahead for every believer.
You will judge the world someday (vs.2). Jesus said in Matthew 19:28, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” You will judge the earthly nations someday. And someday, you will judge angels. That’s exactly what verse 3 says. So you have what it takes to settle your own disputes. You have the wisdom and skill to resolve your own differences.
In The Essential Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson, the cartoon character Calvin says to his tiger friend, Hobbes, “I feel bad that I called Susie names and hurt her feelings. I'm sorry I did it.”
“Maybe you should apologize to her,” Hobbes suggests.
Calvin ponders this for a moment and replies, "I keep hoping there's a less obvious solution" (Norm Langston, Fresh Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching, Baker).
For us who believe in Christ, the solution is often very obvious. It’s just that we don’t want to pursue it sometimes.
In a congregational meeting, two young professionals made a presentation to update the sanctuary sound system. Their pitch was well delivered. As they began fielding questions, a retired gentleman, a former engineer, challenged one of the presenter's use of a technical term. here was already some tension, because the sound system upgrade involved a significant amount of money, but this challenge sparked a firestorm.
The young presenter and this former engineer began to fight about who was right, as if they were the only two in the room. The discussion ended awkwardly, the congregation voting to upgrade the sound system, and the meeting came to a close.
Afterwards, the elderly gentleman ambled toward the two young professionals. He apologized for his conduct and asked one of the young professionals out for breakfast to discuss the sound-system project (Dave Goetz, "Suburban Spirituality," Christianity Today, June 2003; www.PreachingToday.com).
That man knew what he needed to do to make it right, and so do you who know Christ. You know that sometimes you have to swallow your pride and ask for forgiveness. You know that you always need to take the initiative to resolve issues that come between and another believer. And you know that you can work things out if you’re willing to work on them together.
It’s just that sometimes you keep hoping for a less obvious solution (me too!). It never comes, so just settle your differences. Resolve your conflicts, because you DO know what to do.” Consider your future—you are wise enough to judge angels someday. Then…
CONSIDER YOUR PRESENT.
You win if you don’t quit. You prevail if you don’t give up. On the other hand, you lose the moment you cease trying to resolve your differences and turn it over to the courts.
1 Corinthians 6:7-8 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers! (ESV)
When brothers refuse to resolve their differences, everybody loses. They destroy the church’s testimony, and nobody comes out looking good in a public fight. Instead, let your brother or sister cheat you if that’s what it takes to avoid dragging one another to court.
My friends, we’re all on the same team; and when we fight each other, the whole team is defeated. But when we resolve our differences, everybody wins.
The November 18, 2002 issue of Time Magazine printed a photograph of the back of Washington Redskins quarterback, Jeff George. His helmet was off, showing a big, white bald spot on the back of his head. Two African-American teammates sat next to him, one on each side, and each had a supportive hand on his shoulder. The picture had this caption: “What counts most in creating a successful team is not how compatible its players are, but how they deal with incompatibility” (Time, 11-18-02; www. PreachingToday.com).
The same is true in the church: What counts is not how compatible we are, but how we deal with incompatibility. And the good news is: We CAN deal with incompatibility. We as believers CAN resolve our differences, because Christ’s death makes it possible for all of us. Ephesians 2 says the cross “destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.” It brought people of different races together into “one new man” and “put to death their hostility.” Christ’s death made it possible for all of us to resolve our differences. He won the victory for us on the cross, so we are all winners if we choose to be, if we choose to pursue reconciliation and not retaliation.
In his book, My American Journey, General Colin Powell tells the story of ABC correspondent, Sam Donaldson, interviewing a young African-American soldier. He was part of a tank platoon on the eve of the battle in Desert Storm. Donaldson asked, “How do you think the battle will go? Are you afraid?”
“We'll do okay. We're well trained. And I'm not afraid,” the GI answered, gesturing toward his buddies around him. “I'm not afraid because I'm with my family.”
The other soldiers shouted, “Tell him again. He didn't hear you.”
The soldier repeated, “This is my family, and we'll take care of each other” (Colin Powell, My American Journey: An Autobiography, Random House, 1995; www.PreachingToday. com).
That’s the winning attitude of our U.S. Military, and that’s the winning attitude of God’s army as well. We are family and we take care of each other. We work out our differences, so we can march against the forces of evil and defeat them in their own territory.
Please, don’t let Satan win another battle. Settle your differences. Resolve your conflicts, because he is a defeated foe, and WE are the victors.
Consider your future—you are wise enough to judge angels someday. Consider your present—you are winners on God’s team in God’s army. And finally…
CONSIDER YOUR PAST.
You are washed. You are clean. You are a different person than you used to be.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (ESV).
The moment you trusted Christ as your Savior, God washed away your sins. He set you apart for Himself, and He declared you righteous. You are not the person you used to be. You are a new creature in Christ.
A woman once asked her coworker, “What is it like to be a Christian?”
The coworker replied, “It is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then he cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed, and then he carves you a new smiling face and puts his light inside of you to shine for all the world to see” (Greg Asimakoupoulos, Naperville, Illinois, www.PreachingToday.com).
That’s what God did for every believer, so you don’t have to live the way you used to live. You don’t have to do what you used to do when somebody offended you. You don’t have to fight and quarrel anymore. Instead, you can work out your differences, because the light of Christ shines through each and every one of you who know Him.
There is probably no greater contentious issue in our culture than the LGBTQ issue. It’s a hotly debated topic even among believers. But God’s Word is clear. Those who practice homosexuality, along with a host of other sins, will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Even so, God is in the business of washing away those sins, brining people into a relationship with Himself, and declaring them righteous in His sight.
Writer, poet, and hip-hop artist Jackie Hill Perry was a lesbian in a loving relationship when God called her to a different life. She writes:
God knew he wouldn’t get my attention in a church. Churches didn’t care too well for people like me. Me, being a gay girl. So God came to my house. As suddenly and randomly as Paul was struck blind on the Damascus Road, I had the unsettling thought that my sin would be “the death of me.”
Prior to that moment, the sin I wore on my sleeve was that of a lesbian: a label I had the courage to give myself at age 17. I liked girls, and I knew it, “But I don’t want to be straight,” I said to God, meaning every single word.
I had grown up in the traditional black church, where sermons were presented in a Mount Sinai kind of way, both loud and heavy. I’d heard the preacher speak for God when he read to us from Romans 1 about God giving his creatures over to the sinful desires of their hearts, which included men and women “exchanging natural sexual relations” for “shameful lusts” toward members of the same sex.
So when my thoughts spoke of my sin, which I knew to be a prompting from God and not my subconscious behaving unnaturally. What offended me most was that idea that my sin was to be the death of me. Because if that were true, then surely, I would be asked to lay it aside for the sake of life.
I loved my girlfriend too much not to be appalled at the prospect of laying aside not only the way I loved but also who I loved. I loved her, and she loved me—but God loved me more. So much so that he wouldn’t have me going about the rest of my life convinced that a creature’s love was better than a King’s.
Homosexuality might have been my loudest sin, but it was not my only sin. By calling me to himself, he was after my whole heart. When God saves, he saves holistically. That night, I knew that it wasn’t just my lesbianism that had me at odds with God—it was my entire heart.
I sat up in my bed and thought deeply about all that was happening in me. Now it seemed as if God was inviting me to know him. To love him. To be in relationship with him. That moment—that epiphany that my sin, left untreated, would be “the death of me”—wasn’t a matter of trying to be straight or even trying to escape hell. No, it was about God positioning himself before my eyes, so that I could finally see that he is everything he says he is—and worthy to be trusted.
In the same Bible where I found condemnation (Rom. 1:18-32), I also found the good news that God loved and died for people like me so that I could live forever (John 3:16). I didn’t need to know much more than that. Without a sermon, I saw Jesus. He was better than everything I’d ever known and more worthy of having everything that I thought was mine to own, including my affections.
Shortly after that pivotal night, I was doing the painful work of breaking up with my girlfriend. Her tears were too loud to listen to without regret. To leave her, our love, made no sense apart from the divine doing of God. Though it was painful, it was better for me to lose her than to lose my soul. “I just gotta live for God now,” I said with a tear-broken voice. A new identity was to come after I hung up.
I had no idea what would come next or how I’d have the power to resist everything I’d once lived for, but I knew that if Jesus was God and if God was mighty to save, then surely, God would be mighty to keep. And 10 years later, he is still keeping this girl godly (Jackie Hill Perry, “The Boring Night That Made Me a Christian,” CT magazine, September 2018, pp. 71-72; www.PreachingToday.com).
That’s the good news for any sinner caught in any sin. Just trust Christ with your life, and He will set you free from any destructive lifestyle. He will wash away your sin, set you apart for Himself, and declare you righteous in His sight.
Please, let Him do it for you. Just renounce your sin and surrender to Christ. Then, in the power He give you, live the new life to which He has called you.
As a new creation in Christ, consider your future—You will judge angels someday. Consider your present—You are a winner on God’s team, and consider the past—You are not the person you used to be. So settle your differences and resolve your conflicts for the glory of God and the reputation of His church.
Some time ago, a man received notice that his son had failed a course during his senior year in high school. The father was determined that his son would attend a top college, but this failing grade made that all but impossible. The father's immediate reaction was to blame the teacher for his son's failing grade.
He stormed into the teacher's classroom and proceeded to accuse the teacher of unfairness. He threatened to have the teacher's job if the grade were not changed. The teacher, believing the grade was deserved, would not change the grade and held his ground.
The father left the classroom in a heated rage and headed for the principal's office. There, he demanded the principal's intervention. The principal, knowing the situation and believing the teacher to be right, stood behind the faculty member and refused to intervene.
The father's rage escalated and he began to make threats against the principal. He would go to the school board and have the principal's job. At the height of the tension, there was a brief pause, followed by these words from the principal, who was also a Christian: “Sir, I can see that you love your son very much.”
At that instant, the anger that had controlled the father melted away and became a shower of tears. That Christian principal, full of God’s grace, had become a channel of that grace to bring healing in a tense situation (Robert Hager, “A Vessel of Grace,” Discipleship Journal, July/Aug 1984; www.PreachingToday.com).
My dear friends, with Christ in you, be that channel of grace to bring healing to your relationships.
