Judging

Brethren, what is the theme of 1 Corinthians? I'd like for you to write in one sentence what you believe the theme of 1 Corinthians is. I know I've caught you a little short-handed here, but I'll let you think about it. What is the theme of 1 Corinthians? Then after that, why do you consider that the theme of the book? You might remember that here was a church that had all kinds of problems and difficulties that they were faced with. It seems like almost every chapter in 1 Corinthians Paul addresses a different problem that they were having. The answer is found in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 13. So let's go over to verse 13.

When he asks the question, is Christ divided? The theme of this book is Christ divided. He says, was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in the name of Paul? Let's back up to verse 10 and notice the context of this statement and why the apostle Paul made this statement in verse 10. He says, Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, and that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Notice he talks about having the same mind, same outlook, same perspective, and also the same judgment. Verse 11 says, It has been declared to me, concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you. So there were quarrels. That's what the word contention means here. They were quarreling with one another, arguing with one another back and forth. Now this I say, each one of you say, well, I'm a Paul, or I'm a Papalas, or I am a Cephas, or I am of Christ.

He asks the question, is Christ divided? Then he goes on to say he was thankful that he didn't baptize very many of them, so that they couldn't say that they were baptized into Paul's name. Now let's take a quick synopsis of the book. One could say that they had various ideas as a group, but they were divided, separated, and split in their opinions. They chose for themselves who they were going to follow, or who they were going to look up to. Now Paulus had not run off and started his own church.

Peter had not run off and started his own church. Paul had not run off and started a separate church. But they were saying, well, this is my favorite minister, and they were beginning to follow one another in this way.

Let's notice a summary of the book real quick. In chapter 1, after he asks the question, Is Christ Divided? You'll notice beginning in verse 18, actually, down to the end of the chapter, he talks about that the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. So he begins to show that the knowledge, the information, the understanding that God has revealed to his people is much greater than the wisdom of this world.

In chapter 2, he explains likewise that the wisdom from God is revealed knowledge. It's spiritual knowledge. It's not something that you just have within you. It's not something that you can go to the sages, the philosophers, the so-called wise men of this age and gather it from them. The world lacks the wisdom and judgment that God gives to his people.

Then in chapter 3, he again talks about how they were carnal. Notice verse 4, when one says, I am a Paul, another, I am a Vipalis, are you not carnal? Notice verse 3, he says, you are still carnal, for were there envy and strife and divisions among you? Are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? Words like unconverted men? So they were divided. Then he refers to the wisdom of this age in verse 18, when he says, let no one deceive himself if anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool, let him may become wise.

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. So again, he reiterates that. You come to chapter 4 and he warns the church. Notice verse 14. Paul says, I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. So what he's saying in this book is a warning to them because of their approach and what they were doing.

They had become vain over their understanding, they had become vain over their gifts, they became lifted up. So in verse 18, he says, now some of you are puffed up. Word puffed up, if you'll notice the margin, is arrogant. Some of you, he said, have become arrogant as though I were not coming to you. And so he goes on to explain, do you want me to come with a stick? Or do you want me to come encouraging? So verse 21, what do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod or in love and in the spirit of gentleness? So Paul was being very blunt with this church that their behavior, their actions, how they were handling themselves, was totally carnal.

Now that brings us to chapter 5. You'll remember verses 1 through 6. They had this problem where they had a young man who apparently was living with his stepmother and fornicating with her, having sexual relations. They were being tolerant of this, for one of a better word. Notice verse 6. He says, your glory is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven, the whole lump, they gloried about, well, we're tolerant, we're trying to help him. But yet the apostle Paul made a judgment to deliver such one, verse 5, to Satan for the destruction of the flesh.

So he said, put him out of the church. Now they were much like what we see going on in the world today. They gloried over their tolerance. Today, tolerance seems to be the main virtue in society, doesn't it? People are willing to tolerate almost anything.

People accept any sin, any practice, any lifestyle, any religion, under the guise of be tolerant. The word tolerant originally meant, you look it up in the dictionary, it means bearing or putting up with someone or something that you don't like. So you say, okay, I tolerate what he's doing. And it means that you put up with that. But today, it has a totally different meaning. The meaning has been changed to mean that it includes all values, that people tolerate all values, all beliefs, all lifestyles, and all truths.

And religions are claimed to be equal. Everything is equal. Anybody who says, well, the Bible is superior, too, is looked upon as being intolerant. And this is why today you find Christianity being attacked left and right, because Christians stand up and say, wait a minute. There's only one way, the way of the Bible, that is right. And you have all of these people trying to claim everything is equal. So all the Eastern religions, everything that would be classified as equal.

Denying this, if a person denies that everything is equal, makes a person intolerant in the eyes of society today, and thus worthy of contempt. Today, intolerance is the one attribute that cannot be tolerated. So it's an oxymoron, actually, because they don't have tolerance for intolerance, or what they would classify as intolerance. Now let's go on in verse 9, and notice what he mentions here, the Apostle Paul. He said, I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.

Yet, I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of the world, or with the covenants, or extortioners, or idolaters. Since then, you would need to go out of the world. If you're going to get away from those people, he says, you'll have to just clean and get out of the world. But now, he says, I've written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, so someone who claims to be a brother, who is a fornicator, or covetous.

The word covetous means one who desires to have more than he is due, a greedy person. He takes from others. He's greedy, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, but even to eat with such a person. That's pretty strong language by the apostle Paul. The word extortioner means a swindler, or a rogue, rapacious, ravenous, like a wolf. So he's talking about if a Christian acts his way, he says, you should have nothing to do with them. He shouldn't even eat with them if this is the way they're going to act.

Now let's notice in verse 12. He says, What have I to do with judging those who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? Notice he says, I don't judge those outside, but he said you judge those inside. Inside what? Obviously inside the church. So we have those who are inside the church. We have those who are outside the church. Outsiders, God deals with. God deals with the world today, and those in the world at this time. That's not our job now, is it? It's not the time for us to be ruling over the nations as yet. There was obvious authority in the church to deal with grievances, sins, and wrongs.

So he says, again, let me read verse 12. For what have I to do with judging those who are outside? In other words, outside of the church. Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside, God judges. That's his responsibility, his duty. Therefore, put away from yourself that wicked person. Now the church has to deal with those who are inside. In Matthew 18, verse 15, you might remember, through verse 20.

I'll just refer to this. It says, if your brother sins against you, go to him and talk to him. Explain to him what he did wrong to you. And if he hears, you've gained your brother. If he doesn't listen, you take a witness who can testify to what was said and done. And if he refuses to listen then, you bring it to the church. The church or the ministry, then, renders a judgment as to who is right and who is wrong. And if he refuses to listen then, he is to be considered as a heathen. That's what Christ taught. Now, as a steward of God, a shepherd of the flock, a bishop, one who is responsible for overseeing the flock, do I have any authority over Catholics?

Can I go over to the local Catholic Church and say, now I'm going to tell you what to do. I'm going to make a judgment. I wouldn't get through the door. I don't have any authority there. What about the Lutheran Church? Can I march into the Lutheran Church and start telling them what to do and judging them? No, they wouldn't put up with that. What about the Baptists? Or any Church of God group other than the United Church of God? Do I have any authority over them? And the answer is no.

I may look at the actions of other people or anyone and evaluate those and those actions in the light of God's Word and say what they're doing is wrong or good or evil, but I cannot personally deal with those situations because I don't have the authority to do so. We don't have that authority now. When Jesus Christ returns to the earth, sets up the kingdom of God, resurrection takes place, we're made spirit beings.

He says, okay, I want you to rule over these five cities, ten cities. Now you have the authority and you can deal with nations in the world at that time. Now, with all of that as background, let's notice how this ties in with chapter 6. Chapter 6 is what I'd like to focus on today in 1 Corinthians.

Why? Because I believe it's one of the most misunderstood chapters in the Bible and what Paul wrote here in 1 Corinthians. Many misapply it today. So let's take a look at chapter 6 and its application. Let me read verses 1 through 11 for you to start with, and then we'll come back and we'll analyze this in light of what we've already covered. Does anyone of you, when he has a lawsuit against someone, dare to go to law before the ungodly instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you not competent to settle trivial cases?

Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more ordinary matters? If then you have cases of ordinary matters, do you appoint men who are of no account in the church? Now, I'm taking this particular translation here from Keastommaker's New Testament commentary and translation that he has, where he has written on the first epistle to the Corinthians. And going on in verse 5, he says, I say this through your shame. It is actually possible that there is no wise man among you who is able to be an arbitrator between his brothers.

However, a brother goes to law against a brother, and that before unbelievers. It is, then, already an utter defeat for you that you have lawsuits against yourselves. The words, yourselves, we're all one body. So is the right hand suing the left hand?

Is the eye suing the foot? Is the nose suing the ear? I mean, if you want to use that analogy, that's why he says and puts it this way. Why rather be treated unjustly? Why not rather be defrauded? But you treat unjustly and defraud, yes, even your brothers. Or do you not know that the ungodly will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, greedy persons, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers. None of them will inherit the kingdom of God.

That is what some of you were. However, you were washed. You were sanctified. You were set apart. You were justified, made righteous in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Spirit of our God.

Okay, with that in mind, let's back up to verse 1. Let's go through this, especially in light of some things that we've all maybe heard about, read about, seen, maybe even experienced.

Chapter 6, verse 1, says, Dare any of you, I'm reading from the New King James Version now, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints.

Now, let's just analyze this verse a little bit, because I think it's important when you get down to verse 2 here. The word dare means to show oneself bold or to act with boldness.

Some would say, it could be translated to act cheeky or boldly.

One translation says to have nerve or arrogance. You know, you say something, well, boy, he's got nerve. Well, that's what it's talking about here. Certain members there were bold or had the nerve or were arrogant enough to do this. They were going and suing one another before pagan magistrates at that time in Corinth. A Christian brings a fellow brother before the bar of the unjust. And here, I'd like to quote from Baker's commentary in the New Testament.

It says, a Christian bringing a fellow brother before the bar of the unjust, the aim of ancient lawsuits was to prevail over another, and that usually involved an assault on your opponent's character. So he said, you know, that normally when you take somebody to court like that, you're going to have something bad to say about them. You're going to assault their character. And so he said, this is something that you should not do.

Then he goes on to talk about having a matter against another. Who would this be? Another what? Well, another brother. In other words, someone in that local congregation. The word matter, if you'll look it up, means a legal action taken in court of law against someone, a lawsuit, a case, a legal action. And law here says you go to law before the unrighteous.

Law in the New Testament means to judge or to form or to have an opinion after gathering all the facts. In other words, that's what a judge does. Here's both sides.

He gathers all the facts. He says, my judgment is. And those judgments should be based upon God's law. As the L'Onnida Greek lexicon says, it means to decide a question of legal right or wrong and determine the innocence or the guilt. So what they were doing, they were bringing legal matters before the unrighteous. And the unrighteous were those who were not converted, the unconverted, those who had not been justified or baptized. Now the word also can mean in the Greek unjust, dishonest, or untrustworthy. It may be used as a disparaging moral evaluation of the Corinthians' courts as being crooked or biased. A lot of times when you go to the courts of this world, you're not always going to get justice simply because they're going to be biased. So he says, and not before the saints. Brethren, you and I are saints. Those are ones that God has called, given his spirit. The word saint means holy or set apart. You and I have been set apart by God to be a part of his body, part of the church, a part of the body of Christ. It means to be sanctified, consecrated. And the fundamental idea is separated, consecrated, and devoted in service to God. So those that God has called, has consecrated, separated. Those are the ones he says you should go to. So if I could summarize verse 1, it would be this. Members had legal matters against another member in the local congregation, and they were going to law before the legal courts of the land and not before the church. Now, to whom was Paul addressing this topic? Who was he talking to? He was talking to the local congregation. He was talking to the church in Corinth. Go back to chapter 1. We have a congregation here in Chattanooga. I also pass through the congregation in Rome. What if members of our local congregation were suing one another? Somebody over here on my right hand is suing somebody over here on the left hand, and you're going to court and suing each other. Now, some have applied this scripture to one church of God group, perhaps, quote-unquote, suing another church of God group. We'll see that that's not what this is talking about. What would members sue another member over?

Over the years, I've had to deal with a number of situations, and they almost always seem to involve money, business deals, not paying rent on a house that a person agreed to, buying something and not paying it back, entering into a business deal, and it goes south. Then who's responsible?

All of these type of things. Now, going on to verse 2, let's notice what he says here.

In verse 2, do you not know that the saints will judge the world? Rather than we are being prepared as judges, we're going to judge the world. I'd hold your place here. You might remember back in Matthew chapter 19, verse 28, Christ talking to his disciples, chapter 19, the book of Matthew, verse 28. Jesus said to them, Assuredly I say to you that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will sit on 12 tribes, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. You and I will help to rule over nations, over cities. As Revelation 5 and 10 says, we will be a kingdom, a priest.

We will be kings, and we will judge, and we will rule at that time.

What are we being prepared for? Why did God call us now? What are we being prepared to do?

Well, we're being prepared as the bride of Christ to assist our husband, you might say, Jesus Christ, in ruling the nations. Isaiah, notice the book of Isaiah, chapter 2, verse 2.

When Jesus Christ comes back to the earth, this is exactly what he's going to do. We will be assisting him. Chapter 2, verse 2, Now it shall come to pass, in the latter days, at the mountain of the Lord's house, shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills. And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. And he will teach us his ways, and we shall walk in his paths.

For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Verse 4, And he shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares. So you'll find that part of the job that Jesus Christ will be doing when he comes back to this earth is to judge the nations. And he will say, No, that doesn't belong to you. You can't have it. And here are your boundaries. He will set the boundaries of the nations. He will tell them what they can do or not do. So with that in mind, let's notice again.

1 Corinthians 6, verse 2, he says, Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?

We're going to judge nations, cities, peoples. And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

He said you should be able to judge the smallest matters within the church. But they weren't doing that.

And then he goes on to say, If the world be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Remember back in verse 12 of chapter 5, he says, What have I to do with judging those also who are outside? But he says, Do you not judge those who are inside? So when he talks about judging now, in the smallest matters, he's talking about judging within the church, of matters within the church. We have no authority over those outside the church. I want to make that clear. When a member or members leave our fellowship and join another organization or form their own organization, they become a legal entity. We have absolutely no authority over them. They're totally separate. They're a different organization. We have no authority over them. They don't answer to us at that time. So we're able to judge those in the church, or as I'm able as a minister to judge those within the flock, the church that God has given me, only because you willingly submit yourself to that authority. You have to willingly submit to that authority, to that government.

Now with all of that in mind, let's go on to verse 3.

And notice beginning here in verse 3, do you not know that we shall judge angels?

How much more things that pertain to this life? Right now, he says. So you and I are going to judge angels. Not only are we going to judge the world, but we will ultimately have a hand in deciding what happens to Satan and his demons. Notice the book of Jude, Jude verse 6.

Go back to the book of Jude, verse 6. It says, The angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own habitation, he has reserved an everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day.

Apparently, the time of the last great day or sometime after that, they are going to be judged. 2 Peter 2, verse 4. If God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell, to tartaru, and delivered them in the chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment.

So they are held in bondage now, and they are reserved for the day of judgment.

You and I are to be learning how to judge today. When there are matters that come up between members, those matters should be adjudicated within the Church, not outside of the Church. You might remember Christ told his disciples in John 7, verse 24, and not to judge according to outward appearance. That's exactly what the Pharisees and Sadducees did.

Now we come to verse 4. It says, if then you have judgments, notice chapter 6, verse 4.

If you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the Church to judge?

Now what does that mean?

I've read all kinds of commentaries, write-ups on this, and it can have actually two different meanings, and either one would be correct. There are just as much authorities for one side as there are for the other. So it's very difficult to know which one is talking about.

Now notice he says here, you appoint those who are least esteemed by the Church. Literally, it means those who have no esteem.

Is this referring to those members of the Church who would be considered lowly?

Maybe a person might think the lowest member in the Church. Or is it referring to the courts and judges of this world? Either one would fit the context.

If it's a question, it's one thing. If it's an imperative statement, it's another.

And again, the translators, commentators, the Greek experts, and so on are divided as to exactly which one this refers to.

The word esteem here, least esteem, means to disdain an entity that has no merit or worth.

Now, I personally, this is my own personal opinion, have trouble applying this just to a member.

Looking at a member and saying that a member of the Church doesn't have any merit.

Or any worth. I'd feel more comfortable applying that to the courts of this world.

And in that way, I would not describe a member as having no merit or worth.

Or that I'd disdain them.

But as I said, this is something that can be applied either way.

Remember the problem. Verse 1, they were going to law before the unjust, before the courts of this world. And verse 12, chapter 5, he talks about we can only judge those who are in the Church, not those who are outside.

Now, as Lelonita, Greek lexicon again, has to say about this in summary, if they were going to summarize this last part of verse 4, they would translate it this way. Are you going to take these matters to be settled by people who have no standing in the Church?

That's how they feel would be the better translation of this. Whether it's talking about the fact that they had just selected people who lacked wisdom in the Church to judge, or they were going to outsiders, in verse 5, he says, Look, I say this to your shame.

Whatever they were doing, he says, I say this to your shame.

Is it so that there's not a wise man among you? Isn't there? Somebody among you has got a little wisdom, common sense.

Not even one who will be able to judge between his brethren, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before the unbeliever. Now, how often do we bring disputes and misunderstandings in the Church to the Church or to the ministry to decide? Very seldom. Things can rock on between two people. They can have falling outs. They're not talking to one another. And months, years later, we find out about it. Because it never came. It was allowed. It's like a sore. You allow it to fester, and all at once, it becomes a horrible blotch or boil, and something that needs to be lanced. Well, it shouldn't be that way. Well, it shouldn't be that way.

So, one of the questions we need to ask ourselves is, how often do we bring disputes and misunderstanding to the Church to ask the Church to decide on it?

Secondarily, the bigger question I think is, will we abide by the decision that's made?

The reason why I state that is because I've seen situations where we've clearly made a judgment and people, because it didn't go their way, say, I disagree, and they won't agree with it. So, what was the use of bringing it to the Church?

One of the things that I've had to learn over the years is, if I'm going to sit down and make a judgment in a situation, one of the first questions I'm going to ask is, will you abide by the decision?

If not, why discuss it?

There's really no need to discuss it.

So, I need to know that up front.

So, brother goes to law against brother, he says, and that, verse 6 again, before the believer.

Let me just pose another situation for you.

What does the Bible teach us about breaking the law of the land?

You go out here and break the law of the land.

Can you steal from other people?

No, there are laws against that.

Can you rob others? Well, obviously not.

Can you murder somebody? I don't like you. I'm going to shoot you.

You can't do that.

Can you vandalize a person's home?

Or commit sexual crimes? You see, all of those, there are laws, state laws, county laws, city laws, federal laws, and you know that they cover all of these types of things.

Now, what happens when you get caught doing something like this?

You come under the authority of the courts of this land and are subject to the police, to the courts, to the state, to the laws. You are not subject to the church at that point. You are subject to the laws of the land.

Turn back to Romans 13.

In verse 1, let's notice in Romans 13, we read this, Let every soul be subject to the governing authority. Now, remember they were in the Roman Empire at that time, so they were under Caesar.

They were under the Roman authority and domination and rule.

It says, There is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. God allows them to be there.

Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

For rulers are not a terror to good works.

You obey the law. You do what's right. You obey the speed limit. You don't have to fear.

You don't rob somebody. You don't have to fear.

You don't murder somebody. You don't have to fear.

If you do what's right, you do good works, but they are a terror to those who do evil.

Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good? And you well praise from the same.

For he is God's minister to you for good, but if you do evil, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain.

For he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath, on him who practices evil, practices wrong, does what's wrong.

Therefore, you must be subject, not only because of wrath, not because you'll get in trouble and thrown in jail, but for conscience's sake, for conscience, because you're not supposed to break the law. For because of this, you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing.

Render therefore to all that are due, taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

The courts of this world, as Romans 13 clearly brings out, have a function.

Their function is to keep society functioning in a proper manner, without a lot of law breaking. If the law is broken, they deal with it.

That's their function. Now, what Paul is talking about, if you come back here to 1 Corinthians 6 again, 1 Corinthians 6, he's talking about situations that occur within a local congregation of a church, and how those should be handled.

Now, let me pose another question to you, and see how would you judge. You make a judgment.

One day, you come home, and you find that your car has been stolen.

And what happened to my car?

Well, after a while, you see your neighbor driving your car.

He stole my car.

How could he do that? How could he do that?

So, he robs you of your transportation, your ability to work, fulfill your responsibilities, because he took it from you.

Then he comes and squats in your home. You go off on vacation for a couple weeks, come back, and guess what?

He's living in your home.

And you try to take possession. He says, no, you left your home.

Anybody could live in it.

I remember several years ago, when we were down in South Africa, we were told about situations very similar to this, because there is a fairly well-off class of people in South Africa. Many of them on the seashores will have what we would call vacation homes, like somebody having a home here, one in Florida, that type of thing.

And they wouldn't go visit that house for several months.

And when they went to visit, squatters were squatting there. And they could not get them out, because they said, well, you left your home. You neglected it. You didn't take care of it. And so, we're squatting here. So what if you have somebody come in and squats on your property?

And claims that it's theirs?

How do you get them out?

Well, you can go and physically throw them out, but what if you break their arm in doing so?

Now they're going to sue you.

And so, you've got this type of problem going on.

He squats in your house, claims it's his own, but you paid for it. You have title to it.

And you pay the insurance. You pay the taxes, but he claims that it's his house.

And what if your parents, as part of their inheritance, gave you money so that you could put down on the house, the down payment, and a big chunk of the house.

They paid for it.

And they're not very happy that this individual is actually taking your inheritance away from you.

How do you get your property back? Who's in the wrong here?

Who's sinned?

Who's been unrighteous in these actions?

Who's taken advantage of the other person?

What if your neighbor happened to be a church member?

Or an ex-church member? Let's say an ex-church member.

Because hopefully nobody in the church would do that.

Being an ex-church member, you go to him and you say, would you please return my property, my car, get out of my house?

And they say no.

You come to the church. The church says, well, you know, he's got to get out. You go talk to him. He says, you can't tell me what to do. I'm not a member of your church.

And so he just stays there and keeps your car.

How are you going to get it back? Well, generally you're going to have to go to the courts, aren't you?

And you're going to have to prove that the property belongs to you.

You're not suing them, but you're legally claiming what belongs to you.

They've broken the law of the land. You haven't.

You cannot take someone's property, it's called stealing, and claim that it's own. Or it's your own.

Just go try it and see what happens today. I think we would all realize that we'd get into difficulty.

Now, rather than one reason why I oppose this, this might seem like a silly scenario, but the church has recently been criticized because we have tried to obtain property back that belonged to us.

We have a title to it. We paid for it.

We own the property. One member in the church gifted a huge donation to pay for a large portion of the property.

And yet, we've been accused of being in the wrong because, quote-unquote, we're suing them. We're not suing them, we're just going to court saying, this belongs to us, will you please have them return it to us? Yes.

Someone takes your computer, takes your car, takes your property, and refuses to give it back. What recourse do you have?

Well, the only thing you can do is go to the legal authorities to do so.

So what have we discovered so far in reading through this section?

Well, simply this. As a minister, I only have authority over those inside the church or within the church.

And that is within the United Church of God.

No other churches.

What if someone is no longer within the congregation?

They're no longer under my authority.

I have no jurisdiction over them. How can the church judge them? They're no longer a part of the church. Are they brothers?

Well, my question is, are they acting like a brother?

Is that how a brother is supposed to treat a brother?

A Christian lives by the principle of what?

Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Yeah, I mean, this is the principle that the Bible brings out.

The Apostle Paul had no trouble using the legal system of his day when he felt he was being mistreated.

You might remember a couple of examples of the Apostle Paul went through.

One is in Acts 16, where he was arrested, beaten, thrown in jail, and then they were going to let him go. And Paul said, wait a minute, I'm a Roman citizen.

I've been treated unfairly.

You can't do this. Those officials are going to have to come here and beg me to leave.

And they did, because they, in that case, were in the wrong.

Acts 21, the Apostle Paul, came to Jerusalem.

He was there for seven days.

They saw a Greek with Paul, and the Jews assumed the Greek went into the temple area.

And so the whole city was in an uproar. Paul brought a Gentile into the temple.

He did not do that, but that's what he was accused of.

So in chapter 22, Paul defends himself before the Jews, before the Sanhedrin.

He was arrested.

He claimed his Roman citizenship. And as such, he was brought before the judges, Festus, Felix, and so on. Paul used his legal rights.

And you'll notice over here in Acts 25, it might be good for you to read that whole section, Acts 21 through Acts 25. But in Acts 25, verse 10, Paul said, I stand at Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be judged to the Jews. I've done no wrong, as you very well know.

He says, if I am an offender or have committed anything worthy of death, I do not object to dying.

But if there's nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar.

So he used the courts of the land at that time.

And he appealed to Caesar, and he went right up, apparently, to Caesar. God told him that he would be a witness to the Jews, to the Gentiles, and to kings. And apparently, he even witnessed before Caesar.

So rather than you find that the Apostle Paul, when it was to his advantage, and when he was being mistreated, if he had the opportunity, he would use an appeal to the legal system. Now, let's back up to 1 Corinthians again, verse 7.

He says, Now therefore it is already another failure for you, that you go to law against one another. Why? Do you not rather accept wrong?

Why do you not rather let yourselves be defrauding?

Now, again, he's talking about those within the church, the local congregation.

He says, No, you yourselves do wrong and defraud, and you do these things to your brethren, to those who are considered brethren.

So again, we're talking about members within a local congregation.

If someone is no longer a part of that congregation, he doesn't come under our jurisdiction. We can only adjudicate situations within the church, those who are inside.

They were divided internally as a congregation, but they were not split into different organizations. They were simply not close to each other. They had all kinds of problems.

Now, in verse 9, he says, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Now, why does Paul put this in the context of what we were just talking about here?

What is unrighteousness?

Unrighteousness is not doing what is right.

It is doing what's wrong. Who determines right from wrong? Well, God does.

Who tells us that it's wrong to steal? God does. Who says it's wrong to murder? God does.

Who says it's wrong to commit adultery? Well, God does.

So God is the one who tells us right from wrong. Obviously, some of the members here in Corinth were compromising. They were going back to their old ways. So he says, Don't you realize that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Do not be deceived, neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers, nor homosexuals nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, nor the kingdom of God.

So those who are greedy, covetous, wanting what others have, extortioners, they won't be in God's kingdom. He says, Now such were some of you, but you were washed, and you were sanctified, and you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God.

So, brethren, God tells us through Paul here, if you back up to chapter 5 again, begin in verse 10 through verse 13, that they were not to keep company with a brother if he were this way. Those in the world, we can't have any say so over them right now.

So, brethren, our judging must be based on God's law, not on the person.

Let's go back to Deuteronomy chapter 1, one final scripture here, verse 12, Deuteronomy chapter 1, and we'll begin to read here in verse 12.

Notice some of the yardstick laid down for judging and how to properly judge.

Moses wrote, How can I alone bear your problems and your burdens and your complaints? Choose wise and understanding and knowledgeable men.

What did Paul say? Isn't there a wise man among you?

Well, back here he said, Choose wise men from among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.

And you answered me and said the things which you have told us. That's good. So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and made them heads over you, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, leaders of ten, and others, and officers for your tribes.

And I commanded your judges at that time, saying, Hear the case between your brother and judge righteously between a man and his brother or a stranger who is within him.

And you shall not show partiality.

God is not partial. God does not look on the face of an individual.

You shall hear the small as well as the great.

Now today in our society, if you've got money, you know somebody, well, you'll probably get off. If you don't, they provide a public defender for you. You're in trouble.

And so he says, it doesn't matter if they're great or small, you listen.

Because they are great, you don't take the side of the little. You listen to both.

You should not be afraid of any man's presence, for the judgment is God's. And if the case is too hard, then it comes up to Moses.

Well, we have the same situation today in the Church. There are cases of divorce and remarriage that have to be judged.

They're judged, first of all, by the local pastor and the regional pastor.

And if they cannot resolve it, they make their recommendation. But we have a panel of three ministers in the Church, senior ministers, who will review all divorce cases and see if the suggested judgment is right.

And if they can't agree, or if the pastor or regional pastor, all three of them don't agree, guess what? It comes to the ministerial service team.

And then we on the ministerial service team have to make the final judgment.

And it stops there. We're the last ones who will look at it and make a judgment. So we follow that same system. We try to make a ruling as low as possible.

And if there's not a total human entity about the judgment, it will come up to us. And we make a judgment on it.

So, brethren, our judging today, all of us need to learn this. Our judging must be based on God's law, not on the person.

It's based upon the principles of God's law, not on who a person is, or how much money they have, or how much influence they might have.

Many judged according to friendships follow the approach of the Corinth Church.

See, their judgment was, I'm a Paul, I'm a Paulus, I'm a Peter. You and I have to learn to judge righteously, brethren.

Remember this. We are being prepared by God to judge nations, to judge states, to judge cities, to judge individuals.

And eventually, we will judge angels.

So, therefore, we need to learn to judge the smaller matters today.