Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Do Not Bring Another Christian To Court

"When you have a complaint against a brother, how dare you bring it before pagan judges instead of bringing it before GOD's people?  Do you not know that you shall one day judge the world?  And if you are to judge the world, are you incapable of judging such simple problems?
Do you not know that we will even judge the angels?  And could you not decide every day affairs?  But when you have ordinary cases to be judged, you bring them before those who are of no account in the Church!  Shame on you!  Is there not even one among you wise enough to be the arbiter among believers?
But no.  One of you brings a suit against another one, and files that suit before unbelievers.  It is already a failure that you have suits against each other.  Why do you not rather suffer wrong and receive some damage?  But no.  You wrong and injure others, and those are your brothers and sisters.  Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the Kingdom of GOD?
Make no mistake about it: those who lead sexually immoral lives, or worship idols, or who are adulterers, perverts, sodomites, or thieves, exploiters, drunkards, gossips or embezzlers will not inherit the kingdom of heaven.  Some of you were like that, but you have been cleansed and consecrated to GOD and have been set right with GOD by the Name of the LORD JESUS and the Spirit of our GOD." - 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 
 
("We carry treasures from GOD in vessels of clay" [2 Corinthians 4:7].  How far is our daily life from what we pretend it is: children of GOD reborn in the Spirit!  What do the members of our own family think about this!  What do our near neighbors think of us!

Paul points out the contradiction between the contempt of believers for the false "justice" of the world, and the fact of lawsuits among them.  What should they do?  Settle their differences in the way indicated by the Gospel [Matthew 18:15], in so far as there is a real community.  How beautiful it would be to follow the letter of the Gospel [Matthew 5:40]!)

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