As a Christian Socialist I wonder why believers are following secular courts. Apostle Paul speaks specifically to this question of Christians filing lawsuits against one another. 1 Corinthians 6:1-7 “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?”
Conflicts Within the Church
This passage in 1 Corinthians 6 is addressing the issue of conflicts within the church. Apostle plainly teaches that believers should not turn to secular courts to resolve their differences, directly referring to lawsuits among believers Christian against Christian. Paul implies the following reasons why Christians should settle arguments within the church and not resort to secular lawsuits:
1. Secular judges are not able to judge by biblical standards and Christian values.
2. Christians go to court with the wrong motives.
3. Lawsuits among Christians reflect negatively on the church.
As believers, our testimony to the unbelieving world should be a demonstration of love and forgiveness and, therefore, members of the body of Christ ought to be able to settle arguments and disputes without going to court. We are called to live in unity with humility toward one another. Even more than the secular courts, the body of Christ ought to have wise and godly leaders gifted in handling matters involving conflict resolution. Under the direction of the Holy Spirit, Christians submitted to the proper authority should be able to rightly resolve their legal arguments while maintaining a positive witness.
The Biblical Pattern for Settling Conflicts
Matthew 18:15-17 provides the biblical pattern for settling conflicts within the church:
1. Go directly and privately to the brother or sister to discuss the problem.
2. If he or she will not listen, take one or two witnesses.
3. If he or she still refuses to listen, take the matter to the church leadership.
4. If he or she still refuses to listen to the church, expel the offender from the fellowship of the church.
If you have followed the steps in Matthew 18 and the problem is still not resolved, in some cases going to court might be the right thing to do, even against a brother. I say this cautiously because such actions should be the last resort and decided only through much prayer and godly counsel.
When is Legal Action Appropriate for a Christian?
So, to be very clear, the Bible does not say a Christian can never go to court. In fact, Paul appealed more than once to the legal system, exercising his right to defend himself under Roman law (Acts 16:37–40; 18:12–17; 22:15–29; 25:10–22). In Romans 13 Paul taught that God had established legal authorities for the purpose of upholding justice, punishing wrongdoers, and protecting the innocent. Consequently, legal action may be appropriate in certain criminal matters, cases of injury and damage covered by insurance, as well as trustee issues and other specified instances.
In the book of 2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? In the book of 1 Corinthians 10:26 For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof. If we as Christians believe that God created the heavens and the earth then why do we allow the financial elites to rule this world? Why do we allow ungodly men to impose their laws upon us? I am unable to find one person in my city to help me start The Grass Roots Community Activist Movement this is why I wrote my story “The Solution For Black America: Reclaiming, Rebuilding, And Restoring The Urban Ghettos In America.”This book is about my personal life experience growing up in the inner ghettos and my struggles within the black church and society as well as my vision on how to end gun violence, poverty, and structural inequality in Urban America and in America in general. I also wrote my story in order to generate revenue/seed money so that I can offer incentives to attract talented individuals to help me make GRCAM effective and successful for years to come. I want to personally connect with those who have or will purchase my book and agree with my vision and all of the principles in my book. I want them to send me their name and number to my facebook inbox. If they are not comfortable with exchanging numbers then I prefer if they would send me their Yahoo email so that we can chat live on Yahoo Messenger or on Skype. I have created online groups to unite my supporters from around the globe to interact with one another and to work with me directly by encouraging your family and friends who care about black issues to support my cause “Help Stop The Genocide In American Ghettos” by purchasing my book and interacting with me directly. Once GRCAM is established in 25 cities and states we will expand to Africa, Brazil, and Caribbean Islands. In time we will create our own currency known as e-money and those who are members of GRCAM will no long have to pay taxes because we are not under Caesar. We will also send a message to Rogue Cops and Urban Terrorist in a constructive manner through our political component. According to the book of Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” Real Christian Socialist on the scene peace& blessings.
My Organization GRCAM
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