WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.040 I have always loved Paul's description of being 00:00:03.040 --> 00:00:05.019 an ambassador for Christ. There's just something 00:00:05.019 --> 00:00:08.900 very powerful about that image. You heard it 00:00:08.900 --> 00:00:11.419 in our call to worship already from this morning. 00:00:11.519 --> 00:00:14.640 It's found in 2 Corinthians 5. I'll put it on 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:16.440 the screen again here in just a moment so that 00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:19.379 you can see it. But it goes like this. Therefore, 00:00:19.539 --> 00:00:24.019 we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God 00:00:24.019 --> 00:00:28.210 were making an appeal through us. We beg you 00:00:28.210 --> 00:00:32.609 on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. When 00:00:32.609 --> 00:00:36.590 I think about this passage, I picture in my mind 00:00:36.590 --> 00:00:40.570 walking down the street in our community. Doesn't 00:00:40.570 --> 00:00:43.229 matter whether I'm in Newhall or Valencia or 00:00:43.229 --> 00:00:47.630 the northern kingdom of Castaic. Walking down 00:00:47.630 --> 00:00:50.490 the street somewhere in our community, shopping 00:00:50.490 --> 00:00:53.289 at a market, going to dinner at a restaurant, 00:00:53.409 --> 00:00:56.820 getting a drink at my favorite coffee shop. And 00:00:56.820 --> 00:00:59.020 everywhere I go, carrying with me the identity 00:00:59.020 --> 00:01:03.880 of Christ and his kingdom in the world. Think 00:01:03.880 --> 00:01:07.400 about that. Each of us being a representative 00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:12.579 commissioned by him as we walk through our community. 00:01:13.700 --> 00:01:17.299 And walking through life equipped and prepared 00:01:17.299 --> 00:01:20.280 for when those opportunities present themselves. 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:23.219 to speak on his behalf. That's what an ambassador 00:01:23.219 --> 00:01:26.439 does. He speaks on behalf of the one who sent 00:01:26.439 --> 00:01:30.560 him. Speaking on his behalf, using both our godly 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:33.939 conduct and our well -seasoned words to talk 00:01:33.939 --> 00:01:37.260 to those around us. Being both salt and light 00:01:37.260 --> 00:01:41.579 to the people who live here, who live all around 00:01:41.579 --> 00:01:45.000 us, for them to see, for them to hear. And as 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:47.900 we do this, allowing him to make an appeal through 00:01:47.900 --> 00:01:51.049 us. Because that's really the beauty of that 00:01:51.049 --> 00:01:53.230 passage, right? It's not our words. It's not 00:01:53.230 --> 00:01:55.930 us selling the gospel on people. It's God making 00:01:55.930 --> 00:01:58.969 an appeal through his ambassadors. That's where 00:01:58.969 --> 00:02:03.329 the power lies. Urging people, explaining to 00:02:03.329 --> 00:02:06.109 them that they can be reconciled to their creator 00:02:06.109 --> 00:02:10.430 and their Lord. What a responsibility we've been 00:02:10.430 --> 00:02:13.080 given. What a privilege. We've been given to 00:02:13.080 --> 00:02:15.620 be ambassadors. And here's the beauty of it. 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:17.560 It's not that we have to be so extraordinary 00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:21.580 at these things. It's really just about embodying 00:02:21.580 --> 00:02:24.159 Christ faithfully in the very ordinary parts 00:02:24.159 --> 00:02:27.819 of daily life. Just walking as an ambassador. 00:02:27.960 --> 00:02:31.039 And every interaction we have with the people 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:34.840 in this community. Now, having said that, it's 00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:36.759 important for us to realize there's another side 00:02:36.759 --> 00:02:39.199 of the coin when it comes to being an ambassador. 00:02:39.539 --> 00:02:42.000 Sometimes professing Christians by their actions 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:46.340 and by their words can cast a dark shadow over 00:02:46.340 --> 00:02:49.979 the message and the master that they represent. 00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:53.360 They turn people away from the Lord because their 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:57.840 lives contradict the claim that they make that 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:01.580 Christ produces transformative change in his 00:03:01.580 --> 00:03:04.169 followers. By the way they live, by the way they 00:03:04.169 --> 00:03:06.870 speak, by their attitudes, motivations, they 00:03:06.870 --> 00:03:09.710 actually contradict a very claim that they will 00:03:09.710 --> 00:03:13.990 say is that Christ changes lives. And what the 00:03:13.990 --> 00:03:16.789 world sees, what the world hears is people out 00:03:16.789 --> 00:03:18.729 there saying, well, I'm a Christian or I go to 00:03:18.729 --> 00:03:22.469 XYZ church while living with all kinds of double 00:03:22.469 --> 00:03:25.969 standards in their lives, being prideful, being 00:03:25.969 --> 00:03:31.080 unkind, being dishonest, being gossipy. being 00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:34.340 cliquish, being materialistic, and so many more. 00:03:35.180 --> 00:03:38.840 They're poor ambassadors for the gospel. They're 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:42.620 failing ambassadors. And by representing Christ 00:03:42.620 --> 00:03:44.979 poorly, they undermine the credibility, the message 00:03:44.979 --> 00:03:47.539 that we've all been given to go out there and 00:03:47.539 --> 00:03:51.360 share and spread. It affects all of us. Spurgeon, 00:03:51.479 --> 00:03:54.659 and even in his day, recognized this. He once 00:03:54.659 --> 00:03:57.500 wrote, the Bible is the light of the church, 00:03:57.580 --> 00:04:00.389 not the light of the world. Because the world 00:04:00.389 --> 00:04:02.969 does not read the Bible. The world reads Christians. 00:04:06.229 --> 00:04:09.270 Ouch. Exactly. Right? Because they're not going 00:04:09.270 --> 00:04:11.389 to wake up in the morning and go, hey, where's 00:04:11.389 --> 00:04:14.110 a Bible that I can start to read? But they may 00:04:14.110 --> 00:04:19.269 run into you during the day. In another sermon, 00:04:19.329 --> 00:04:21.069 he said this, and I think it's insightful. He 00:04:21.069 --> 00:04:24.069 said, the world becomes a watchdog over the sheep, 00:04:24.230 --> 00:04:27.870 barking furiously as soon as one goes astray. 00:04:28.680 --> 00:04:32.160 It is upon your public life that the verdict 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:37.279 of the world will very much depend. So here's 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:38.839 the bottom line. If you're a professing Christian, 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:41.759 you are an ambassador in the master's service. 00:04:41.819 --> 00:04:45.100 You're either an effective ambassador or you're 00:04:45.100 --> 00:04:47.839 a failing ambassador. And it would benefit each 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:51.579 one of us just to stop for a moment and to consider 00:04:51.579 --> 00:04:54.000 that and to reflect on how we're doing. Are we 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:56.620 helping or hindering the spread of God's kingdom 00:04:56.620 --> 00:04:59.850 in this community? And are there areas that we 00:04:59.850 --> 00:05:02.829 need to grow in so that we can do that well? 00:05:03.930 --> 00:05:06.629 Grab your Bibles. We're going to look at this 00:05:06.629 --> 00:05:10.970 very case in the text for today in 1 Corinthians 00:05:10.970 --> 00:05:15.329 6. So here we are. We're getting into a whole 00:05:15.329 --> 00:05:17.410 new chapter in Paul's letter. We are moving fast, 00:05:17.550 --> 00:05:21.709 aren't we? It's been a wild ride up to this point, 00:05:21.750 --> 00:05:24.720 hasn't it? I mean, it's only when you really 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:27.500 walk through this letter slowly like this that 00:05:27.500 --> 00:05:31.740 you, sort of the cumulative effect of the problems 00:05:31.740 --> 00:05:34.660 in this church kind of overwhelm you. And we've 00:05:34.660 --> 00:05:36.579 seen Paul bring up one problem after another, 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:39.740 divisions in the church, jealousy and rivalries, 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:43.339 pride and boasting, a whole cultural misunderstanding 00:05:43.339 --> 00:05:47.430 of what wisdom is. Spiritual immaturity, fleshly 00:05:47.430 --> 00:05:49.990 living, and then in this last chapter, we saw 00:05:49.990 --> 00:05:53.610 this apathetic response to serious unrepentant 00:05:53.610 --> 00:05:56.230 sin in the body that they've allowed to just 00:05:56.230 --> 00:06:00.009 sit there and fester. Letting a little bit of 00:06:00.009 --> 00:06:04.310 leaven to leaven the entire batch of dough. The 00:06:04.310 --> 00:06:08.949 Corinthians are very poor ambassadors for Christ, 00:06:09.110 --> 00:06:11.750 right? That's what we're seeing so far. And now 00:06:11.750 --> 00:06:13.569 today, we're gonna look at a whole nother problem. 00:06:14.220 --> 00:06:16.120 And poor Paul, remember, he's their spiritual 00:06:16.120 --> 00:06:18.699 father, he's their shepherd, and this is a very 00:06:18.699 --> 00:06:23.079 difficult body of believers to manage. By the 00:06:23.079 --> 00:06:25.100 way, one of the ways he's going to do this, six 00:06:25.100 --> 00:06:27.079 times in this chapter, we're going to see Paul 00:06:27.079 --> 00:06:30.180 ask a question. It goes like this, do you not 00:06:30.180 --> 00:06:35.100 know? And you can sense the frustration in his 00:06:35.100 --> 00:06:36.759 words. He's going to say over and over again, 00:06:36.899 --> 00:06:39.939 haven't you learned this yet? Do you not know? 00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:43.740 This can be painful for the Corinthians to hear, 00:06:43.860 --> 00:06:45.439 right? It's going to strike at their pride. Because 00:06:45.439 --> 00:06:47.680 remember, these men and women, they thought they 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:51.259 were so very wise. The reality is they're so 00:06:51.259 --> 00:06:54.360 very immature in their understanding of Christian 00:06:54.360 --> 00:06:57.620 doctrine and Christian living. So let's look 00:06:57.620 --> 00:06:59.339 at verses 1 through 8 together. Just a heads 00:06:59.339 --> 00:07:02.160 up, there's quite a few translation issues that 00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:05.399 pop up in this section of Paul's letter. And 00:07:05.399 --> 00:07:07.360 the New American Standard, which is the translation 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:09.779 I always preach from, it's a little bit wonky. 00:07:10.360 --> 00:07:13.680 That's the technical theological term. It's a 00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:16.899 little wonky in its wording, so I'll make some 00:07:16.899 --> 00:07:19.000 comments here on some alternative readings as 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:23.360 we go along. Verse 1, Paul says, Does any one 00:07:23.360 --> 00:07:26.259 of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, 00:07:26.500 --> 00:07:29.819 dare to go to law before the unrighteous and 00:07:29.819 --> 00:07:33.800 not before the saints? Now, I have no idea why 00:07:33.800 --> 00:07:36.740 the translators of the NAS put the word neighbor 00:07:36.740 --> 00:07:39.920 in there. That is not the right word. It is in 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:41.920 the original Greek, it's the very common Greek 00:07:41.920 --> 00:07:45.300 word heteros, and it's almost always translated 00:07:45.300 --> 00:07:49.220 another. And for some reason they put in neighbor, 00:07:49.300 --> 00:07:51.819 and it confuses the meaning of this passage. 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:55.100 The ESV gets this right, the CSB, the NIV, everybody 00:07:55.100 --> 00:07:57.879 else gets this right. So I'm going to put a good 00:07:57.879 --> 00:08:01.040 readable translation on the screen for you. It 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:03.680 says this, does any one of you, when he has a 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:07.329 case against another, Dare to take his case to 00:08:07.329 --> 00:08:10.370 court before unbelievers and not before the saints. 00:08:10.550 --> 00:08:14.430 That is the crux of this next problem that Paul's 00:08:14.430 --> 00:08:16.009 going to deal with there in Corinth. Believe 00:08:16.009 --> 00:08:19.449 it or not, Christians were suing other Christians 00:08:19.449 --> 00:08:24.470 and taking them into secular courts for judgments. 00:08:26.189 --> 00:08:30.350 Verse 2. Or do you not know that the saints will 00:08:30.350 --> 00:08:34.669 judge the world? If the world is judged by you, 00:08:34.730 --> 00:08:37.830 are you not competent to constitute the smallest 00:08:37.830 --> 00:08:40.769 law courts? Again, a little bit wonky there. 00:08:41.110 --> 00:08:43.350 Basically what he's saying is, if you're going 00:08:43.350 --> 00:08:46.409 to judge the entire world someday, are you not 00:08:46.409 --> 00:08:49.230 competent to judge just basic trivial cases? 00:08:50.950 --> 00:08:52.929 Verse three, do you not know that we will judge 00:08:52.929 --> 00:08:58.090 angels? How much more matters of this life? So 00:08:58.090 --> 00:09:00.230 if you have law courts dealing with matters of 00:09:00.230 --> 00:09:03.159 this life, Do you appoint them as judges who 00:09:03.159 --> 00:09:06.000 are of no account in the church? In other words, 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:09.700 do you lay your cases before men who aren't even 00:09:09.700 --> 00:09:12.299 a part of the church, who don't have any standing 00:09:12.299 --> 00:09:17.240 in God's kingdom? Verse five, I say this to your 00:09:17.240 --> 00:09:22.639 shame. Is it so that there is not among you one 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:25.740 wise man who will be able to decide between his 00:09:25.740 --> 00:09:29.559 brethren? Is there not a single wise person in 00:09:29.559 --> 00:09:33.220 your church? capable of arbitrating these disputes, 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:37.159 he says. Verse 6, but brother goes to law or 00:09:37.159 --> 00:09:40.139 to court with brother and that before unbelievers. 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:44.519 Verse 7, actually then it's already a defeat 00:09:44.519 --> 00:09:47.000 for you that you have lawsuits with one another. 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:50.360 Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be 00:09:50.360 --> 00:09:55.279 defrauded or cheated? On the contrary, you yourselves 00:09:55.279 --> 00:09:59.460 wrong and defraud. You do this even to your brethren. 00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:03.740 Ouch. I mean, that is a punch in the face, is 00:10:03.740 --> 00:10:06.519 it not? So here's what we're going to do with 00:10:06.519 --> 00:10:08.139 this passage this morning. We're going to walk 00:10:08.139 --> 00:10:09.960 through it. We'll look at all the reasons why 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:12.659 this is so detrimental to the spiritual health 00:10:12.659 --> 00:10:14.860 of a church. And then we're going to bridge the 00:10:14.860 --> 00:10:17.720 time gap and go from the first century to today 00:10:17.720 --> 00:10:19.500 and talk about all the ways that we can fall 00:10:19.500 --> 00:10:23.639 into the same trap if we're not careful. So let's 00:10:23.639 --> 00:10:25.960 start. Go back up to verse 1. You can almost 00:10:25.960 --> 00:10:28.919 picture the blood rushing to Paul's face as he 00:10:28.919 --> 00:10:33.409 writes this. How dare you go to a secular court 00:10:33.409 --> 00:10:36.590 when you have a dispute with a fellow believer 00:10:36.590 --> 00:10:38.769 rather than appealing to your leaders in the 00:10:38.769 --> 00:10:42.929 church? He's obviously greatly distressed by 00:10:42.929 --> 00:10:45.789 this. Not only is the church divided in so many 00:10:45.789 --> 00:10:47.809 ways, we've seen this, right? They're lining 00:10:47.809 --> 00:10:50.009 up behind leaders, there's cliques, there's factions, 00:10:50.169 --> 00:10:52.850 but now we find out they're also suing each other. 00:10:53.529 --> 00:10:55.529 I mean, could it get more dysfunctional than 00:10:55.529 --> 00:10:59.029 this? That alone, Paul says, the fact that you 00:10:59.029 --> 00:11:02.129 have lawsuits is a defeat for you, he says in 00:11:02.129 --> 00:11:04.850 verse 7. Just that, the fact that you're suing 00:11:04.850 --> 00:11:08.970 each other is a defeat. And you make these conflicts 00:11:08.970 --> 00:11:11.149 even worse when you hand decision -making power 00:11:11.149 --> 00:11:15.549 over to pagan judges, to men without the Holy 00:11:15.549 --> 00:11:18.669 Spirit, to men who have no understanding of biblical 00:11:18.669 --> 00:11:22.759 principles. What they don't seem to realize is 00:11:22.759 --> 00:11:25.200 that the secular courtroom is a whole different 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:27.740 realm than the church. It has a whole different 00:11:27.740 --> 00:11:30.799 value system than we have in the Christian community. 00:11:31.139 --> 00:11:33.740 You know what secular courts do? They pick winners 00:11:33.740 --> 00:11:37.379 and losers. And they establish penalties. They 00:11:37.379 --> 00:11:40.259 assign blame. And that is not how the kingdom 00:11:40.259 --> 00:11:43.279 of God operates. So you're walking into that 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:45.480 world that sees things completely differently. 00:11:46.169 --> 00:11:48.029 and expecting them to judge, to pick winners 00:11:48.029 --> 00:11:50.889 and losers, to pick that guy's to blame, and 00:11:50.889 --> 00:11:54.149 this guy has to pay that. In the church, what 00:11:54.149 --> 00:11:58.750 do we do? We look for forgiveness and compromise. 00:11:58.870 --> 00:12:01.710 We look at peace. We look at restoration and 00:12:01.710 --> 00:12:03.990 reconciliation. Paul says you're not going to 00:12:03.990 --> 00:12:07.289 get those things if you keep taking your cases 00:12:07.289 --> 00:12:12.230 into secular courts. It's an abandonment of gospel 00:12:12.230 --> 00:12:16.289 principles. And then compounding the error, you're 00:12:16.289 --> 00:12:18.309 doing this, you're taking this contentious fight 00:12:18.309 --> 00:12:21.350 and you're literally laying it before the world, 00:12:21.450 --> 00:12:24.009 before these curious, unbelieving spectators 00:12:24.009 --> 00:12:29.470 for them to watch you fight. The world, the very 00:12:29.470 --> 00:12:32.690 harvest field where your witness matters, where 00:12:32.690 --> 00:12:35.129 you're supposed to be a transformed people, that 00:12:35.129 --> 00:12:38.870 world is now sitting back with great glee and 00:12:38.870 --> 00:12:43.419 watching you fight together. Listen, the church, 00:12:43.559 --> 00:12:47.139 we never pretend to be perfect, right? We never 00:12:47.139 --> 00:12:49.179 pretend that there's not conflict in the body. 00:12:49.480 --> 00:12:52.080 But we can be honest about all of our shortcomings, 00:12:52.139 --> 00:12:54.860 but it is not helpful to our gospel witness when 00:12:54.860 --> 00:12:56.840 we air our dirty laundry for the whole world 00:12:56.840 --> 00:13:01.480 to see. So Paul asks, why aren't these issues 00:13:01.480 --> 00:13:07.240 being handled privately within the church? The 00:13:07.240 --> 00:13:09.460 church is literally designed and structured by 00:13:09.460 --> 00:13:13.279 Jesus to handle these kinds of disputes. We have 00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:17.299 the whole guidebook on how to do it. So why isn't 00:13:17.299 --> 00:13:20.679 it being handled internally? You have qualified 00:13:20.679 --> 00:13:23.019 elders who can handle family matters. They have 00:13:23.019 --> 00:13:25.500 the character and integrity to arbitrate these 00:13:25.500 --> 00:13:29.679 things. So take your case to the overseers. And 00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:31.200 I think there's a really important connection 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:33.440 here between what we read about these lawsuits 00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:36.299 and what Paul just talked about. in church discipline 00:13:36.299 --> 00:13:39.539 in chapter five. When there's unrepentant sin 00:13:39.539 --> 00:13:41.960 happening in the body, it's a family matter. 00:13:42.899 --> 00:13:44.799 We don't run off to the world and say, look at 00:13:44.799 --> 00:13:47.899 all the sin here. That would be stupid, would 00:13:47.899 --> 00:13:52.240 it not? That would be unstrategic. We handle 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:55.039 it internally, not from the public eye. Well, 00:13:55.059 --> 00:13:57.399 the same principle applies here. When brothers 00:13:57.399 --> 00:13:59.960 are at odds and that conflict is escalating, 00:14:00.059 --> 00:14:02.620 that is not the time to run to the world and 00:14:02.620 --> 00:14:05.500 file a lawsuit. That's a time to actually slow 00:14:05.500 --> 00:14:08.720 down and to start applying the Matthew 18 principles 00:14:08.720 --> 00:14:11.919 we looked at last week. Same thing, whether it's 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:14.399 sin in the body or it's conflict in the body, 00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:18.480 start looking at the guidebook on how to handle 00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:22.240 it. And we have it, Matthew 18. Go to your brother. 00:14:22.539 --> 00:14:25.019 Look, sometimes things happen in the church, 00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:26.980 right? There's a real serious conflict. Go to 00:14:26.980 --> 00:14:29.799 your brother. Address the grievance. Do it privately. 00:14:30.120 --> 00:14:33.610 Do it personally. And if you run into resistance, 00:14:33.889 --> 00:14:36.929 what do you do? Bring in some other brothers 00:14:36.929 --> 00:14:39.490 and sisters who care about this person, who care 00:14:39.490 --> 00:14:42.289 about peace in the body. And you keep working 00:14:42.289 --> 00:14:46.149 at it. You don't run off to secular courts. You 00:14:46.149 --> 00:14:48.789 keep working at it. You look for peace. And if 00:14:48.789 --> 00:14:50.809 necessary, you say, okay, we need to get leadership 00:14:50.809 --> 00:14:53.419 involved. We call the elders in. Because these 00:14:53.419 --> 00:14:55.279 are men who have wisdom and experience. They 00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:57.580 know the scriptures. They have experience in 00:14:57.580 --> 00:15:00.240 conflict resolution. And what do we do? We start 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:03.259 looking for compromises. We look at fair settlements. 00:15:03.679 --> 00:15:06.139 We look for a process that is going to restore 00:15:06.139 --> 00:15:10.779 unity to the body. We take spiritual family matters 00:15:10.779 --> 00:15:13.919 and we fix them within. We don't take them to 00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:16.980 unbelievers. That would be foolishness. It's 00:15:16.980 --> 00:15:19.200 actually an abandonment of your obligation to 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:21.679 the body of Christ. If you run off. to unbelievers 00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:24.659 to settle your dispute in the church. That's 00:15:24.659 --> 00:15:27.559 what Paul's getting at here. Now, there's likely 00:15:27.559 --> 00:15:29.620 some cultural issues happening here that help 00:15:29.620 --> 00:15:32.360 us to understand why this was happening. It's 00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:35.980 interesting. A faithful Jew would never consider 00:15:35.980 --> 00:15:39.919 taking an internal community conflict and going 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:42.059 to a Gentile court. That would never happen. 00:15:42.440 --> 00:15:44.580 The Jewish community is very good at this, right? 00:15:44.659 --> 00:15:47.740 They will handle things internally. But Greek 00:15:47.740 --> 00:15:51.240 culture, very different. Greek culture, very 00:15:51.240 --> 00:15:54.259 different. Ancient Greeks, and you might recognize 00:15:54.259 --> 00:15:57.379 this in America, had a tendency to enjoy a good 00:15:57.379 --> 00:16:00.879 fight, a good battle. They love battle. They 00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:03.659 love athletic contests. They love debate. They 00:16:03.659 --> 00:16:07.080 love rhetoric. And so for them, litigation in 00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:10.419 court is kind of like a blood sport. It's a form 00:16:10.419 --> 00:16:14.039 of entertainment almost. And do we not understand 00:16:14.039 --> 00:16:16.799 this? Think over the last few decades, how many 00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:20.440 TV shows and movies center around courtroom dramas. 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:25.240 We love that stuff, don't we? We love a good, 00:16:25.259 --> 00:16:28.179 powerful lawyer with a strong argument who closes 00:16:28.179 --> 00:16:30.799 a deal and persuades a jury, and we're like, 00:16:30.860 --> 00:16:34.179 yeah, it's a great show. We kind of see it as 00:16:34.179 --> 00:16:37.340 a blood sport as well. So once again, we see 00:16:37.340 --> 00:16:40.740 the Corinthians are letting their cultural backgrounds 00:16:40.740 --> 00:16:44.179 seep into their walk with Christ. They're having 00:16:44.179 --> 00:16:46.299 a hard time keeping the culture out of the church. 00:16:46.440 --> 00:16:49.700 They're falling back into their old ways. Our 00:16:49.700 --> 00:16:51.899 old selves are coming back. These things that 00:16:51.899 --> 00:16:54.500 we have these passions for that aren't godly. 00:16:54.500 --> 00:16:57.840 They're not biblical. While we can't know for 00:16:57.840 --> 00:16:59.759 sure because Paul doesn't give us all the details, 00:17:00.019 --> 00:17:02.460 I think it's entirely possible that these church 00:17:02.460 --> 00:17:05.660 members in Corinth didn't really want to settle 00:17:05.660 --> 00:17:09.220 quietly. It's not what they wanted. They didn't 00:17:09.220 --> 00:17:12.519 want to deal with him spiritually. They were 00:17:12.519 --> 00:17:14.380 bifurcating their life. There's the business 00:17:14.380 --> 00:17:16.400 side of life and there's the spiritual side of 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:18.460 life. And I don't want a spiritual settlement 00:17:18.460 --> 00:17:21.420 here. I want a business settlement. That's right. 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:26.059 I want secular justice. They prefer the public 00:17:26.059 --> 00:17:28.039 sport of arguing their cases. What they want 00:17:28.039 --> 00:17:33.700 is a win. That hurts me deep in my soul because 00:17:33.700 --> 00:17:35.059 I'm a competitive person. How many of you guys 00:17:35.059 --> 00:17:36.880 are competitive, right? Sometimes you just want 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:40.539 to win. It's not the way God does things. Not 00:17:40.539 --> 00:17:44.119 in the church. And so they want to win, and that's 00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:46.140 why Paul says the opposite. This is a giant L 00:17:46.140 --> 00:17:50.359 for all of you. It's a giant loss for everybody 00:17:50.359 --> 00:17:57.900 in the church when you do this. Take the L. So 00:17:57.900 --> 00:18:00.960 are you understanding the reason behind this, 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:04.799 how bad this looks in Corinth? Now, before we 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:06.980 go any further, we should qualify a couple of 00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:08.720 things to make sure we understand what Paul's 00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:10.730 not talking about. because this is important. 00:18:10.970 --> 00:18:14.049 The first thing is this. Paul's not, this is 00:18:14.049 --> 00:18:16.710 not a blanket indictment against the legal system, 00:18:16.789 --> 00:18:20.029 that it's all inherently wicked. As most of us 00:18:20.029 --> 00:18:22.970 know in Romans 13, Paul points to the government 00:18:22.970 --> 00:18:25.529 authorities, including the legal system, and 00:18:25.529 --> 00:18:27.609 says, look, these have been established by God, 00:18:27.710 --> 00:18:30.470 right, for the purpose of restraining evil and 00:18:30.470 --> 00:18:33.460 promoting justice. So even though they're imperfect, 00:18:33.720 --> 00:18:36.059 and we know that, they're wildly imperfect, right? 00:18:36.180 --> 00:18:38.480 They're necessary for functioning societies. 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:41.539 So he's not making this blanket indictment against 00:18:41.539 --> 00:18:44.400 the system. Secondly, he's not talking about 00:18:44.400 --> 00:18:46.940 criminal cases here. And this is an important 00:18:46.940 --> 00:18:49.700 distinction. He's talking about civil matters 00:18:49.700 --> 00:18:52.400 here, not criminal matters. And we know that 00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:54.980 because the idea of lawsuits are being defrauded. 00:18:55.660 --> 00:18:58.519 That's not criminal necessarily. That's more 00:18:58.519 --> 00:19:01.160 likely civil, right? So he's talking about things 00:19:01.160 --> 00:19:05.140 like financial agreements and contract disputes, 00:19:05.579 --> 00:19:09.160 conflicts in business, compensation claims. These 00:19:09.160 --> 00:19:10.920 are the things that the Corinthians are struggling 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:13.359 with. And a lot of them are likely rooted in 00:19:13.359 --> 00:19:16.559 money and property and materialistic possessions. 00:19:17.740 --> 00:19:19.859 Again, criminal matters are not the issue here. 00:19:19.960 --> 00:19:22.440 And maybe you've seen some of this in the headlines 00:19:22.440 --> 00:19:26.400 recently. When churches become aware of criminal 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:29.579 acts in their midst, The ground rules change 00:19:29.579 --> 00:19:33.299 completely. And I've seen churches get, or heard 00:19:33.299 --> 00:19:35.680 of them getting in massive trouble, legal trouble, 00:19:35.779 --> 00:19:39.380 for covering over criminal acts, saying, well, 00:19:39.380 --> 00:19:42.200 we're trying to handle it internally and using 00:19:42.200 --> 00:19:45.579 this passage to justify that. No, no, no, no, 00:19:45.579 --> 00:19:48.240 no. Criminal acts are a different thing, right? 00:19:48.319 --> 00:19:49.839 And some of these things are horrific, right? 00:19:50.059 --> 00:19:53.519 Major theft or embezzlement, physical assaults 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:56.430 and abuse, including children. Those types of 00:19:56.430 --> 00:19:58.509 things get reported to the authorities immediately. 00:19:59.210 --> 00:20:02.109 That's important to say that. They're too serious 00:20:02.109 --> 00:20:05.009 to say, well, I understand that this thing happened, 00:20:05.069 --> 00:20:07.230 but let's see if we can work this out internally. 00:20:07.569 --> 00:20:11.269 No, in that case, justice demands not just church 00:20:11.269 --> 00:20:14.150 discipline or excommunication, it demands criminal 00:20:14.150 --> 00:20:17.390 consequences. That's important. The church has 00:20:17.390 --> 00:20:20.190 its place in dealing with certain kinds of conflicts. 00:20:20.910 --> 00:20:23.549 And the legal system has its place in handling 00:20:23.549 --> 00:20:25.630 other types of conflicts. And we have to be able 00:20:25.630 --> 00:20:28.089 to have the wisdom to understand which is which. 00:20:28.269 --> 00:20:31.569 Amen? Third qualifier I need to mention is this. 00:20:33.130 --> 00:20:35.269 This passage shouldn't be used to say that a 00:20:35.269 --> 00:20:37.569 Christian can never appear in court under any 00:20:37.569 --> 00:20:39.750 circumstances. Because I've heard people make 00:20:39.750 --> 00:20:41.789 this case. Well, fine, then we can never go to 00:20:41.789 --> 00:20:44.509 court. That's not what it's saying. In fact, 00:20:44.609 --> 00:20:47.529 Paul... in his day, had some experience in the 00:20:47.529 --> 00:20:49.390 court system, didn't he? He got pulled into courts 00:20:49.390 --> 00:20:53.529 multiple times. So we know it's possible. And 00:20:53.529 --> 00:20:55.690 there may be times when one of us has no choice 00:20:55.690 --> 00:20:59.829 but to go to court. Your spouse files for divorce. 00:21:00.130 --> 00:21:03.630 You've got to respond in court. You're in a custody 00:21:03.630 --> 00:21:05.630 battle for children. The other party isn't a 00:21:05.630 --> 00:21:08.210 believer. You've got to repeatedly go to court 00:21:08.210 --> 00:21:11.049 and make your case before the judge. Someone 00:21:11.049 --> 00:21:13.069 out there in the world chooses to sue a believer. 00:21:13.690 --> 00:21:16.130 And yeah, we're forced to hire a lawyer so we 00:21:16.130 --> 00:21:18.950 don't get financially taken advantage of. Even 00:21:18.950 --> 00:21:21.710 churches today get sued. And they've got to go 00:21:21.710 --> 00:21:23.750 to court, right? And ironically, you know why 00:21:23.750 --> 00:21:26.490 they're most often sued? Because they practice 00:21:26.490 --> 00:21:31.549 church discipline. Oh, interesting, huh? Just 00:21:31.549 --> 00:21:33.930 make sure, those are important qualifiers before 00:21:33.930 --> 00:21:36.470 we go any further, just to know that Paul's not 00:21:36.470 --> 00:21:38.829 talking about every single case, but a very specific 00:21:38.829 --> 00:21:42.890 type of case that was happening there in Corinth. 00:21:43.029 --> 00:21:44.690 Okay, let's look at verses two and three now. 00:21:45.809 --> 00:21:47.809 Here's where we get some pretty, pretty interesting 00:21:47.809 --> 00:21:51.150 statements from Paul. And here comes the first 00:21:51.150 --> 00:21:53.190 of the six do you not know statements. Verse 00:21:53.190 --> 00:21:55.869 two, do you not know that the saints will judge 00:21:55.869 --> 00:21:59.799 the world? You bring your lawsuits before the 00:21:59.799 --> 00:22:01.859 world, but don't you know that someday you're 00:22:01.859 --> 00:22:03.559 going to judge the very world that you're bringing 00:22:03.559 --> 00:22:06.140 lawsuits to? You've got this thing so messed 00:22:06.140 --> 00:22:10.579 up, he says. Now, I would love to do a whole 00:22:10.579 --> 00:22:13.279 excursus on that statement about judging the 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:15.859 world. I don't have time for that, but let me 00:22:15.859 --> 00:22:18.539 just say a couple things. We do see hints of 00:22:18.539 --> 00:22:20.740 this truth in other parts of Scripture, in both 00:22:20.740 --> 00:22:23.420 the Old and the New Testaments, that we're going 00:22:23.420 --> 00:22:26.240 to judge the world. How do you guys look in a 00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:29.819 black robe? Look good? Right? With a big gavel? 00:22:30.140 --> 00:22:32.200 No, somehow we're going to be involved in judging 00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:34.779 the world. You see this in prophetic texts, like 00:22:34.779 --> 00:22:38.440 in Daniel chapter 7. You see it in promises that 00:22:38.440 --> 00:22:41.200 Jesus made to his disciples in Matthew 19 and 00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:45.640 Luke 22. And you see it in Revelation 20. Revelation 00:22:45.640 --> 00:22:47.819 20, where it says that the tribulation saints 00:22:47.819 --> 00:22:50.420 who resist the mark of the beast, says, will 00:22:50.420 --> 00:22:53.599 come to life and reign with Christ in the future 00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:56.220 millennial kingdom. And then John says he saw 00:22:56.220 --> 00:22:59.240 thrones in this picture, in this vision, and 00:22:59.240 --> 00:23:01.759 they sat on them and judgment was given to them. 00:23:02.880 --> 00:23:05.680 I know it's a little mysterious and we don't 00:23:05.680 --> 00:23:07.799 have all the details, but it's clearly there 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:10.359 in Scripture. But listen, from a general perspective, 00:23:10.539 --> 00:23:12.880 think about this. We know that Christ is going 00:23:12.880 --> 00:23:14.759 to judge the earth. We know he's going to judge 00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:17.420 all the inhabitants of the earth. And we are, 00:23:17.539 --> 00:23:22.000 as believers, forever in union with him. So whatever 00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:26.240 he does, we do. in some sense, right? Because 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:28.380 of our union, it follows that the elect saints 00:23:28.380 --> 00:23:31.319 will somehow be involved in reigning over this 00:23:31.319 --> 00:23:33.980 millennial kingdom, and that reigning or ruling 00:23:33.980 --> 00:23:37.720 would also necessarily involve judgment. Again, 00:23:37.799 --> 00:23:39.960 we don't have all the details on that, but wow, 00:23:40.140 --> 00:23:43.500 that's a big responsibility, right? But don't 00:23:43.500 --> 00:23:46.480 get lost in all that. See Paul's big point here. 00:23:47.079 --> 00:23:48.960 If someday you're going to reign with Christ 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:51.960 and judge the world, why today would you turn 00:23:51.960 --> 00:23:54.759 to that very same world to judge cases within 00:23:54.759 --> 00:23:57.059 the family of God? That's the point he's making. 00:23:57.180 --> 00:24:00.539 Does that make sense? Good. Then amazingly, he 00:24:00.539 --> 00:24:03.960 goes on in verse 3 and extends this whole idea 00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:06.880 into the spiritual realm. Do you not know that 00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:09.220 you're going to judge angels? Now, does that 00:24:09.220 --> 00:24:14.380 blow your mind? Now, this is the only place we 00:24:14.380 --> 00:24:16.759 really see this principle taught, which means 00:24:16.759 --> 00:24:20.779 Paul is here exercising his inspired role as 00:24:20.779 --> 00:24:24.099 an apostle of Christ to give us new information 00:24:24.099 --> 00:24:26.380 under the new covenant. And it's pretty exciting, 00:24:26.460 --> 00:24:29.160 right? But it's not a huge leap to infer this. 00:24:30.339 --> 00:24:33.079 Remember, we've been granted by God's grace a 00:24:33.079 --> 00:24:36.740 higher status than the angels. By God's grace, 00:24:36.940 --> 00:24:38.900 I don't know. I can't explain this. I don't know 00:24:38.900 --> 00:24:41.319 why he chose to do this, but he makes it clear. 00:24:41.420 --> 00:24:45.160 We have been granted, as his children, a higher 00:24:45.160 --> 00:24:48.099 status than the angels. And we know that for 00:24:48.099 --> 00:24:50.359 a few reasons. Number one, the angels aren't 00:24:50.359 --> 00:24:54.079 made in God's image, as we are. Angels aren't 00:24:54.079 --> 00:24:57.859 redeemed by Christ, as we are. And angels were 00:24:57.859 --> 00:25:02.319 created as ministering servants to who? To us, 00:25:02.440 --> 00:25:07.700 believers. Wow. So when Christ returns to establish 00:25:07.700 --> 00:25:10.279 his kingdom, the saints were going to be reigning 00:25:10.279 --> 00:25:12.819 and judging over the world. And so it makes sense 00:25:12.819 --> 00:25:15.359 that we would also in some way participate in 00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:18.460 the judgment of fallen angels. But again, the 00:25:18.460 --> 00:25:20.619 big point here that Paul's making, what he's 00:25:20.619 --> 00:25:22.440 doing is he's making, we call this an argument 00:25:22.440 --> 00:25:25.579 from the greater to the lesser, right? If someday 00:25:25.579 --> 00:25:28.019 you and I are going to judge these extraordinary 00:25:28.019 --> 00:25:32.059 beings, right, these angels, can we not just 00:25:32.059 --> 00:25:36.319 judge the simple matters of everyday life? Right? 00:25:36.519 --> 00:25:38.640 I mean, greater to lesser, we're going to have 00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:41.339 this amazing job of judging angels. Can't we 00:25:41.339 --> 00:25:46.420 just handle trivial cases? You'd be like a Supreme 00:25:46.420 --> 00:25:48.900 Court justice who goes to his local traffic court 00:25:48.900 --> 00:25:52.000 to arbitrate some personal issue. You'd say, 00:25:52.039 --> 00:25:54.900 are you kidding me? You're on the Supreme Court. 00:25:56.440 --> 00:25:59.160 Paul's saying, realize who you are. This is literally 00:25:59.160 --> 00:26:01.059 what he's saying to these guys. Hey, church, 00:26:01.180 --> 00:26:04.099 realize who you are, the role you have in the 00:26:04.099 --> 00:26:09.900 future. What are you doing? Now, back in chapter 00:26:09.900 --> 00:26:12.339 4, Paul assured the Corinthians, look, I'm not 00:26:12.339 --> 00:26:14.079 trying to shame you in all these corrections. 00:26:14.900 --> 00:26:17.920 But here in chapter 6, verse 5, he specifically 00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:21.339 says he's doing that. He says, I say this to 00:26:21.339 --> 00:26:26.539 your shame. He's hot about this issue. And then 00:26:26.539 --> 00:26:29.039 he goes on. Is there not one wise man among you 00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:32.259 who is qualified, who will step up and do the 00:26:32.259 --> 00:26:35.009 job that needs to be done? to arbitrate these 00:26:35.009 --> 00:26:37.670 disputes in your church. Where are your leaders? 00:26:39.829 --> 00:26:41.970 Instead, you run to the world to do what you 00:26:41.970 --> 00:26:44.410 ought to be able to do for yourselves. You should 00:26:44.410 --> 00:26:49.450 all be ashamed, he says. He's hot, like I said. 00:26:51.690 --> 00:26:53.970 Okay, final part of the passage before we get 00:26:53.970 --> 00:26:56.829 to application. Let's look at the testimony issue 00:26:56.829 --> 00:27:01.069 starting in verse six. In disbelief, Paul writes, 00:27:05.579 --> 00:27:09.880 This is a terrible witness for Christ, he says. 00:27:10.359 --> 00:27:12.920 And listen, we all know this because we live 00:27:12.920 --> 00:27:16.700 in a country like America. There are people out 00:27:16.700 --> 00:27:19.900 there who hate Christianity. They hate everything 00:27:19.900 --> 00:27:22.660 that the Bible teaches. They live for themselves. 00:27:22.799 --> 00:27:26.000 They live for their sin. You guys, they are eager 00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:29.779 and excited to find any reason to disparage our 00:27:29.779 --> 00:27:35.190 faith. Why help them out? Why give them the gift 00:27:35.190 --> 00:27:38.849 of helping them to disparage your faith, to disparage 00:27:38.849 --> 00:27:42.529 the name of our Savior by doing foolish things? 00:27:43.970 --> 00:27:46.609 When Christians fight other Christians in a public 00:27:46.609 --> 00:27:50.150 forum, it stains the reputation of Christ and 00:27:50.150 --> 00:27:52.769 it gives people just another reason to reject 00:27:52.769 --> 00:27:58.049 the gospel. In a way, I don't blame them. Think 00:27:58.049 --> 00:27:59.769 about this. I don't blame them. If Christians 00:27:59.769 --> 00:28:02.869 can't work through simple disagreements, I understand 00:28:02.869 --> 00:28:05.329 why we lose credibility in the eyes of the world. 00:28:05.410 --> 00:28:09.109 I get it. If I was on that side of it, I might 00:28:09.109 --> 00:28:12.829 see the same thing. They don't recognize God's 00:28:12.829 --> 00:28:15.269 transforming power in our lives. They don't see 00:28:15.269 --> 00:28:18.210 new life in us. They don't see anything different 00:28:18.210 --> 00:28:24.109 about us than the people in their world. has 00:28:24.109 --> 00:28:26.210 to be at the forefront of our minds if we care 00:28:26.210 --> 00:28:28.930 at all about the Great Commission. What is our 00:28:28.930 --> 00:28:30.950 testimony? What is our witness in this community? 00:28:31.230 --> 00:28:34.210 This is why at Oak Hill, this is a major part 00:28:34.210 --> 00:28:37.589 of our church covenant. Our members know this. 00:28:37.630 --> 00:28:40.630 Number seven in our covenant says this. We will 00:28:40.630 --> 00:28:43.349 seek by the power of the Holy Spirit to live 00:28:43.349 --> 00:28:47.950 carefully in the world. To live carefully in 00:28:47.950 --> 00:28:51.589 the world, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts. 00:28:52.259 --> 00:28:54.460 recognizing that we have a special obligation 00:28:54.460 --> 00:29:00.059 to lead a new and holy life. We are a people 00:29:00.059 --> 00:29:03.839 who've been saved and set apart by God to be 00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:07.660 unique, to be different. Paul says in Philippians 00:29:07.660 --> 00:29:11.339 2 that we're called to be above reproach in the 00:29:11.339 --> 00:29:14.599 midst of a wicked generation so that we shine, 00:29:14.839 --> 00:29:17.980 so that we shine, appearing as lights in the 00:29:17.980 --> 00:29:21.920 world. All of us, by the way, this is not just 00:29:21.920 --> 00:29:24.660 the mature believers or the leaders. All of us, 00:29:24.700 --> 00:29:27.660 all of us are called to be shining as lights 00:29:27.660 --> 00:29:30.380 in the world. And whenever we're in the public 00:29:30.380 --> 00:29:34.980 square, wherever we go, we represent Christ. 00:29:35.960 --> 00:29:39.619 And we represent Oak Hill. And so how you interact 00:29:39.619 --> 00:29:41.740 with people in this community matters. You are 00:29:41.740 --> 00:29:44.599 an ambassador for the gospel everywhere you go. 00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:47.880 And how you treat your brothers and sisters in 00:29:47.880 --> 00:29:49.640 the faith, no matter which church they go to, 00:29:49.759 --> 00:29:53.640 it reflects on Christ. It either helps or hurts 00:29:53.640 --> 00:29:58.019 our overall testimony in Santa Clarita. So when 00:29:58.019 --> 00:29:59.839 you have a problem with a brother or sister, 00:30:00.039 --> 00:30:02.539 when you have a conflict, remember what's at 00:30:02.539 --> 00:30:06.440 stake before you do anything else. Stop, slow 00:30:06.440 --> 00:30:10.599 down. I know I'm angry. Get my emotions in check. 00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:15.049 Okay, what's at stake here? The reputation of 00:30:15.049 --> 00:30:20.609 Christ, right? My testimony among this world. 00:30:21.750 --> 00:30:24.049 Don't be that guy who brings dishonor to the 00:30:24.049 --> 00:30:27.630 name of Christ by taking action that he regrets 00:30:27.630 --> 00:30:30.849 later or saying things he doesn't mean. Don't 00:30:30.849 --> 00:30:32.910 be that gal who brings conflict and division 00:30:32.910 --> 00:30:36.269 into Christ's church. Live in such a way today 00:30:36.269 --> 00:30:38.349 that you won't be ashamed on the day of Christ. 00:30:38.470 --> 00:30:41.369 When you stand before him and you go, oh my goodness, 00:30:41.549 --> 00:30:45.900 I have... brought harm to his bride. Live today 00:30:45.900 --> 00:30:48.140 in such a way that you won't be ashamed on that 00:30:48.140 --> 00:30:51.220 day because you've damaged the bride of Christ. 00:30:54.019 --> 00:30:56.059 Then can I just say, Paul lays down the most 00:30:56.059 --> 00:30:58.039 difficult challenge in this whole passage in 00:30:58.039 --> 00:31:01.160 verse seven. He says, you know what? Why not 00:31:01.160 --> 00:31:04.799 rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded 00:31:04.799 --> 00:31:08.519 or cheated? Rather than fight your brother for 00:31:08.519 --> 00:31:12.200 your rights in a public setting, Why not just 00:31:12.200 --> 00:31:14.339 allow yourself to be wrong for the sake of the 00:31:14.339 --> 00:31:17.779 testimony of the church? And man, that's hard 00:31:17.779 --> 00:31:22.240 for us, isn't it? As I was working on this message, 00:31:22.339 --> 00:31:24.579 I thought, man, that's a hard one. Again, because 00:31:24.579 --> 00:31:27.299 I'm competitive. I hate losing. You hate losing, 00:31:27.400 --> 00:31:30.160 right? We don't like to lose. It hurts our pride. 00:31:30.359 --> 00:31:32.680 We don't like to see other people get over on 00:31:32.680 --> 00:31:35.779 us. It's almost built into our DNA as Americans. 00:31:38.410 --> 00:31:40.490 We don't like it. And we don't like it when we 00:31:40.490 --> 00:31:44.390 know there's injustice involved. That's wrong, 00:31:44.390 --> 00:31:47.569 we say. And so it's a very challenging idea to 00:31:47.569 --> 00:31:51.710 say, I'm willing to be cheated out of money, 00:31:51.809 --> 00:31:53.849 out of possessions. I would rather be cheated 00:31:53.849 --> 00:31:58.450 than damage the reputation of Christ, to damage 00:31:58.450 --> 00:32:01.650 the testimony of the church in the place that 00:32:01.650 --> 00:32:05.710 I live. But among other things, didn't Jesus 00:32:05.710 --> 00:32:07.529 say this at the Sermon on the Mount? If anybody 00:32:07.529 --> 00:32:10.809 wants to sue you and take your shirt, let them 00:32:10.809 --> 00:32:16.130 have your coat also. That's a hard one. Whoever 00:32:16.130 --> 00:32:19.589 forces you to go one mile, go with them too. 00:32:21.250 --> 00:32:24.150 It's hard. It's a good question for all of us 00:32:24.150 --> 00:32:27.150 to consider. What are we willing to suffer for 00:32:27.150 --> 00:32:29.650 the sake of the gospel? Are we willing to suffer 00:32:29.650 --> 00:32:34.609 insults? or injury or even financial loss? What 00:32:34.609 --> 00:32:37.069 are we willing to suffer for the sake of Christ? 00:32:38.410 --> 00:32:40.890 If Jesus is our model in life and death, all 00:32:40.890 --> 00:32:43.569 we have to look at is, well, how was he treated? 00:32:44.829 --> 00:32:50.029 And how did he respond when he was arrested unjustly, 00:32:50.069 --> 00:32:54.990 when he was tortured unjustly, when he was nailed 00:32:54.990 --> 00:32:59.920 to a cross unjustly? Was it not injustice? Of 00:32:59.920 --> 00:33:01.980 course it was, yet he remained silent in the 00:33:01.980 --> 00:33:07.599 face of his executioners. Peter tells us this, 00:33:07.599 --> 00:33:11.480 and this is such a great passage. When you do 00:33:11.480 --> 00:33:14.660 what is right and suffer for it, this finds favor 00:33:14.660 --> 00:33:19.380 with God. For you've been called for this purpose. 00:33:20.680 --> 00:33:24.480 Are you ready? Since Christ also suffered for 00:33:24.480 --> 00:33:27.619 you, leaving you an example for you to follow 00:33:27.619 --> 00:33:32.920 in his steps, Who committed no sin, nor was any 00:33:32.920 --> 00:33:35.940 deceit found in his mouth. It's 100 % injustice. 00:33:37.099 --> 00:33:40.380 But while being reviled, he did not revile in 00:33:40.380 --> 00:33:44.259 return. While suffering, he uttered no threats. 00:33:45.380 --> 00:33:48.619 But what did he do? He kept entrusting himself 00:33:48.619 --> 00:33:55.579 to him who judges righteously. Look, I know this 00:33:55.579 --> 00:33:59.400 is hard. But it's in black and white. It's in 00:33:59.400 --> 00:34:02.160 the scriptures, right? This is the command. This 00:34:02.160 --> 00:34:06.500 is the instruction from our Lord to have this 00:34:06.500 --> 00:34:10.139 attitude in life. So are we able to absorb the 00:34:10.139 --> 00:34:15.599 damages and extend grace for his sake? Are we 00:34:15.599 --> 00:34:20.840 able to prioritize peace over winning? Are we 00:34:20.840 --> 00:34:25.519 able to forgive remembering how much we've been 00:34:25.519 --> 00:34:28.679 forgiven? Are we able to put God's reputation 00:34:28.679 --> 00:34:32.880 above our own? Are we able to loosen our hands 00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:36.739 on money and possessions that we've actually 00:34:36.739 --> 00:34:38.820 received from him in the first place? They still 00:34:38.820 --> 00:34:41.159 belong to him. We're just stewards. Can we let 00:34:41.159 --> 00:34:43.079 go of those things for the sake of our testimony? 00:34:44.860 --> 00:34:47.559 By the way, Paul lived this out. One of the best 00:34:47.559 --> 00:34:49.809 parts about scripture is... It's these guys who 00:34:49.809 --> 00:34:51.969 wrote these principles. They didn't just write 00:34:51.969 --> 00:34:54.230 them in a vacuum. They lived them, right? Paul 00:34:54.230 --> 00:34:56.489 lived this out. Think back to Philippians chapter 00:34:56.489 --> 00:34:58.989 one. We find out that there are men out there 00:34:58.989 --> 00:35:02.050 preaching the gospel because Paul's in prison. 00:35:02.989 --> 00:35:05.449 And they're jumping on the opportunity to take 00:35:05.449 --> 00:35:09.389 the spotlight because he's in prison, right? 00:35:09.550 --> 00:35:13.250 And to preach the gospel. And so how does Paul 00:35:13.250 --> 00:35:17.510 respond to that? Does he rail against them? Does 00:35:17.510 --> 00:35:20.829 he promise to sue them later? He says, no, what 00:35:20.829 --> 00:35:23.530 does it matter? The important thing is that in 00:35:23.530 --> 00:35:26.329 every way, whether from false motive or true, 00:35:26.429 --> 00:35:32.170 Christ is preached. Kingdom over personal. It's 00:35:32.170 --> 00:35:33.929 beautiful. I've always marveled at that little 00:35:33.929 --> 00:35:36.269 piece of Paul's story, but it makes sense. Like 00:35:36.269 --> 00:35:38.650 Jesus, he understood, and this is so important, 00:35:38.829 --> 00:35:42.050 that the courts of this day are not the final 00:35:42.050 --> 00:35:46.909 court of appeal. Right? God will one day make 00:35:46.909 --> 00:35:49.909 all things right. He will establish perfect justice. 00:35:50.210 --> 00:35:53.610 We can't expect that in this life. It's not going 00:35:53.610 --> 00:35:56.710 to happen. So what do we do? We look to Jesus' 00:35:56.869 --> 00:36:00.070 example. We keep entrusting ourselves to the 00:36:00.070 --> 00:36:02.309 one who judges righteously because that's all 00:36:02.309 --> 00:36:09.429 that matters in the end. Okay. That's what Paul's 00:36:09.429 --> 00:36:12.050 talking about in the first century. Let's bridge 00:36:12.050 --> 00:36:14.869 the gap now and talk about us. today in Santa 00:36:14.869 --> 00:36:17.030 Clarita. First of all, maybe we should ask and 00:36:17.030 --> 00:36:19.150 answer this question. Why is Paul so upset about 00:36:19.150 --> 00:36:23.429 this issue? The obvious answer is the unity and 00:36:23.429 --> 00:36:27.250 the testimony of the church are at stake. Unity 00:36:27.250 --> 00:36:30.750 and testimony. Under the new covenant, the church 00:36:30.750 --> 00:36:32.969 is the dwelling place of God. We've looked at 00:36:32.969 --> 00:36:35.869 this recently. The dwelling place of God. To 00:36:35.869 --> 00:36:39.510 tear at the temple by attacking other members 00:36:39.510 --> 00:36:44.500 of the body is self -destructive. We don't tear 00:36:44.500 --> 00:36:50.579 at the temple. As fellow believers, we are commanded 00:36:50.579 --> 00:36:54.219 to build one another up. Do you think lawsuits 00:36:54.219 --> 00:37:00.159 do that? No, they tear one another apart. These 00:37:00.159 --> 00:37:02.760 actions by the Corinthians are a denial of the 00:37:02.760 --> 00:37:05.139 life -changing power of the Holy Spirit. It's 00:37:05.139 --> 00:37:08.099 a denial of the gospel itself. We cannot and 00:37:08.099 --> 00:37:10.840 must not fall back into the patterns of the world, 00:37:10.940 --> 00:37:14.219 allowing the desires of our old selves to seep 00:37:14.219 --> 00:37:17.559 back in and cause damage in the corporate life 00:37:17.559 --> 00:37:22.400 of the church. We can't fall back, back into 00:37:22.400 --> 00:37:25.139 the culture, back into our old ways, back into 00:37:25.139 --> 00:37:27.780 the ways that the world sees things. We focus 00:37:27.780 --> 00:37:31.449 on what God says about it. conflicts among members, 00:37:31.610 --> 00:37:34.289 unreconciled relationships in the body. These 00:37:34.289 --> 00:37:39.309 destroy the worship of the church. Just like 00:37:39.309 --> 00:37:42.429 sexual sin in chapter five, these conflicts in 00:37:42.429 --> 00:37:45.630 chapter six cannot be allowed to sit unaddressed 00:37:45.630 --> 00:37:49.210 in the body of Christ to fester and to grow. 00:37:50.309 --> 00:37:52.809 Jesus gave us the essential command on this in 00:37:52.809 --> 00:37:55.610 the Sermon on the Mount. He says, if you are 00:37:55.610 --> 00:37:58.630 offering your gift on the altar, and there you 00:37:58.630 --> 00:38:01.150 remember that your brother or sister has something 00:38:01.150 --> 00:38:05.710 against you, what do you do? He says, you leave 00:38:05.710 --> 00:38:08.610 your gift in front of the altar, you go and be 00:38:08.610 --> 00:38:11.349 reconciled with your brother or sister, and then 00:38:11.349 --> 00:38:15.250 you come back, and then you offer the gift. He's 00:38:15.250 --> 00:38:18.730 talking about worship. In other words, don't 00:38:18.730 --> 00:38:20.690 bring an offering of love to me if you don't 00:38:20.690 --> 00:38:23.530 have love for your brothers and sisters. If you 00:38:23.530 --> 00:38:25.829 don't establish peace with them, you're not gonna 00:38:25.829 --> 00:38:29.949 find peace with me. They go together, don't they? 00:38:31.230 --> 00:38:33.650 The Corinthians were failing to address all their 00:38:33.650 --> 00:38:36.190 little beefs with one another. They were letting 00:38:36.190 --> 00:38:38.349 them just sit there. And instead of doing the 00:38:38.349 --> 00:38:40.630 hard work of reconciliation, and by the way, 00:38:40.630 --> 00:38:43.909 I'm the first one to admit, it's hard work. When 00:38:43.909 --> 00:38:46.670 conflicts happen and you gotta dig in and you 00:38:46.670 --> 00:38:49.309 gotta walk through the issues and you gotta forgive 00:38:49.309 --> 00:38:52.590 and confess and work towards restoration, it 00:38:52.590 --> 00:38:56.590 is hard work. But that's what we're called to. 00:38:57.389 --> 00:38:59.710 These guys were choosing the really cold, really 00:38:59.710 --> 00:39:03.510 easy path. I'll just go to the courts. I'll just 00:39:03.510 --> 00:39:05.969 get a judgment in the courts. What a sad, what 00:39:05.969 --> 00:39:10.989 a lazy, what an ungodly response. And then there's 00:39:10.989 --> 00:39:14.210 the issue of testimony. Imagine how the unbelieving 00:39:14.210 --> 00:39:17.369 population in first century Corinth was processing 00:39:17.369 --> 00:39:21.190 what they were watching. Here's this new religious 00:39:21.190 --> 00:39:24.170 movement that had come to their city. It's another 00:39:24.170 --> 00:39:26.960 philosophy they would have seen. among all the 00:39:26.960 --> 00:39:29.280 others. And the followers of this movement are 00:39:29.280 --> 00:39:32.679 really vocal about what they believe. But then 00:39:32.679 --> 00:39:34.599 the Corinthians must have been going, but they 00:39:34.599 --> 00:39:36.400 don't look any different than the Stoics or the 00:39:36.400 --> 00:39:38.639 Epicureans or any of the other philosophies. 00:39:39.059 --> 00:39:44.019 Why should I pay attention? Now, what about us 00:39:44.019 --> 00:39:47.400 today here in Santa Clarita? I've got a whole 00:39:47.400 --> 00:39:50.019 series of questions for you. None of these are 00:39:50.019 --> 00:39:53.219 targeted at any individual in this church. So 00:39:53.219 --> 00:39:56.079 just take it collectively. Every time I do this, 00:39:56.119 --> 00:40:01.300 people go, were you talking to me? I'm not. I'm 00:40:01.300 --> 00:40:05.019 not. But how do we handle disagreements here 00:40:05.019 --> 00:40:10.320 at Oak Hill? How do each of you handle a disagreement 00:40:10.320 --> 00:40:13.099 that you have in the body? Do we do it biblically 00:40:13.099 --> 00:40:18.780 or out of fear? Do we just resist? I don't want 00:40:18.780 --> 00:40:25.079 to deal with it. Don't like confrontation. It's 00:40:25.079 --> 00:40:27.960 how we end up in trouble. Do we deal with it 00:40:27.960 --> 00:40:32.599 biblically? Is unity a top priority for us? Do 00:40:32.599 --> 00:40:34.460 we see that? What's the number one thing in our 00:40:34.460 --> 00:40:38.480 covenant? Unity. And we always say it. If we 00:40:38.480 --> 00:40:40.539 get that one right, we're ahead of the game, 00:40:40.699 --> 00:40:43.739 aren't we, right? If unity reigns, we're going 00:40:43.739 --> 00:40:47.900 to be okay. Is that the top priority for you 00:40:47.900 --> 00:40:52.679 in this church? Do you forgive others quickly? 00:40:54.820 --> 00:40:58.739 Do you let love cover a multitude of sins? Letting 00:40:58.739 --> 00:41:02.340 things go? Are you quick to overlook an offense? 00:41:03.619 --> 00:41:06.900 Because we live life together. It's like a rock 00:41:06.900 --> 00:41:09.699 tumbler. Sometimes the sharp edge catches one 00:41:09.699 --> 00:41:12.599 of us, right? Are you able to overlook those 00:41:12.599 --> 00:41:14.440 things or do you get triggered by everything? 00:41:15.099 --> 00:41:17.579 And now everything, you know, a molehill becomes 00:41:17.579 --> 00:41:22.440 a mountain. How do we speak about our fellow 00:41:22.440 --> 00:41:26.139 members? How do we speak about fellow members? 00:41:26.320 --> 00:41:29.980 Do we build them up? Or do we enjoy tearing them 00:41:29.980 --> 00:41:34.139 down? How do we speak about leadership in the 00:41:34.139 --> 00:41:37.519 church? Do we honor our leaders or do we grumble? 00:41:39.119 --> 00:41:43.420 Is gossip a problem in our lives? When we get 00:41:43.420 --> 00:41:45.639 together, do we find ourselves gossiping? Do 00:41:45.639 --> 00:41:48.480 we relish the opportunity to air things that 00:41:48.480 --> 00:41:54.630 should be kept private? Do we walk with our fellow 00:41:54.630 --> 00:41:56.489 members through the hard things of life, or do 00:41:56.489 --> 00:42:01.389 we just say, eh, I'll worry about myself? Somebody 00:42:01.389 --> 00:42:04.530 else will pray for them. Somebody else will bring 00:42:04.530 --> 00:42:08.849 a meal. I've got to worry about me. Is that our 00:42:08.849 --> 00:42:13.929 testimony? Do we treat the church as a place 00:42:13.929 --> 00:42:17.250 to be served, or do we zealously look to serve 00:42:17.250 --> 00:42:23.500 others? Is that what we're known for? What kind 00:42:23.500 --> 00:42:27.440 of attitude do we display in our jobs? Among 00:42:27.440 --> 00:42:30.280 all the unbelievers around us, what are we known 00:42:30.280 --> 00:42:36.960 for at work? What are we known for? How do we 00:42:36.960 --> 00:42:39.980 treat the folks who serve us in various businesses 00:42:39.980 --> 00:42:42.239 in our community, in our restaurants and coffee 00:42:42.239 --> 00:42:45.539 shops and grocery stores? How do we treat people? 00:42:47.239 --> 00:42:52.570 Are our interactions marked by kindness? kindness, 00:42:52.730 --> 00:42:57.090 compassion? How do we interact with the staff 00:42:57.090 --> 00:43:00.969 who teach our kids at school? Are we known among 00:43:00.969 --> 00:43:05.170 the school community as being a gracious parent? 00:43:07.469 --> 00:43:10.469 What kind of bridge building and gospel conversations 00:43:10.469 --> 00:43:14.289 do we initiate when we put our kids into hobbies 00:43:14.289 --> 00:43:17.630 or youth sports? What kind of intentional conversations 00:43:17.630 --> 00:43:22.300 are we, is that even on our radar? To have intentional 00:43:22.300 --> 00:43:25.739 conversations about the gospel? Do the fellow 00:43:25.739 --> 00:43:28.559 parents on my son's baseball team know me as 00:43:28.559 --> 00:43:32.780 kind and gracious? Or am I that parent that's 00:43:32.780 --> 00:43:38.039 out of control? What about in our neighborhoods? 00:43:38.639 --> 00:43:40.880 If you live in a house, what are you known for 00:43:40.880 --> 00:43:43.079 on your block, on your street? If you live in 00:43:43.079 --> 00:43:45.619 an apartment complex, what do people see in your 00:43:45.619 --> 00:43:49.690 daily life mixing? In your apartment complex. 00:43:49.869 --> 00:43:52.690 Look, we could go on and on on this, right? The 00:43:52.690 --> 00:43:54.670 bottom line is this. What kind of an ambassador 00:43:54.670 --> 00:43:58.750 are you? What kind of an ambassador are you? 00:43:59.150 --> 00:44:01.309 And I'll speak as Paul does. Do you not know, 00:44:01.369 --> 00:44:04.750 O kill, that these things matter? Do you not 00:44:04.750 --> 00:44:07.969 know? Are we helping or are we hindering the 00:44:07.969 --> 00:44:10.289 spread of the kingdom here in Santa Clarita? 00:44:10.510 --> 00:44:15.670 Both by our actions and by our words. Now there's 00:44:15.670 --> 00:44:17.829 good news. I'm going to finish on a high note. 00:44:19.130 --> 00:44:22.949 We can make a fresh start today. If you weren't 00:44:22.949 --> 00:44:25.369 aware of this or you're like, man, I'm feeling 00:44:25.369 --> 00:44:27.610 the weight of conviction right now, amen and 00:44:27.610 --> 00:44:29.829 amen, that's great. There's never a bad time 00:44:29.829 --> 00:44:32.909 to act upon a conviction and say, you know what, 00:44:33.010 --> 00:44:36.610 I need to do better. I need to do better. There's 00:44:36.610 --> 00:44:38.409 forgiveness from the Lord for past mistakes. 00:44:38.690 --> 00:44:40.610 There's always grace for the past and hope for 00:44:40.610 --> 00:44:44.570 the future. Together, let's commit to these things, 00:44:44.670 --> 00:44:48.460 to what we say in our covenant. Let's commit 00:44:48.460 --> 00:44:50.639 to biblical principles when it comes to unity. 00:44:51.579 --> 00:44:54.519 And when we have disagreements in the body, let's 00:44:54.519 --> 00:44:58.539 keep our collective witness in mind. Let's live 00:44:58.539 --> 00:45:00.500 out our covenant, seeking by the power of the 00:45:00.500 --> 00:45:03.920 Holy Spirit to live how? Carefully in the world. 00:45:04.440 --> 00:45:07.480 To live carefully in the world, denying ungodliness 00:45:07.480 --> 00:45:11.980 and worldly lust, recognizing that because we're 00:45:11.980 --> 00:45:13.880 found in Christ, we have a special obligation 00:45:13.880 --> 00:45:18.590 to lead a new and holy life. Together. Amen?