Should Christians take each other to court?
DO NOT LITIGATE!
Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? 1 Corinthians 6:1 (NASB) “Why is it better for Christians to lay down their rights and suffer injury than to litigate? Paul is defending the authority of the church over its own affairs. To present Christian business before unbelievers is an insult to God and an embarrassment to the kingdom. One article states, “In writing to the Corinthian church he is exasperated that they engage in lawsuits against one another. Of course, he does not question the salvation of those who do this. Instead he says, “But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers! (1 Corinthians 6:6).” (Hodges 2003, p7)
The emotional hermeneutic of this passage displays Paul’s irritation and possible anger in presenting Christian business before unbelievers. The possibility of laying down their rights and suffer injury is making the appeal of not diminishing Christian affairs before men who are beneath in position to the Kingdom of God. “Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?” 1 Corinthians 6:3 (NASB) Paul appeal to the Corinthian church is to matters that are more lofty and higher in importance than the matters of this life. Based on this premise, this student is against Christians suing each other in court. Paul makes the appeal again that the unrighteous is not worthy of the Kingdom of God. “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NASB) Scripture implies that the unrighteous are not even worthy to deal with Kingdom affairs. “What Paul is saying is that the Corinthians are engaged in conduct that can make it impossible to inherit the Kingdom of God. Persistence in this type of behavior will obviously disqualify them from this kind of heirship.” (Hodges 2003, p8) Failure to teach this principle within western minded Christians can induce lawsuits based on ignorance of the scriptures. Western minded culture constantly bombarded the airwaves with advertisements from law firms to sue on every infringement. The word of God speaks against this in dealing with Christian disputes. Worldly minded approach to biblical challenges belittles the Church and her standing amongst the unrighteous.