Lawsuits and the Christian

Lawsuits and the Christian
Sermon 16 in the 1 Corinthians Series

1 Corinthians 6:1-7

It is a mistake to totally separate chapter 6 from chapter 5.
5:12-13a

I. Are Christians Forbidden to Engage in Lawsuits?

A.  What Paul is not Saying  

    1.  This has no bearing on Christians with Non-Christians
    2.  This is not a prohibition against all governmental courts
    3.  This passage has only to do with what we – in America – would 					call “civil law” between Christians and not “criminal law”.
        v. 3-4 – “Dealing with matters of this life”
            BDAG calls them – ordinary matters

B.  What Paul is Addressing

    1.  Dishonesty in lawsuits   v. 8
    2.  The injustice and corruption in the court systems of his day.
    3.  The terrible testimony caused by taking family disputes out of the family.
    4.  Loving our Brothers, even to the point of suffering “a wrong” 						over demanding our rights.

II. Historical Background to the Passage

III. Working through the Passage

A.  Where Proper Judgment Should Take Place  v. 1-2
    Deut. 16:18-20a

B.  The Application of Eschatology  v. 3  
    2 Peter 3:11
    
C.  The Church has the Resources to Deal with these Issues  v. 4-6

D.  A Difficult Challenge  v. 7	

IV. Final Thoughts