WEBVTT 00:00:03.980 --> 00:00:07.799 Today we come to the next passage in 1 Corinthians 00:00:07.799 --> 00:00:10.880 as we've been going through this book and it 00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:15.900 is in chapter 6 verses 1 through 8. Our subject 00:00:15.900 --> 00:00:19.660 today is on disputes and lawsuits between believers. 00:00:20.660 --> 00:00:23.100 Let's turn to this passage and read the word 00:00:23.100 --> 00:00:25.879 and then we'll pray and ask for God's blessing 00:00:25.879 --> 00:00:29.920 on it as we look at this passage and seek to 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:39.840 understand it. 1 Corinthians 6, verse 1. Do you 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:57.119 not know that we shall judge angels? How much 00:00:57.119 --> 00:01:00.679 more things that pertain to this life. If then 00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:02.780 you have judgments concerning things pertaining 00:01:02.780 --> 00:01:05.560 to this life, do you appoint those who are least 00:01:05.560 --> 00:01:08.680 esteemed by the church to judge? I say this to 00:01:08.680 --> 00:01:13.560 your shame. It is so, is it so, that there is 00:01:13.560 --> 00:01:16.819 not a wise man among you, not even one, who will 00:01:16.819 --> 00:01:19.840 be able to judge between his brethren? But brother 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:22.700 goes to law against brother, and that before 00:01:22.700 --> 00:01:26.299 unbelievers. Now, therefore, it is already an 00:01:26.299 --> 00:01:29.000 utter failure for you that you go to law against 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:32.180 one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? 00:01:32.459 --> 00:01:35.900 Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? 00:01:36.319 --> 00:01:40.180 No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat and do 00:01:40.180 --> 00:01:45.719 these things to your brethren. Let's pray. Father, 00:01:45.819 --> 00:01:48.859 we thank you for this passage today. Help us 00:01:48.859 --> 00:01:52.099 to understand it, Lord. To understand it as you 00:01:52.099 --> 00:01:53.879 have given it through the mouth of the Apostle 00:01:53.879 --> 00:01:56.980 Paul in their context and help us to understand 00:01:56.980 --> 00:02:00.319 how we are to apply it today. For this is your 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:03.500 word and we seek to be obedient to it. So we 00:02:03.500 --> 00:02:06.299 pray, open up our hearts, open up our minds and 00:02:06.299 --> 00:02:08.860 our understanding that we might know and that 00:02:08.860 --> 00:02:11.840 we might fear you and serve you in it. We pray 00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:21.210 in Jesus name. Amen. This chapter begins with 00:02:21.210 --> 00:02:24.909 a third problem that the Apostle Paul is dealing 00:02:24.909 --> 00:02:27.870 with as he writes this letter to the Corinthians. 00:02:28.430 --> 00:02:31.750 First was the issue of factiousness. Second was 00:02:31.750 --> 00:02:35.030 the issue of church discipline and sexual immorality 00:02:35.030 --> 00:02:37.750 that was tolerated within the church. And now 00:02:37.750 --> 00:02:42.150 this one is concerning litigation between believers 00:02:42.150 --> 00:02:46.210 or disputes and lawsuits. Throughout this section 00:02:46.210 --> 00:02:48.830 of 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul is teaching, 00:02:49.449 --> 00:02:52.590 He is rebuking and he is showing the Corinthians 00:02:52.590 --> 00:02:57.650 how to act as the holy temple that they are through 00:02:57.650 --> 00:03:01.129 Christ. For not only is the church of Jesus Christ 00:03:01.129 --> 00:03:05.389 a holy temple, but their bodies are also individually 00:03:05.389 --> 00:03:09.050 a temple of the Holy Spirit, as we'll see in 00:03:09.050 --> 00:03:13.849 verse 19 of chapter 6 in a later time. Thus it 00:03:13.849 --> 00:03:17.770 is so with each one who has trusted in Christ. 00:03:18.590 --> 00:03:24.770 You are a temple of the Holy Spirit as a believer. 00:03:25.370 --> 00:03:31.789 Even though you and I may be yet unsanctified 00:03:31.789 --> 00:03:37.430 in a whole number of ways, we are still a temple 00:03:37.430 --> 00:03:42.229 of the Holy Spirit. And this is the case. With 00:03:42.229 --> 00:03:46.110 the Corinthian church. There were many areas 00:03:46.110 --> 00:03:49.250 where they needed to be sanctified. They had 00:03:49.250 --> 00:03:52.210 a lot of problems. As we've been reading about. 00:03:52.810 --> 00:03:57.090 But so or thus Paul writes a letter. And this 00:03:57.090 --> 00:04:01.169 letter includes encouragement. Warning. Rebuke. 00:04:01.270 --> 00:04:07.229 And instruction to them as believers. As believers. 00:04:08.729 --> 00:04:12.009 being a temple of the Holy Spirit corporately 00:04:12.009 --> 00:04:16.990 and as being temples of the Lord in their bodies 00:04:16.990 --> 00:04:20.829 individually. He writes for their sanctification 00:04:20.829 --> 00:04:25.269 so that they might live out and act out the gospel 00:04:25.269 --> 00:04:29.589 as a temple of the Holy Spirit. Now, last Sunday, 00:04:29.670 --> 00:04:32.629 we looked at the situation requiring church discipline. 00:04:33.029 --> 00:04:35.930 In this case was that of sexual immorality of 00:04:35.930 --> 00:04:39.019 a very bad sort. And the man was to be turned 00:04:39.019 --> 00:04:42.660 over to Satan and expelled from the church. We 00:04:42.660 --> 00:04:45.480 learn from this that this is necessary when the 00:04:45.480 --> 00:04:48.839 sin is such that it cannot be one named among 00:04:48.839 --> 00:04:52.439 the body of believers. And later, Paul says that 00:04:52.439 --> 00:04:54.939 if you live in them, you cannot be a part of 00:04:54.939 --> 00:04:59.019 the kingdom of Christ and of our God. Now later 00:04:59.019 --> 00:05:01.180 in this chapter, we're going to see much more 00:05:01.180 --> 00:05:03.279 about the temple of the Holy Spirit in another 00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:06.660 sermon. But here for today, Paul's going to speak 00:05:06.660 --> 00:05:09.519 very straightforwardly to them again about something 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:13.120 that they are doing. And it is something that 00:05:13.120 --> 00:05:17.639 is shameful, as we will see in verse 5. What 00:05:17.639 --> 00:05:20.899 is that that is shameful? It is that Christian 00:05:20.899 --> 00:05:24.199 believers, when they have a personal matter against 00:05:24.199 --> 00:05:27.839 one another, They go before the unrighteous for 00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:31.920 adjudication rather than dealing with it in the 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:35.560 church. But before we begin going through the 00:05:35.560 --> 00:05:38.660 passage, I do want to point something out that 00:05:38.660 --> 00:05:41.439 is important for us to understand as we look 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:45.399 at this text. I do not think that the apostle 00:05:45.399 --> 00:05:49.839 is speaking about criminal law. In this passage, 00:05:50.060 --> 00:05:54.360 that is like murder or rape or committing a crime 00:05:54.360 --> 00:05:58.120 against your neighbor. I say this because the 00:05:58.120 --> 00:06:02.079 church has not been given as an institution the 00:06:02.079 --> 00:06:04.459 sword of the civil government. Christians can 00:06:04.459 --> 00:06:06.939 serve as a magistrate, yes, but it's not part 00:06:06.939 --> 00:06:09.660 of the duties of the church to carry out civil 00:06:09.660 --> 00:06:16.240 punishments for crimes, criminal, matters of 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:21.709 criminal extent. The church has not been given 00:06:21.709 --> 00:06:23.949 the sword of civil government. It is exclusively 00:06:23.949 --> 00:06:27.569 for the civil magistrate, as Paul brings out 00:06:27.569 --> 00:06:32.009 in Romans 13, verses 1 through 7. For he, that 00:06:32.009 --> 00:06:35.370 is the civil magistrate, is God's minister to 00:06:35.370 --> 00:06:38.589 you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid, 00:06:38.790 --> 00:06:42.269 for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he 00:06:42.269 --> 00:06:46.129 is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath 00:06:46.129 --> 00:06:50.870 on him. Who practices evil. The civil magistrate 00:06:50.870 --> 00:06:53.790 does not bear the sword in vain. He is a minister 00:06:53.790 --> 00:06:57.389 of God. So therefore this passage is most likely 00:06:57.389 --> 00:07:01.550 dealing with civil or financial law. Or what 00:07:01.550 --> 00:07:06.050 we would call today tort law. Things pertaining 00:07:06.050 --> 00:07:11.509 to personal injury. Anthony Thistleston brings 00:07:11.509 --> 00:07:15.519 out that Roman criminal law. in this time period, 00:07:15.639 --> 00:07:20.379 was relatively fair and objective. But this was 00:07:20.379 --> 00:07:25.180 not the case with civil law. Here, judges and 00:07:25.180 --> 00:07:28.459 even juries expected to receive some quid pro 00:07:28.459 --> 00:07:32.759 quo for a favorable verdict. This might come 00:07:32.759 --> 00:07:35.639 in terms of a straight financial gift with strings, 00:07:35.860 --> 00:07:38.740 or what we would call a bribe, or a promised 00:07:38.740 --> 00:07:42.149 payment. or a debt to be paid by using economic 00:07:42.149 --> 00:07:45.430 or social influence, or by proving new business 00:07:45.430 --> 00:07:48.449 opportunities and openings. In other words, it 00:07:48.449 --> 00:07:53.430 was extremely corrupt. Tort law is primarily 00:07:53.430 --> 00:07:57.810 to hold the wrongdoer legally liable and to compensate 00:07:57.810 --> 00:08:01.470 the victim, usually through monetary damages 00:08:01.470 --> 00:08:06.110 rather than with a criminal punishment. Tort 00:08:06.110 --> 00:08:08.189 law is generally broken down into three main 00:08:08.189 --> 00:08:10.810 categories. That is negligence, where you fail 00:08:10.810 --> 00:08:14.110 to do something that you should have. Where it's 00:08:14.110 --> 00:08:16.730 intentional, that is you did something against 00:08:16.730 --> 00:08:21.110 your neighbor and you caused him to lose financially 00:08:21.110 --> 00:08:24.209 or to have other problems. And that is simply 00:08:24.209 --> 00:08:27.110 strict liability, where we are simply liable 00:08:27.110 --> 00:08:29.750 because of something that we did or did not do. 00:08:30.550 --> 00:08:34.490 It's very clear from this passage. That the adjudication 00:08:34.490 --> 00:08:37.590 that needs to take place is something that the 00:08:37.590 --> 00:08:40.909 church is equipped by God in his word and is 00:08:40.909 --> 00:08:45.970 able to do so. They're able to discern and to 00:08:45.970 --> 00:08:48.769 bring a judgment in the matter and bring accountability 00:08:48.769 --> 00:08:54.230 to the church member who is at fault. This is 00:08:54.230 --> 00:08:57.549 because they understand the law of God. The church 00:08:57.549 --> 00:08:59.830 understands this and they're able to speak to 00:08:59.830 --> 00:09:02.769 erring brethren and to bring accountability and 00:09:02.769 --> 00:09:05.929 require restitution or make a financial settlement 00:09:05.929 --> 00:09:09.350 between brothers. Now there are options for this, 00:09:09.350 --> 00:09:13.110 both directly in churches, but also there are 00:09:13.110 --> 00:09:16.450 also some additional parachurch Christian organizations 00:09:16.450 --> 00:09:21.269 that assist in this today. For example, in some 00:09:21.269 --> 00:09:24.269 of the businesses that I'm a partner in, we have 00:09:24.269 --> 00:09:28.470 written into our operating agreement an understanding, 00:09:28.690 --> 00:09:31.669 an agreement not to take each other to the law, 00:09:31.750 --> 00:09:34.870 to the civil magistrate. But if we have a dispute... 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:37.320 and of course we're involved in various churches, 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:40.179 if we will then go to an organization called 00:09:40.179 --> 00:09:42.919 Institute of Christian Conciliation, which is 00:09:42.919 --> 00:09:45.080 a division of Ambassadors of Reconciliation, 00:09:45.320 --> 00:09:49.179 which settles matters between brothers with an 00:09:49.179 --> 00:09:53.259 impartial third party. These are all things that 00:09:53.259 --> 00:09:57.779 are available to us as we seek to resolve disputes. 00:09:59.300 --> 00:10:02.120 So with the scope of the argument understood, 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:05.360 let's go to the passage and understand what the 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:08.360 Apostle Paul is writing to the Corinthian church 00:10:08.360 --> 00:10:12.960 and to the church of all time. We'll begin, number 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:16.440 one, with the problem, and that is in verse 1. 00:10:17.419 --> 00:10:20.059 Christians are going to law before the wicked 00:10:20.059 --> 00:10:25.340 and unjust against their brethren. He says, dare 00:10:25.340 --> 00:10:28.539 any of you, having a matter against another, 00:10:28.779 --> 00:10:32.659 go to law before the unrighteous and not before 00:10:32.659 --> 00:10:37.320 the saints. The word dare is a very strong word. 00:10:37.460 --> 00:10:41.700 It's like, how dare you do this? This is unthinkable. 00:10:41.700 --> 00:10:45.480 This is shameful. How dare you do this? Such 00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:48.690 a thing should not be endured. The word used 00:10:48.690 --> 00:10:51.710 for unrighteous also bears the meaning of being 00:10:51.710 --> 00:10:56.990 heathen, wicked, and unjust. So what he's saying 00:10:56.990 --> 00:11:00.090 here is, how dare you, when you have an issue 00:11:00.090 --> 00:11:04.529 between brothers, go to law before the unrighteous, 00:11:04.629 --> 00:11:08.169 the heathen, the wicked, and the unjust person 00:11:08.169 --> 00:11:14.009 or court. Paul boldly confronts them for daring 00:11:14.009 --> 00:11:16.789 to do this, to take these civil matters to a 00:11:16.789 --> 00:11:19.129 corrupt and unjust and an unrighteous law court 00:11:19.129 --> 00:11:22.210 or a magistrate in order to receive satisfaction. 00:11:22.690 --> 00:11:25.470 As Thistleton pointed out, this would likely 00:11:25.470 --> 00:11:30.210 require paying bribes or some other type of injustice. 00:11:30.809 --> 00:11:34.070 Instead, Paul says, they should be taking this 00:11:34.070 --> 00:11:38.120 before the saints. How dare you do this? And 00:11:38.120 --> 00:11:41.480 you go over here and you don't go before the 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:45.440 saints. So that is, it is not the worldly wise 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:47.820 that have understanding in such matters unless 00:11:47.820 --> 00:11:49.799 they're borrowing from a Christian worldview. 00:11:50.039 --> 00:11:54.000 Go anywhere in the world to see and to observe 00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:56.679 those who have not been influenced by a Christian 00:11:56.679 --> 00:12:00.279 civilization and you will see how evil and how 00:12:00.279 --> 00:12:03.659 wicked and how corrupt the courts are. Go to 00:12:03.659 --> 00:12:08.139 Pakistan today or any other Islamic nation and 00:12:08.139 --> 00:12:11.360 see how unjustly they treat Christian believers 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:16.639 and even their own people. Bribery is rampant 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:22.019 among them. Look at Paul's experience before 00:12:22.019 --> 00:12:26.820 Felix in Acts chapter 24. Felix, as he testified, 00:12:27.659 --> 00:12:32.320 kept him bound for two years, unjustly held in 00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:36.120 prison for no crime because, quote, he hoped 00:12:36.120 --> 00:12:40.019 that money would be given him by Paul, that he 00:12:40.019 --> 00:12:44.019 might release him. That's how unjust they were. 00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:47.340 That's in Acts 24, verse 26 and 27. There is 00:12:47.340 --> 00:12:51.330 little justice, if any at all. I'll give you 00:12:51.330 --> 00:12:53.309 one example. Now, this isn't a matter of criminal 00:12:53.309 --> 00:12:57.389 law, but in most Islamic countries, if there 00:12:57.389 --> 00:13:00.929 is a rape, the way that they deal with the rape 00:13:00.929 --> 00:13:04.029 instead of punishing the perpetrator is they 00:13:04.029 --> 00:13:08.129 will then go and rape his sister, the perpetrator's 00:13:08.129 --> 00:13:11.850 sister. It's an absolutely awful and despicable 00:13:11.850 --> 00:13:14.570 way of dealing with such things. There is no 00:13:14.570 --> 00:13:20.279 justice regarding these things. Now, another 00:13:20.279 --> 00:13:22.539 thing then that we must consider in looking at 00:13:22.539 --> 00:13:26.480 this prohibition, that is this question. Is this, 00:13:26.580 --> 00:13:34.159 is Paul teaching a prohibition for all time and 00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:38.940 in all places? In other words, is it wrong to 00:13:38.940 --> 00:13:42.980 go to a court of law to deal with disputes between 00:13:42.980 --> 00:13:48.080 brethren at all times and in all places? Would 00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:52.019 Paul be saying this if he were living in, say, 00:13:52.100 --> 00:13:56.399 early America or maybe even in the 1800s? I think 00:13:56.399 --> 00:14:00.139 probably not. He certainly would not be saying 00:14:00.139 --> 00:14:03.820 this in ancient Israel. Remember how God through 00:14:03.820 --> 00:14:08.220 Jethro instructed Moses on how to establish judges 00:14:08.220 --> 00:14:11.340 who would bring justice to the land in situations 00:14:11.340 --> 00:14:15.879 exactly like this. They were to establish judges 00:14:15.879 --> 00:14:18.980 in the land so that they could do this very thing 00:14:18.980 --> 00:14:21.820 among the millions of the Israelites. In Exodus 00:14:21.820 --> 00:14:25.080 18, verse 19 through 26, Jethro says to Moses, 00:14:25.779 --> 00:14:28.740 stand before God for the people that you may 00:14:28.740 --> 00:14:33.759 bring the difficulties to God. And you shall 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:35.940 teach them the statutes and the laws and show 00:14:35.940 --> 00:14:38.200 them the way in which they must walk and the 00:14:38.200 --> 00:14:40.840 work they must do. Moreover, you shall select 00:14:40.840 --> 00:14:44.649 from all the people, able men, such as fear God, 00:14:44.870 --> 00:14:48.990 men of truth, hating covetousness, and place 00:14:48.990 --> 00:14:51.490 such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers 00:14:51.490 --> 00:14:53.950 of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of 00:14:53.950 --> 00:14:58.809 tens, and let them judge the people at all times. 00:14:59.129 --> 00:15:02.450 And then Moses heeds. the voice of his father 00:15:02.450 --> 00:15:04.789 -in -law, he did all that he said. And Moses 00:15:04.789 --> 00:15:07.370 did indeed choose able men out of Israel and 00:15:07.370 --> 00:15:09.529 made them heads over the people in this way. 00:15:09.629 --> 00:15:12.210 And they judged the people at all times, the 00:15:12.210 --> 00:15:14.429 hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged 00:15:14.429 --> 00:15:18.809 every small case themselves. So when you have... 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:22.299 a Christian government, civil government, or 00:15:22.299 --> 00:15:25.919 largely so, then I don't think that this passage 00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:30.100 applies in the same way as it did right here 00:15:30.100 --> 00:15:34.259 because, as he mentions here, you do this before 00:15:34.259 --> 00:15:38.139 the unrighteous. This whole argument is framed. 00:15:38.299 --> 00:15:42.559 Why are you doing this and going to the wicked, 00:15:42.740 --> 00:15:48.519 unrighteous, and unjust people or judges? It 00:15:48.519 --> 00:15:51.700 is clear that God is the one who has instituted 00:15:51.700 --> 00:15:54.899 justice, he has set up judges, and he gave the 00:15:54.899 --> 00:15:58.539 parameters and standard for them. Paul says elsewhere 00:15:58.539 --> 00:16:01.460 that the law is good if a man uses it lawfully. 00:16:01.820 --> 00:16:04.980 The Romans were not using the law lawfully, but 00:16:04.980 --> 00:16:08.620 were rather turning it into injustice. When a 00:16:08.620 --> 00:16:11.759 society is upholding righteous law, then it is 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:14.440 my opinion that the shame and prohibition here 00:16:14.440 --> 00:16:18.629 does not apply. It is clear that the problem 00:16:18.629 --> 00:16:21.590 was not seeking to resolve issues or even to 00:16:21.590 --> 00:16:25.190 seek redress. That wasn't the problem. There 00:16:25.190 --> 00:16:28.809 was an issue. Somebody wasn't doing what they 00:16:28.809 --> 00:16:32.269 had committed to do. Such a matter needs to be 00:16:32.269 --> 00:16:34.389 fixed. It needs to be solved. Somebody needs 00:16:34.389 --> 00:16:36.830 to adjudicate. That's not the problem. That's 00:16:36.830 --> 00:16:39.690 not the issue. It is that of going before the 00:16:39.690 --> 00:16:45.139 unjust and the wicked in order to do so. When 00:16:45.139 --> 00:16:47.259 one has a matter, they are then to go before 00:16:47.259 --> 00:16:50.519 the saints, those who uphold justice and who 00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:54.460 understand God's law. Now, Paul uses the word 00:16:54.460 --> 00:16:56.700 saints here. He uses this several times in this 00:16:56.700 --> 00:16:59.340 passage, and he simply means the people of God, 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:02.659 the church people who are part of the church 00:17:02.659 --> 00:17:06.700 of Jesus Christ. We are saints before the Lord. 00:17:06.779 --> 00:17:10.619 This is not some special holy person who's been 00:17:11.640 --> 00:17:14.599 canonized in some way often after being dead 00:17:14.599 --> 00:17:17.539 no saints here simply means the people of god 00:17:17.539 --> 00:17:22.440 the christian church secondly then he makes his 00:17:22.440 --> 00:17:25.259 point of how the saints are qualified to do this 00:17:25.259 --> 00:17:28.960 because the saints will judge the world and they 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:32.799 will judge angels This is verse 2 and 3. He says, 00:17:32.980 --> 00:17:35.519 Do you not know that the saints will judge the 00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:38.420 world? And if the world will be judged by you, 00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:41.460 are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:45.119 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How 00:17:45.119 --> 00:17:52.119 much more things that pertain to this life. Excuse 00:17:52.119 --> 00:17:56.349 me. Paul gives biblical proof of two facts that 00:17:56.349 --> 00:17:59.710 will happen in the future. The first is that 00:17:59.710 --> 00:18:02.789 in some way believers in Christ will judge the 00:18:02.789 --> 00:18:06.769 world. And the second is that believers in Christ 00:18:06.769 --> 00:18:09.750 will judge angels, which we'll look at in just 00:18:09.750 --> 00:18:13.009 a moment. And he draws from that that Christian 00:18:13.009 --> 00:18:17.089 believers are not unworthy. to judge the smallest 00:18:17.089 --> 00:18:19.390 matters. In other words, he argues from the greater 00:18:19.390 --> 00:18:22.829 to the lesser. If you all are going to be judging 00:18:22.829 --> 00:18:26.470 angels and the world someday, how much more you 00:18:26.470 --> 00:18:29.490 should be able to judge these smaller matters 00:18:29.490 --> 00:18:35.569 here on earth. The world pales in comparison 00:18:35.569 --> 00:18:46.750 to... Now what is Paul referring to? In that 00:18:46.750 --> 00:18:50.950 the saints will judge the world. It is not explicitly 00:18:50.950 --> 00:18:56.890 clear here in this passage. There are two basic 00:18:56.890 --> 00:19:00.910 understandings of this and interpretations of 00:19:00.910 --> 00:19:07.119 what he is saying. and probably the most popular, 00:19:07.380 --> 00:19:09.880 is that in some way the saints will accompany 00:19:09.880 --> 00:19:13.700 Christ in judgment on the sinners on the great 00:19:13.700 --> 00:19:17.960 judgment day. That on that day, they will aid 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:20.839 our Lord in bringing judgment, or at least be 00:19:20.839 --> 00:19:25.160 in agreement with him. We get perhaps a possible 00:19:25.160 --> 00:19:30.039 glimpse of this in Matthew 19, verse 28. So Jesus 00:19:30.039 --> 00:19:32.660 said to them, Assuredly, I say to you that in 00:19:32.660 --> 00:19:35.440 the regeneration, When the Son of Man sits on 00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:38.259 the throne of his glory, you who have followed 00:19:38.259 --> 00:19:41.420 me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the 00:19:41.420 --> 00:19:44.680 twelve tribes of Israel. Now, so there's a judgment 00:19:44.680 --> 00:19:47.240 with God. It's not over the whole world, though. 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:51.000 It's that of judging the twelve tribes. There's 00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:54.859 also the prophecy of Enoch that Jude quotes in 00:19:54.859 --> 00:19:59.900 Jude verses 14 and 15. He says, Now Enoch, the 00:19:59.900 --> 00:20:03.309 seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men 00:20:03.309 --> 00:20:07.430 also, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten 00:20:07.430 --> 00:20:10.890 thousand of his saints to execute judgment on 00:20:10.890 --> 00:20:14.450 all, to convict all who are ungodly among them 00:20:14.450 --> 00:20:16.890 of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed 00:20:16.890 --> 00:20:20.069 in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things 00:20:20.069 --> 00:20:22.950 which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. 00:20:23.349 --> 00:20:26.170 So if this is the meaning, then it would simply 00:20:26.170 --> 00:20:28.849 mean that Christian believers are first judged 00:20:28.849 --> 00:20:32.089 themselves before God. They are found to be acquitted 00:20:32.089 --> 00:20:35.690 and to stand before Christ. And then they advance 00:20:35.690 --> 00:20:38.349 to the bench to approve and applaud the righteous 00:20:38.349 --> 00:20:41.809 judgment of Christ, both on men and angels. This 00:20:41.809 --> 00:20:43.609 would answer both of the statements in verse 00:20:43.609 --> 00:20:46.289 2, that Christians will judge the world and will 00:20:46.289 --> 00:20:49.109 judge angels. So this is something in the future. 00:20:49.269 --> 00:20:53.069 The problem is that we don't have any clear statement 00:20:53.069 --> 00:20:59.259 in the scriptures. detailing how that is or how 00:20:59.259 --> 00:21:02.160 that will work. And perhaps we just simply need 00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:03.900 to accept that that's what's going to happen, 00:21:03.960 --> 00:21:07.720 that we're going to do this in some way. A second 00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:11.759 option though, and that is taking the fact that 00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:15.279 when Christ ascended, he was given dominion and 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:17.599 glory and a kingdom that all peoples and nations 00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:21.400 and languages should serve him. In Daniel 7 verse 00:21:21.400 --> 00:21:24.559 18, after the great beast arrives out of the 00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:28.539 earth, he says, the saints of the most high shall 00:21:28.539 --> 00:21:31.640 receive the kingdom and they shall possess the 00:21:31.640 --> 00:21:36.279 kingdom forever, even forever and ever. A little 00:21:36.279 --> 00:21:39.460 later on in verse 22, he says, the time came 00:21:39.460 --> 00:21:43.380 for the saints to possess the kingdom. Now this 00:21:43.380 --> 00:21:47.079 was written in the context of the days of Rome. 00:21:47.819 --> 00:21:51.299 When Christ ascended and the kingdom and dominion 00:21:51.299 --> 00:21:53.640 and greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole 00:21:53.640 --> 00:21:56.900 heaven was given to the saints, as he says in 00:21:56.900 --> 00:22:00.240 verse 27, his kingdom, that is Christ's kingdom, 00:22:00.380 --> 00:22:04.220 is an everlasting kingdom and all dominion shall 00:22:04.220 --> 00:22:08.009 serve and obey him. So through this we understand 00:22:08.009 --> 00:22:10.809 that Christ's kingdom will expand. It will fill 00:22:10.809 --> 00:22:13.470 all the earth as Jesus speaks of many times. 00:22:13.730 --> 00:22:16.029 It's like a little leaven and it's going to leaven 00:22:16.029 --> 00:22:18.349 the whole lump. It's going to be a small tree 00:22:18.349 --> 00:22:20.250 like that of a mustard seed and it's going to 00:22:20.250 --> 00:22:25.170 fill the earth. The kingdom of Christ will fill 00:22:25.170 --> 00:22:29.250 the earth from sea to sea, from shore to shore. 00:22:31.339 --> 00:22:34.119 So we understand Christ's kingdom in that way, 00:22:34.140 --> 00:22:36.700 and that kings and nations will bow before Christ, 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:40.019 they will indeed kiss the sun, as Psalm 2 says, 00:22:40.299 --> 00:22:43.579 and therefore in that way, Christians will judge 00:22:43.579 --> 00:22:47.880 the world that is under the authority of Christ 00:22:47.880 --> 00:22:53.160 in them ruling on the earth, and as Christianity 00:22:53.160 --> 00:22:56.319 overspreads the world. So in other words, this 00:22:56.319 --> 00:22:58.680 is a restatement of the post -millennial vision. 00:22:59.339 --> 00:23:02.619 This view fits in nicely with Psalm 149, verse 00:23:02.619 --> 00:23:06.640 5 through 9, that says, Let the saints be joyful 00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:09.640 in glory, let them single out on their beds, 00:23:09.839 --> 00:23:12.740 let the high praises of God be in their mouth, 00:23:12.900 --> 00:23:15.859 and a two -edged sword in their hand to execute 00:23:15.859 --> 00:23:19.019 vengeance on the nations and punishments on the 00:23:19.019 --> 00:23:22.519 peoples, to bind their kings with chains and 00:23:22.519 --> 00:23:25.359 their nobles with fetters of iron, to execute 00:23:25.359 --> 00:23:28.250 on them the written judgment, this honor. Have 00:23:28.250 --> 00:23:32.710 all his saints praise the Lord. So there are 00:23:32.710 --> 00:23:35.509 two possibilities. There's one of the third that 00:23:35.509 --> 00:23:39.009 is a little bit just more just that this is saying 00:23:39.009 --> 00:23:43.029 here that through Christ we have the authority 00:23:43.029 --> 00:23:45.990 to cast out evil spirits and so that we're in 00:23:45.990 --> 00:23:49.829 that way judging the world. But that one I don't 00:23:49.829 --> 00:23:53.380 find in many places. I myself lean toward the 00:23:53.380 --> 00:23:56.000 second opinion, but I'm not dogmatic about it. 00:23:56.019 --> 00:23:58.599 There's much to be said for the first one. In 00:23:58.599 --> 00:24:00.900 favor of the first one is that there are many 00:24:00.900 --> 00:24:04.279 post -biblical Jewish writings that also hold 00:24:04.279 --> 00:24:07.440 to this view. And Paul, being a Jew, could have 00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:09.400 been referring to all of the scriptures which 00:24:09.400 --> 00:24:11.779 we've just looked at, as well as the tradition 00:24:11.779 --> 00:24:14.259 of understanding it in that way by his Jewish 00:24:14.259 --> 00:24:17.299 forefathers. And that is that we will accompany 00:24:17.299 --> 00:24:21.640 Christ in judgment in some way. Certainly we 00:24:21.640 --> 00:24:24.500 cannot know for sure. Either way, the contrast 00:24:24.500 --> 00:24:27.619 is very clear, that because saints judge the 00:24:27.619 --> 00:24:30.980 world and we will judge angels, then we should 00:24:30.980 --> 00:24:34.740 be eminently qualified to judge things pertaining 00:24:34.740 --> 00:24:38.059 to this life, especially some of these petty 00:24:38.059 --> 00:24:40.839 grievances or the smallest matters that they 00:24:40.839 --> 00:24:43.839 were going to law about. Now on the subject of 00:24:43.839 --> 00:24:47.079 judging angels, we have no other scripture to 00:24:47.079 --> 00:24:49.720 compare this to or to clarify what Paul says. 00:24:50.829 --> 00:24:55.349 It is very clear, we shall judge angels. Presumably, 00:24:55.349 --> 00:24:59.190 he's talking about judging evil angels, and obviously 00:24:59.190 --> 00:25:03.029 their judgment is foretold, as in Jude chapter 00:25:03.029 --> 00:25:08.009 1, verse 6 and 7, which says, The angels, which 00:25:08.009 --> 00:25:10.170 did not keep their proper domain, but left their 00:25:10.170 --> 00:25:13.309 own abode, he has reserved in everlasting chains 00:25:13.309 --> 00:25:15.849 under darkness for the judgment of that great 00:25:15.849 --> 00:25:19.109 day. As Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around 00:25:19.109 --> 00:25:21.769 them in a similar manner to these, having given 00:25:21.769 --> 00:25:24.309 themselves over to sexual immorality and going 00:25:24.309 --> 00:25:28.329 after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, 00:25:28.410 --> 00:25:32.490 suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. But 00:25:32.490 --> 00:25:35.089 that's really all we can tell about this matter 00:25:35.089 --> 00:25:38.690 of Christians judging angels. Therefore, we simply 00:25:38.690 --> 00:25:41.250 need to leave it here. The scripture teaches 00:25:41.250 --> 00:25:44.549 this, that in some way, we will judge angels. 00:25:45.340 --> 00:25:47.440 This understandably would occur at some time 00:25:47.440 --> 00:25:50.319 in the future, at the future judgment day or 00:25:50.319 --> 00:25:54.700 some day in which God appoints us to do so. Thirdly 00:25:54.700 --> 00:25:57.319 then, let's look at verse 4. It is more likely 00:25:57.319 --> 00:26:00.200 that those esteemed in the congregation would 00:26:00.200 --> 00:26:03.299 judge more righteous judgment than by going to 00:26:03.299 --> 00:26:06.220 the unbeliever. Here again we have some challenges 00:26:06.220 --> 00:26:10.079 of interpretation. This passage is... It's one 00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:12.119 that's not the easiest to preach through because 00:26:12.119 --> 00:26:15.240 there's just some things here that we're trying 00:26:15.240 --> 00:26:18.099 to really get the sense of this, and there's 00:26:18.099 --> 00:26:21.119 a few challenges in it. The grammar is quite 00:26:21.119 --> 00:26:24.759 challenging in this verse. On one hand, it seems 00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:27.279 to be kind of an ironic statement. It would be 00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:30.059 better for even the least esteemed in the church 00:26:30.059 --> 00:26:33.960 to serve as a judge rather than to go to the 00:26:33.960 --> 00:26:37.220 wicked or the unjust. But it could also be a 00:26:37.220 --> 00:26:39.920 question. I'm going to give you an example from 00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:42.839 three different translations as to how they translated 00:26:42.839 --> 00:26:48.259 it. First of all, the King James. If then you 00:26:48.259 --> 00:26:50.519 have judgment of things pertaining to this life, 00:26:50.700 --> 00:26:54.420 set them to judge which are least esteemed in 00:26:54.420 --> 00:26:56.940 the church. This is more like a command or an 00:26:56.940 --> 00:27:00.180 ironic thing. Set the ones who are the least 00:27:00.180 --> 00:27:03.910 esteemed, the lowest, the... The ones who possess 00:27:03.910 --> 00:27:07.130 the least wisdom in the church, it's better for 00:27:07.130 --> 00:27:10.970 them than for the unjust to have judgment. That's 00:27:10.970 --> 00:27:13.750 the King James. The new King James, which I've 00:27:13.750 --> 00:27:16.329 read, if you then have judgments concerning things 00:27:16.329 --> 00:27:20.089 pertaining to this life, do you appoint those 00:27:20.089 --> 00:27:22.890 who are least esteemed by the church to judge? 00:27:23.190 --> 00:27:27.670 And then the ESV says, so if you have such cases, 00:27:27.849 --> 00:27:32.049 why? do you lay them before those who have no 00:27:32.049 --> 00:27:35.369 standing in the church? So you can see there, 00:27:35.430 --> 00:27:38.809 there's really various meanings there, and that's 00:27:38.809 --> 00:27:41.470 because of the difficulty of the grammar of this 00:27:41.470 --> 00:27:45.750 text. Some think that Paul means it is better 00:27:45.750 --> 00:27:47.769 for the least esteemed in the congregation to 00:27:47.769 --> 00:27:50.730 judge instead of an unbeliever. Others think 00:27:50.730 --> 00:27:53.069 that Paul's referring to the fact that when something 00:27:53.069 --> 00:27:55.849 needs judged in the church, we look for someone 00:27:55.849 --> 00:27:59.589 with wisdom and not the least esteemed. And the 00:27:59.589 --> 00:28:03.250 unrighteous are even less than the least esteemed. 00:28:03.369 --> 00:28:06.230 Either way, the interpretations still make the 00:28:06.230 --> 00:28:08.869 point that Christian believers should be able 00:28:08.869 --> 00:28:11.289 to have judgments concerning things pertaining 00:28:11.289 --> 00:28:14.849 to this life and that it is far better than to 00:28:14.849 --> 00:28:20.150 go to unjust and wicked unbelievers. Number four, 00:28:20.230 --> 00:28:24.970 we come then to verse five through the beginning 00:28:24.970 --> 00:28:28.150 of seven. And here Paul gets really to the heart 00:28:28.150 --> 00:28:33.609 of it. This is a shameful matter, he says. He 00:28:33.609 --> 00:28:39.589 says, I say this to your shame. Is it so that 00:28:39.589 --> 00:28:43.230 there is not a wise man among you, not even one, 00:28:43.430 --> 00:28:47.329 who would be able to judge between his brethren? 00:28:47.450 --> 00:28:51.250 But brother goes to law against brother, and 00:28:51.250 --> 00:28:55.650 that before unbelievers. Now therefore, it is 00:28:55.650 --> 00:28:59.390 already an utter failure for you that go to law 00:28:59.390 --> 00:29:03.970 against one another. There are only two places 00:29:03.970 --> 00:29:06.730 in the scripture where this word shameful is 00:29:06.730 --> 00:29:10.890 used. Both of them are in 1 Corinthians. The 00:29:10.890 --> 00:29:14.750 second time is when he speaks about those who 00:29:14.750 --> 00:29:18.150 were questioning the resurrection. So you can 00:29:18.150 --> 00:29:20.630 see here, this is a really big matter that the 00:29:20.630 --> 00:29:24.490 apostle is making. This is shameful behavior. 00:29:24.829 --> 00:29:29.890 It should not be named among them. We must conclude 00:29:29.890 --> 00:29:34.450 this issue was a matter of very high importance. 00:29:35.410 --> 00:29:39.670 Now, think of this in light of the professed 00:29:39.670 --> 00:29:43.750 wisdom that the Corinthian church thought they 00:29:43.750 --> 00:29:47.380 had. They thought that they were wise, they were 00:29:47.380 --> 00:29:50.039 rich, they were well endowed with goods and with 00:29:50.039 --> 00:29:54.220 much wisdom. And the human wisdom was better 00:29:54.220 --> 00:29:57.480 than the wisdom of the cross. And Paul says, 00:29:57.680 --> 00:30:00.200 do you not even have one wise man among you? 00:30:00.359 --> 00:30:04.160 Is there not anyone who can judge between you? 00:30:04.400 --> 00:30:07.380 If so, then this is shameful. Where's all your 00:30:07.380 --> 00:30:10.880 high and mighty wisdom that you profess? He states 00:30:10.880 --> 00:30:13.720 the proof of this, this lack of wisdom in verse 00:30:13.720 --> 00:30:16.960 6. Brother goes to brother, goes to law against 00:30:16.960 --> 00:30:20.579 brother, and not before unbelievers. It continues 00:30:20.579 --> 00:30:23.460 in verse 7. It's an utter failure among you. 00:30:24.519 --> 00:30:27.759 So we conclude from that that to initiate a lawsuit 00:30:27.759 --> 00:30:31.259 and take our matters before a wicked and unbelieving 00:30:31.259 --> 00:30:33.839 and unjust judge is a shameful thing and that 00:30:33.839 --> 00:30:38.039 we ought not to do it. The challenge for us today, 00:30:38.180 --> 00:30:42.059 as we consider these words for us, is that in 00:30:42.059 --> 00:30:47.880 our context, It's a mixed bag. Many of our judges 00:30:47.880 --> 00:30:50.920 are not in the same state as what they were in 00:30:50.920 --> 00:30:55.279 Rome. In other words, there are a good number 00:30:55.279 --> 00:30:58.200 of good judges where they fear the Lord and they 00:30:58.200 --> 00:31:01.819 just... And they adjudicate just judgment. But 00:31:01.819 --> 00:31:04.279 on the same token, there are many others that 00:31:04.279 --> 00:31:07.220 are not like that. And so it requires wisdom 00:31:07.220 --> 00:31:10.559 for us as we think about that in our current 00:31:10.559 --> 00:31:13.779 context. We're not like the country of Pakistan 00:31:13.779 --> 00:31:18.240 or other Islamic countries in that way. We have 00:31:18.240 --> 00:31:23.839 a rich Christian heritage about law and jurisprudence 00:31:23.839 --> 00:31:27.339 that the effects of it are still here with us. 00:31:27.640 --> 00:31:32.640 In many ways. We have inherited much. But alas. 00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:36.559 There are also many unjust judges. Who are corrupt 00:31:36.559 --> 00:31:40.380 and evil. So we must conclude from this. In light 00:31:40.380 --> 00:31:44.420 of that. That the church must still be able to 00:31:44.420 --> 00:31:49.099 provide wise men. Who can judge between matters. 00:31:49.420 --> 00:31:53.319 That they do so with skill. That is with a good 00:31:53.319 --> 00:31:56.059 understanding of God's law. With a knowledge 00:31:56.059 --> 00:31:59.829 of good. A knowledge of jurisprudence, the ability 00:31:59.829 --> 00:32:03.349 to give close attention to detail, and to understand 00:32:03.349 --> 00:32:06.289 the biblical law requiring multiple witnesses. 00:32:06.650 --> 00:32:12.130 That is needed in our day just as much as ever. 00:32:12.369 --> 00:32:15.589 There are many things that could be adjudicated 00:32:15.589 --> 00:32:19.569 and could be settled simply by dealing with brothers 00:32:19.569 --> 00:32:23.329 in the church rather than taking it to a law 00:32:23.329 --> 00:32:27.480 court, even if the law court. is somewhat good. 00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:32.940 We can still do it here. He moves on then in 00:32:32.940 --> 00:32:38.799 the latter part of verse 7. He says, Why do you 00:32:38.799 --> 00:32:42.180 not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather 00:32:42.180 --> 00:32:46.240 let yourselves be cheated? No, you yourselves 00:32:46.240 --> 00:32:50.000 do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to 00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:53.819 your brethren. This seems like a hard saying 00:32:53.819 --> 00:32:57.210 here. Saying it's better to accept wrong and 00:32:57.210 --> 00:33:00.190 let yourself be cheated. Rather than to do this 00:33:00.190 --> 00:33:03.089 shameful thing. Well that's number one. It shows 00:33:03.089 --> 00:33:06.390 the importance of which he attaches this. This 00:33:06.390 --> 00:33:10.809 is a big matter. But it also goes along with 00:33:10.809 --> 00:33:14.190 the words of Jesus. In Matthew 5 verse 14 and 00:33:14.190 --> 00:33:17.650 41. If anyone wants to sue you and take away 00:33:17.650 --> 00:33:20.849 your tunic. Let him have your cloak also. And 00:33:20.849 --> 00:33:24.329 whoever compels you to go one mile. Go with him. 00:33:24.670 --> 00:33:30.750 There are times when wrong is done that we must 00:33:30.750 --> 00:33:34.349 accept it and trust in the judge of all of the 00:33:34.349 --> 00:33:38.230 earth who will do right and who will take care 00:33:38.230 --> 00:33:42.630 of the matter and judge the offender in the great 00:33:42.630 --> 00:33:47.160 judgment day and in his own time. the offender 00:33:47.160 --> 00:33:50.019 is actually judged even before the great judgment 00:33:50.019 --> 00:33:53.779 day simply by other curses falling on him or 00:33:53.779 --> 00:33:59.319 things that are taken away. And so Paul is saying 00:33:59.319 --> 00:34:02.500 here, this is such a shameful matter that it's 00:34:02.500 --> 00:34:06.339 better for you to accept the wrong, to accept 00:34:06.339 --> 00:34:10.360 the damages, rather than to go before the unjust 00:34:10.360 --> 00:34:14.500 person. That's what he's saying. But remember 00:34:14.500 --> 00:34:17.699 though, That God's word, both here and in other 00:34:17.699 --> 00:34:20.900 places, is not saying that it is wrong to seek 00:34:20.900 --> 00:34:24.599 redress. It's not wrong to look for a judgment. 00:34:25.099 --> 00:34:29.880 Here's some examples. And all of these kinds 00:34:29.880 --> 00:34:33.539 of things have happened. It's to the shame, obviously, 00:34:33.559 --> 00:34:36.219 of the perpetrators who do this. But these things 00:34:36.219 --> 00:34:39.920 have happened within Christ's church. A brother 00:34:39.920 --> 00:34:42.099 hires another brother to construct a building 00:34:42.099 --> 00:34:45.269 and refuses to pay the bill. He says, I'm not 00:34:45.269 --> 00:34:48.429 going to pay you. Another brother might buy a 00:34:48.429 --> 00:34:52.329 car from somebody else, put 50 % down, and says 00:34:52.329 --> 00:34:55.170 that he promises to pay the rest in a year, but 00:34:55.170 --> 00:34:57.710 then when that time comes, he refuses to pay. 00:34:58.369 --> 00:35:02.010 Or someone borrows a piece of machinery, and 00:35:02.010 --> 00:35:05.570 they abuse and misuse it. They ruin it, but refuse 00:35:05.570 --> 00:35:09.809 to give compensation to the owner. There are 00:35:09.809 --> 00:35:13.420 many stories like this. of professing Christians, 00:35:13.639 --> 00:35:18.199 taking advantage of other Christians. I have 00:35:18.199 --> 00:35:21.539 heard that in some places, I'd rather deal with 00:35:21.539 --> 00:35:24.219 an unbeliever than with a fellow Christian because 00:35:24.219 --> 00:35:27.400 they seek to get the very last dollar out of 00:35:27.400 --> 00:35:30.579 me and they refuse to act in a fair way. This 00:35:30.579 --> 00:35:33.780 is shameful. This should not be named among us 00:35:33.780 --> 00:35:36.860 in this way. And yet these things happen. I've 00:35:36.860 --> 00:35:39.860 even heard of these. This is coming secondhand. 00:35:40.480 --> 00:35:43.460 of those who even taught, I'm going to do this 00:35:43.460 --> 00:35:46.440 to you, I'm not going to pay you, and you're 00:35:46.440 --> 00:35:48.659 a Christian and you won't sue me, and I know 00:35:48.659 --> 00:35:54.099 that. Those kinds of things have happened. These 00:35:54.099 --> 00:35:56.599 matters must be dealt with and they must be confronted 00:35:56.599 --> 00:36:00.119 with redress for damages. But the issue addressed 00:36:00.119 --> 00:36:02.360 here, again, is that of going before the just. 00:36:03.150 --> 00:36:05.969 the heathen and unbelievers, and it's better 00:36:05.969 --> 00:36:09.130 to accept the wrong and let yourselves be cheated 00:36:09.130 --> 00:36:11.590 rather than to take your brother before the unjust. 00:36:12.369 --> 00:36:17.449 Furthermore, by taking such matters to a corrupt 00:36:17.449 --> 00:36:21.550 court, everyone loses, factions develop, and 00:36:21.550 --> 00:36:24.989 Christ is not honored. The church is called to 00:36:24.989 --> 00:36:29.289 intervene and to find a God -honoring way to 00:36:29.289 --> 00:36:33.780 resolve the disputes. in the context of the church. 00:36:34.599 --> 00:36:37.400 This should generally follow the Matthew 18 approach 00:36:37.400 --> 00:36:40.079 of first going to the man who has done wrong 00:36:40.079 --> 00:36:42.980 and confronting him, and then following it up 00:36:42.980 --> 00:36:45.039 with witnesses, the man or the person who has 00:36:45.039 --> 00:36:47.320 done wrong, confronting them, then following 00:36:47.320 --> 00:36:49.739 it up with witnesses, and then bringing it to 00:36:49.739 --> 00:36:51.699 the elders, and then finally, if he still will 00:36:51.699 --> 00:36:54.639 not hear, then to the whole church. I know of 00:36:54.639 --> 00:36:57.119 some situations where the church will appoint 00:36:57.119 --> 00:36:59.840 a committee of a couple of men to research the 00:36:59.840 --> 00:37:03.019 matter, find a solution, and then render a judgment. 00:37:03.300 --> 00:37:06.900 And if the offender will not listen, then it 00:37:06.900 --> 00:37:08.519 will come to the church and they will render 00:37:08.519 --> 00:37:11.320 church discipline. Because a lot of these things 00:37:11.320 --> 00:37:15.320 end up being in the form, in some way, of theft 00:37:15.320 --> 00:37:20.079 or of robbery in some way. But in all of these 00:37:20.079 --> 00:37:22.460 cases, these principles, though, must be kept 00:37:22.460 --> 00:37:28.070 in mind. Romans 12, verse 17 to 21. Repay no 00:37:28.070 --> 00:37:32.030 one evil for evil. Have regard for good things 00:37:32.030 --> 00:37:35.570 in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as 00:37:35.570 --> 00:37:38.469 much as depends on you, live peaceably with all 00:37:38.469 --> 00:37:42.070 men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather 00:37:42.070 --> 00:37:44.710 give place to wrath. For it is written, vengeance 00:37:44.710 --> 00:37:48.849 is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. Therefore, 00:37:49.010 --> 00:37:51.730 if your enemy is hungry, feed him. And if he 00:37:51.730 --> 00:37:54.389 is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, 00:37:54.389 --> 00:37:57.369 you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not 00:37:57.369 --> 00:38:03.050 be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 00:38:03.449 --> 00:38:06.110 That really applies to this whole sense here 00:38:06.110 --> 00:38:11.269 of it's better for you to suffer the loss rather 00:38:11.269 --> 00:38:14.369 than to take this person to the unjust judge. 00:38:15.090 --> 00:38:21.250 1 Peter 2, verse 19 to 21. Also gives us the 00:38:21.250 --> 00:38:24.590 example of Christ. He says, For this is commendable, 00:38:24.610 --> 00:38:27.489 if because of conscience toward God one endures 00:38:27.489 --> 00:38:30.670 grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit 00:38:30.670 --> 00:38:32.869 is it if when you are beaten for your faults 00:38:32.869 --> 00:38:36.570 you take it patiently? But when you do good and 00:38:36.570 --> 00:38:40.550 suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable 00:38:40.550 --> 00:38:44.179 before God. For to this you were called because 00:38:44.179 --> 00:38:47.840 Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example 00:38:47.840 --> 00:38:54.239 that you should follow in his steps. In closing 00:38:54.239 --> 00:38:58.320 this out though, Paul then addresses the offender. 00:38:58.340 --> 00:39:02.840 He says, no, you yourselves do wrong and cheat 00:39:02.840 --> 00:39:07.800 and you do these things to your brethren. This 00:39:07.800 --> 00:39:11.550 is where it's like, this is unthinkable. why 00:39:11.550 --> 00:39:17.369 would you cheat your brother in Christ from what 00:39:17.369 --> 00:39:21.929 belongs to him? And yet sadly, it happens far 00:39:21.929 --> 00:39:26.829 too often. To you who defrauds and cheats your 00:39:26.829 --> 00:39:29.469 brother or your sister, it's as if he's saying, 00:39:29.530 --> 00:39:32.570 how can you do this? You're doing wrong. You're 00:39:32.570 --> 00:39:35.090 hurting your brother in Christ and you must repent 00:39:35.090 --> 00:39:40.369 and cease and desist. Let's give just a few final 00:39:40.369 --> 00:39:45.190 applications as we consider all of this. First 00:39:45.190 --> 00:39:48.909 of all is that justice and wisdom are found in 00:39:48.909 --> 00:39:52.590 God -fearing courts. Outside of that, well, there 00:39:52.590 --> 00:39:55.150 might be occasional times of justice, but they 00:39:55.150 --> 00:39:58.329 don't have it like faithful Christians do. And 00:39:58.329 --> 00:40:00.650 this is something that we must evaluate and discern 00:40:00.650 --> 00:40:05.530 as we deal with wrongs. But at the same time, 00:40:05.840 --> 00:40:09.300 When it comes election time, we must also seek 00:40:09.300 --> 00:40:12.300 to promote faithful Christian legislators and 00:40:12.300 --> 00:40:15.760 judges and courts. For that is what we desire 00:40:15.760 --> 00:40:21.159 to see. It is the righteous who understand God's 00:40:21.159 --> 00:40:25.039 judgments. Secondly, in order for this to happen, 00:40:25.099 --> 00:40:31.739 though, the church must understand good jurisprudence. 00:40:31.840 --> 00:40:36.659 That is, how... Evidence works. How witnesses 00:40:36.659 --> 00:40:41.719 work. How God lays out the plans for justice 00:40:41.719 --> 00:40:45.559 in a society. In order to understand God's standards 00:40:45.559 --> 00:40:48.639 of justice, we must study in the whole word. 00:40:48.960 --> 00:40:51.860 This requires a belief in the authority of the 00:40:51.860 --> 00:40:55.300 whole scripture. For it is in the Old Testament 00:40:55.300 --> 00:40:58.760 that many of God's standards of justice and jurisprudence 00:40:58.760 --> 00:41:02.260 are revealed. And we need to be studying that. 00:41:03.469 --> 00:41:06.829 In order to understand how to bring judgment 00:41:06.829 --> 00:41:10.750 or justice. We read the law of God and we seek 00:41:10.750 --> 00:41:14.730 to understand it in our own context. For example, 00:41:14.909 --> 00:41:18.949 here's one, a liability one. Deuteronomy 22 and 00:41:18.949 --> 00:41:22.010 verse 8. When you build a new house, then you 00:41:22.010 --> 00:41:24.809 shall make a parapet for your roof that you may 00:41:24.809 --> 00:41:28.130 not bring guilt of bloodshed on your household 00:41:28.130 --> 00:41:32.320 if anyone falls from it. Does that mean that 00:41:32.320 --> 00:41:35.079 we here today, we're all to go put these parapets 00:41:35.079 --> 00:41:38.260 around all of our roofs? No, that certainly would 00:41:38.260 --> 00:41:41.920 not work in the country that we live in. We don't 00:41:41.920 --> 00:41:44.260 have flat roofs that we go to sleep on or we 00:41:44.260 --> 00:41:48.340 go up there in order to relax like they did in 00:41:48.340 --> 00:41:51.500 their countries. But we can learn from this, 00:41:51.500 --> 00:41:54.840 though, that we are liable for an injury that 00:41:54.840 --> 00:42:00.260 happens from our negligence. And we must... remember 00:42:00.260 --> 00:42:04.320 that and that we seek to promote safety and that 00:42:04.320 --> 00:42:07.019 we're also liable if we neglect that and then 00:42:07.019 --> 00:42:10.239 someone is hurt many times that's a financial 00:42:10.239 --> 00:42:13.300 liability that we need to accept somebody gets 00:42:13.300 --> 00:42:17.800 hurt because we failed to do something that should 00:42:17.800 --> 00:42:20.860 have been done then we have to take a look at 00:42:20.860 --> 00:42:24.199 that the lives of people are precious in the 00:42:24.199 --> 00:42:27.360 sight of god and And this means that we should 00:42:27.360 --> 00:42:29.760 take care of preventing hurt from coming to any 00:42:29.760 --> 00:42:33.059 person. So for example, we don't want to dig 00:42:33.059 --> 00:42:35.300 a deep pit in the yard and leave it uncovered 00:42:35.300 --> 00:42:37.320 when little children wander around and could 00:42:37.320 --> 00:42:40.199 fall in. Or we could take and apply this in many 00:42:40.199 --> 00:42:44.199 ways. That we should seek to look out for the 00:42:44.199 --> 00:42:49.139 good of our neighbor. And be liable if we are 00:42:49.139 --> 00:42:53.699 neglectful in it. One final note as we draw this 00:42:53.699 --> 00:43:01.840 to a conclusion. Beware of a retaliatory or revengeful 00:43:01.840 --> 00:43:06.860 spirit when you are wronged. Vengeance belongs 00:43:06.860 --> 00:43:09.139 to God. Even if you're going to seek redress 00:43:09.139 --> 00:43:12.039 and things, you still should not have a vengeful 00:43:12.039 --> 00:43:16.239 spirit about you. Vengeance belongs to God. As 00:43:16.239 --> 00:43:19.880 God says in Deuteronomy 32 verse 35, vengeance 00:43:19.880 --> 00:43:24.380 is mine and recompense. Their foot shall slip 00:43:24.380 --> 00:43:27.110 in due time. for the day of their calamity is 00:43:27.110 --> 00:43:29.929 at hand and the things to come hasten upon them. 00:43:30.150 --> 00:43:32.769 Now this is quoted several times in the New Testament, 00:43:32.849 --> 00:43:35.849 such as we have read in Romans 12 and verse 19. 00:43:36.329 --> 00:43:38.789 In all of this, though, we should seek and long 00:43:38.789 --> 00:43:42.949 for justice, for right dealings, not with hatred 00:43:42.949 --> 00:43:46.369 or vengeance or malice, but to seek the Lord 00:43:46.369 --> 00:43:51.480 and seek to promote those kind. of wise individuals, 00:43:51.619 --> 00:43:54.179 both in the church for matters that can be handled 00:43:54.179 --> 00:43:59.019 here, as well as in our communities for all the 00:43:59.019 --> 00:44:02.900 community around us. I hope that this is instructive 00:44:02.900 --> 00:44:05.380 to you from this. This is one that's a little 00:44:05.380 --> 00:44:07.760 different than what we've looked at in all of 00:44:07.760 --> 00:44:10.460 the others before, but the word of God does speak 00:44:10.460 --> 00:44:13.739 to it clearly, and so I give it to you. In the 00:44:13.739 --> 00:44:16.300 name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy 00:44:16.300 --> 00:44:18.800 Spirit. Amen. Let's pray.