Don’t Sue Your Brother!

"If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people?” – 1 Corinthians 6:1

In 1 Corinthians chapter 6, the Apostle Paul tackles one of many major problems in the Corinthian Church: Christians were suing Christians.

Believe it or not, the Greeks in Paul’s day were even more “sue-happy” than we are today. Citizens of Athens filed suit against each other for all sorts of reasons. The public found the court proceedings to be highly entertaining. The Greeks didn’t try cases with 12 jurors; they tried cases with a few hundred jurors … sometimes up to a few thousand jurors. And the Christians of Corinth were taking part in this sue-happy culture.

In verses 1-3, Paul shares three reasons civil disputes between Christians should NOT be taken into secular courts. First off, secular courts are filled with ungodly judges (v. 1). Second, God trusts Christians, not secular judges, to help judge the world (v. 2). In fact, God will even entrust Christians to help judge angels (v. 3).

Paul writes in verse 4, “If you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church!” Obviously, a spiritually mature Christian is the best choice. But when two Christians are going at it, even an immature Christian judge inside the church is preferrable to a non-Christian judge outside the church.

If you sue your Christian brother or sister in a secular court, in God’s eyes you’ve already lost. Even if you win the case, you’ve lost, your brother in Christ has lost, and the church that you both belong to has lost. As Chuck Swindoll puts it, “As the world watched Christian ‘love’ and ‘fellowship’ disintegrate into hate and infighting, they sneered at the claims of the faith.… Before the eyes of the world, they had lost their testimony as authentic disciples of Christ (John 13:35).”

So, what are we supposed to do when we have some sort of financial dispute with another Christian? Paul lays out two simple steps: 

Step #1 (v. 4): If you and the other Christian can’t work it out one-on-one, ask a mature Christian in the church to be an arbitrator. And if that doesn’t work …

Step #2 (v. 7): Be willing to be wronged and cheated. Period. No griping about what’s “not fair.” No jockeying for position or seeking retribution. No bitterness or resentment. Instead, choose grace. Choose kindness. Choose forgiveness.

Christian arbitration must never be only about justice. Christian arbitration must always balance biblical justice with biblical grace. And it must be in pursuit of righteousness for the glory of God. Now, how are you going to get THAT in a secular court? You’re NOT!

If you have a dispute with another Christian, don’t you dare take him/her to court. With God’s perfect, holy Word in hand and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, let the church help the two of you work it out – for your good, the good of the Church, and for the glory of God.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church, meeting Sundays at 8:45 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.