Who is to Judge

1 Corinthians 6:1-8

1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?

2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.

5 I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?

6 But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.

7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather [suffer yourselves to] be defrauded?

8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that [your] brethren.

The age we are living in has been call a ‘litigious age’. We have seen lawsuits over the most inane things. Already I have seen ads for lawyers ready to sue about the corona virus. While there are times when we can and should resort to the law, it should not be our first impulse to sue anyone. When the problem is between believers the matter should never be taken to the courts of the world Let’s look at a few aspects of what’s in view here. Consider:

A. The INSOLENCE on display It’s a trait of the flesh to be presumptuous. It is a manifestation of pride. The attitude is that I’m more important than anyone or anything, why, I’m more important even than God and His will. Our culture teaches us to hold ourselves above all. It shows in many ways, for instance you often hear things like look out for number one. Another indication is the way our government is borrowing and spending. We, as a nation, are basically stealing from our unborn descendants. We are in so much debt that it will take lifetimes to pay it all back. I don’t know the total at the moment, but for some perspective think of how much a trillion dollars really is. It is a stack of $100 bills 10 feet high 160 feet wide and 270 feet long. It would weigh 11,000 tons. We have placed a burden of over 23 trillion dollars on the backs of our children, grandchildren and perhaps even those farther into the future. It is a selfish thing to do. We think that our present is more important than the future. It may be legal but it’s a moral crime, to quote Thomas Jefferson “I “ believe… that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity under the name of funding is but swindling futurity on a large scale.” This is a symptom of selfishness that considers only oneself

II. The INCORRECT venue Going to the world to settle spiritual disputes in the church (all things in the church are spiritual in essence) is akin to going to the graveyard for judgment in civil matters. Those without the family of God do not have the ability to understand the issues therefore they cannot make a proper judgment 1 Corinthian 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned. Our founders knew and warned of the tendency of government to grow and usurp power in areas that are not in their purview. This encroachment can be clearly seen in our present day. More and more functions that in the past were done by churches or other civil organizations have be taken over by government. We have become unwilling helpers in many projects, often those which we find contrary to our beliefs. In the same way many church members have abandoned the Biblical way set out here in this passage to go to the secular authorities to obtain what they want. God has established the church as the institution through which He will work in this age and we should respect His will.

III. The INSIGNIFICANCE of earthly concerns. I well remember my pastor and his wife singing “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”. Part of the lyrics read “and the things of earth shall grow strangely dim…”. When we realize that the things that we spend most of our time on are things that will not last, we see the foolishness of many of our actions and decisions. I read somewhere that when John Rockefeller died someone asked “how much did he leave?” The answer “ALL OF IT.” If you get all of the gold in the world, I suspect that would be in thousands and thousands of tons, if you are saved when you see Heaven it would not even make a paving material for the streets of Glory. It is not pure enough. Why worry about things that are of not ultimate value. Let’s think about the famous quote from Jim Elliot “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”. Paul tells us “1 Timothy 6:7-8 [7] For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. [8] And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” Don’t confuse your wants with your needs.

IV. The IMPERIAL Flesh. The actions shown in this passage are a sure indication that carnality was rampant in the church there at Corinth. We see that our present age is in the same condition. The popular culture is obsessed with sex and all the possible perversions of it. I have yet to understand what a scantily dressed woman has to do with the performance of a car, but if the commercials are any indication, there is a great connection. Beer and liquor ads show people so happy while indulging the flesh, but never show the poor alcoholic dying in his agony with the diseases brought on by his life of dissipation. The flesh never surrenders, it may seem to relax it hold for a time. That simply is to gain a stronger hold after it has lulled us into a state of inattention. Remember that the flesh has some allies, the world and the devil. Peter warns in 1 Peter 5:8 [8] Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: The truth is that which seems so important to us today will lose its luster very quickly, but the things of God are alway pure and bright. Another thing is our pride will get in the way of accepting the loss. Perhaps it might be a loss of money or of standing. Maybe we don’t want to be made out to be a ‘sucker’. No matter, we should be willing to suffer the loss of any earthly thing for the one who died on the Cross for us that we might have eternal life. Romans 12:1 [1] I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. We rightly celebrate the sacrifice of those martyred for the Lord. But we should consider that sometimes it’s harder to be a living sacrifice than to give our lives in God’s service. God will remember 1 Corinthians 15:58 [58] Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

V. The procedure to be EMPLOYED

A. RECOGNIZE the issue

B. REALIZE its triviality

C. RECEIVE the wrong, if necessary

D. RESPECT the judgment of the “least esteemed” in the church. (This emphasizes the transitory nature of the material things)

E. REJECT any thoughts of bitterness or hard feelings regardless of the outcome. God will have the final judgment.

God bless you

Pastor Mike Scott