Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?" Rather than go to court. Look at verse 7, "The very fact that you have lawsuits among you, means you have been completely defeated already. Shame layer number one is in verse 7 Paul says they are completely defeated by even having lawsuits at all. Shame #1: Completely Defeated by Even Having Lawsuits at All Not just one, not one simple shameful thing, but there are layers of shame. He says, "I say this to your shame." The issue was that they're witness to a lost and dying world, there in Corinth. He uses the shame language, look at verse 5. Paul's tone here is very strong, he's aghast, he's horrified. The Shame of the Lawsuit: The Pagan World is Watching Now they've got to deal with this court trial. The Christian church was out there airing their dirty laundry in front of everybody to be seen, the very people they're going to try to witness to next week. This was horrible, according to the Apostle Paul. So, you can imagine the scene, Brother A, Brother B standing before some non-Christian Roman official to have this case argued so that Brother A could get his money back from Brother B. To deal with this, Brother A, the cheated Brother, took Brother B to court in front of the Corinthian pagans, the authorities. He had a swindled him in some way, taking advantage of him. Apparently what happened here, what are the facts of the case, it seems to me that one brother, we'll call him Brother B, had defrauded another, call him Brother A, in business. So, let's look at this Corinthian church, this hugely messed up local church with all kinds of dysfunctionality. And as Paul answers it and addresses it, he addressed it in a timeless sort of way to help us to see the responsibility that we Christians have toward the watching pagan world, the unbelieving world that's watching us all the time. And you're saying, "Was that actually going on in the Corinthian church?" Well, it was. You're like, "Okay that's what we're doing today?" Yes, we're talking about lawsuits among believers, taking one another to court. The Facts of the Case: Fraud and a LawsuitĪnd so, we come to a kind of an interesting point in 1st Corinthians on lawsuits among believers. We can't say, "Look, that was 20 centuries ago, we don't deal with those kinds of things anymore." Oh, we really do. The corruption of the human heart is essentially the same and the call of God towards holiness is the same and we need this timeless wisdom. And the kind of issues that the Corinthians were facing we face, they're still with us today. Churches can be healthy, but there are no perfect churches. And I think the thing that's so powerful for me, as a pastor, is to realize there are no perfect churches. Are you getting that sense? Chapter after chapter of dysfunction. They're to be taught to obey everything Christ has commanded, and that's in the context of a healthy church, and that's where 1 Corinthians is so powerful for us because it seems that Corinthian church was not a healthy local church. The mission agency is a good thing, but what that mission agency seeks to do all over the world, is to win individuals to faith in Christ and then settle them in healthy local churches. That includes even a great mission agency like the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. It's a different kind of warfare, it's a spiritual warfare and this weapon is the most powerful thing in the hands of God, a healthy local church. The kingdom of heaven is taking enemy territory from Satan and his demons. And I use weapon language because it is a violent advance we're talking about here. And it's a beautiful thing to be part of the family of God and that we can present holiness and love and the word of God in a very compelling way to a world that needs it so much, the world is watching all the time. Is a powerful thing in the hands of God, a community of believers that have covenanted together to follow Christ, have made that baptismal commitment that we heard Julia just make a moment ago, that we're going to follow Christ, by the power of the Spirit, we've received forgiveness of sins and that we're in a family, we're not alone, we're brothers and sisters. And as we do that, I want to present again to you my conviction that the most powerful weapon in the hand of Almighty God for the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a healthy local church. I'd like to ask that you turn in your Bibles to 1st Corinthians 6, we're looking this morning at Verses 1-11. The Most Powerful Weapon: A Healthy Local Church
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