They were to Avoid outside court by settling matters between themselves, or by appointing a CHRISTIAN arbitrator; having a non christian settling matters between believers is just that, non believers judging you!
Hi Beverly. The Apostle Paul, in this section of 1 Corinthians 6:1-8, is dealing with the matter of problems arising amongst certain ones in the Church & how to correctly address them. What was happening, was that if a problem or dispute arose between two believers, they would in the first instance, take the matter to court, to find justice and/or compensation. So, if for example, there was a matter of some money owed that couldn't be settled or even paid within the time limit agreed on, the aggrieved one would immediately lodge a case in court. And this could mean that the borrower may be forced to sell his possessions to make payment or be locked up (I don't exactly know how the judiciary dealt with this type of matter in those days).
What Paul was urging them to do, was to first deal with the matter 'in-house', with the Church leaders appointing others to help adjudicate and sort out the problem (v 4), or better still, as brothers in Christ, why not suffer the wrong or be lenient with each other (v 7), rather than take the matter outside the Church. We should exercise Christian love & graces first with each other rather than have 'unbelievers' & legal systems brought in to judge. I suppose for serious crimes, a civil justice & penalty may need to be administered by the 'courts', but for matters that can be easily dealt with, it is preferable for believers to attend to them, sort them out, and forgive & forget.
What Paul was urging them to do, was to first deal with the matter 'in-house', with the Church leaders appointing others to help adjudicate and sort out the problem (v 4), or better still, as brothers in Christ, why not suffer the wrong or be lenient with each other (v 7), rather than take the matter outside the Church. We should exercise Christian love & graces first with each other rather than have 'unbelievers' & legal systems brought in to judge. I suppose for serious crimes, a civil justice & penalty may need to be administered by the 'courts', but for matters that can be easily dealt with, it is preferable for believers to attend to them, sort them out, and forgive & forget.
Mark 10:42-45, 1Timothy 3:1-13, 1Timothy 5:17-22, Hebrews 13:7,17,24, 1Corinthians 4,
Exodus 18:13-26, John 7:24, Deuteronomy 1:16,18, 1Corinthians 11:31, Isaiah 3:4,12, Isaiah 14:2, Isaiah 32:1, Deuteronomy 15:5-18,
James 1:5,
Hopefully these are helpful
This comment thread is locked. Please enter a new comment below to start a new comment thread.
Note: Comment threads older than 2 months are automatically locked.
Do you have a Bible comment or question?
Please Sign In or Register to post comments...
Report Comment
Which best represents the problem with the comment?