1 Corinthians 6:1-11

Disgraced by Covetousness

Open your Bible to…

Luke 12:15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

Pray

Intro

√ Disgraced by covetousness

The next sin that disgraced the witness of the church at Corinth was a spirit of covetousness, which can be defined as…

“The ungodly desire for more”

Their sin was manifest in that rather than resolving their personal disputes as brothers…

…they attacked each other as enemies through lawsuits fought out in Roman courts where they sought to take property and money from one another.

Well thankfully that doesn’t go on any longer in the church here in the US!

Obviously I say that with great sarcasm because the unfortunate reality in 21^st Century Christianity is that individual Christians, churches, and ministries are suing each other with greater frequency than any other time in the history of the Church!

That’s not to say there aren’t legitimate reasons for going to court, there certainly are.

What I’m talking about are disputes between Christians that should never reach a civil court!

Unfortunately many of the lawsuits filed by Christians today are no different than those of the Corinthian believers and they accomplish little more than to make Devil happy.

Ap. Keep an eternal perspective

If you’re not familiar with this section of scripture you’re in for a shock!

That’s because the solutions that Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit offers are a radical departure from the wisdom of the world and from what your family and friends may tell you.

In fact it’s fair to say that some of you won’t like God’s instructions at all.

But, what you’ll discover is that if you listen to and apply God’s word to your life you’ll realize there are more important things in life than material possessions and that sometimes it’s better to lose them than your Christian testimony.

The Sin (vs. 1-7a)

1Cor. 6:1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?

1Cor. 6:2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

1Cor. 6:3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?

1Cor. 6:4 If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge?

1Cor. 6:5 I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren?

1Cor. 6:6 But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers!

1Cor. 6:7 Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another…

√ The Sin

As I’ve already mentioned the sin plaguing the church at Corinth was that personal disputes motivated by a covetous spirit were spilling over into the Roman courts.

Worse, the church leadership was doing nothing about it!

Rather, just as they had refused to deal with the man involved in sexual immorality so in this case they neglected their responsibility to help resolve disputes between Christians.

The sad result was that the Christians in Corinth were going before pagan judges where they publically trashed each other and so disgraced the Name of Jesus.

So, Paul addresses their sin and failure to help reconcile brothers by asking a series of questions to remind them of their duty.

You’ll note that 6 times in this chapter Paul writes…

“Do you not know…”

…the implication is that they should know better because they had been well taught by Paul and the other apostles yet were not behaving according to that knowledge.

Another way to look at Paul’s questions is this…

Remember that the Corinthians had a very high opinion of themselves, and especially of their wisdom.

They were Greeks by birth and culture and truly believed that Greek philosophy and wisdom gave them an intellectual edge over every other society.

Yet, as Paul will point out over and over in this chapter by writing…

“Do you not know…”

...he is demonstrating that they were not acting with wisdom because they were not applying the knowledge they had to the situations that were destroying their fellowship.

Ex. Grandpa Bennett trying to fix the TV

1. The right perspective

So, Paul reminds his wayward friends at Corinth of some of the spiritual truths that he taught during the year and half he was there to shame them to step up and resolve the personal disputes in the church, he writes…

1Cor. 6:2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

1Cor. 6:3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?

Wow! Those are some radical truths!

Did you know that as a saint you are going to judge the wicked at the end of the age and also sit in judgment of the demon host!?

That one-day you’re going to get to pass judgment on the demons that were responsible for the physical, mental and spiritual anguish you suffered in life!

That you’re going to judge the Adolf Hitler’s, Pol Pot’s and Charles Manson’s of the world and see them receive the judgment they deserve and perfect justice meted out.

That’s not something most Christians know! That’s because it’s a truth that’s mentioned only a few times in the Bible…

Matt. 19:28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Peter speaks of the judgment of the demons…

2Pet. 2:4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;

But Paul is the only one who makes the personal application of the truth as he reveals that the saints will participate in the judgment of both wicked humans and angles (demons).

When?

After the end of the Tribulation after Jesus has conquered the Antichrist and all His enemies.

May be during the extra 45 days mentioned in Daniel 12:11-12 ~ time between His victory and coronation as King?

The time mentioned by Jesus and Ezekiel when the King separates the sheep from the goats ~ Matthew 25:31-33 & Ezek. 20:37-38.

Well, Paul’s point in bringing up these truths is to remind the Corinthians that since God is going to entrust the judgment of the world’s wicked and the fallen angle host to them…

…then don’t you think they should be able to rightly judge the merits of something as small as a property dispute between two Christian brothers?!

Of course the answer is “yes”!

So, Paul’s exhortation to the believers at Corinth was to stop abdicating their duties to unbelievers and to step up and help those in the church resolve their differences.

2) Disgraced

Paul’s second point to the leadership of the church as to why they should help resolve disputes between church members was that their failure to do so led to a poor witness in the community.

1Cor. 6:6 But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers!

1Cor. 6:7a Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another…

His point is that as Christians we are supposed to be known by our love one for another, remember that Jesus said…

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” ~ John 13:35

Yet here they were dragging each other to court where they would duke it out with each other before an unbeliever!

Not a great witness of the agape love Jesus said would be the one mark that would distinguish His disciples from all others!

So, Paul admonishes them that they had already failed in their witness for Jesus by taking their “family disputes” before the lost.

Ap. Arbitration

There’s a movement with the Christian community to set up arbitration boards where Christians can bring their personal disputes before a group of brothers for resolution.

The reality is that Christians aren’t perfect and there are going to come times when brothers can’t work out their differences.

Ex. Catering

For example, if you hired a Christian to cater your kid’s wedding reception for a hundred people but then ran out of food before everyone had eaten!

You’re mad because everyone didn’t get to eat and refuse to pay, but the caterer is mad because you forgot to mention that the 100 people were Suma wrestlers!

That’s a great opportunity for some mature and objective believers to listen to both sides and make a fair judgment.

While we don’t have formal arbitration board we do have some mature men and woman in this fellowship than can help you resolve disputes in a godly way and that will protect the witness of the Church.

The Solution (vs. 7b-8)

1Cor. 6:7 Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?

1Cor. 6:8 No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren!

√ The Solution ~ when you can’t resolve the issue

Wow – if you thought judging demons is a wild just look at the radical advice Paul gives now…

“Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?” ~ vs. 7b

What! Let the other guy cheat you out of what is rightfully yours rather than drag him to court!

Yep, that’s exactly what Paul advises!

Why? Two reasons…

First both the brothers doing the suing and those being sued at Corinth were guilty of cheating one another so there really wasn’t any victim they were both guilty.

Second, and more importantly, it would be better to take a financial loss than to lose one’s Christian witness before an unbeliever.

That’s a radical concept but what Paul is exhorting them, and us, to do is to place our trust in God to protect our assets rather than to trust an unbelieving human judge to rule in our favor!

After all, who gave you what you now have?

And, who is more just and able to work things out for those who are righteous?

Paul’s point is that since God is the source of all our blessings, spiritual as well as material…

…then wouldn’t it be better to trust God to protect you and take a loss or to be cheated out of what you’re due rather than to disgrace the Name of Jesus before a pagan!?

Ex. King Amaziah ~ 2 Chron. 25:9

He planned to go to war with the people of Mt. Seir but wasn’t sure his army was large enough to defeat them so he hired a 100,000 soldiers from Israel for 100 talents of silver (about 7,500 pounds of silver!).

But before he began his campaign a prophet of God rebuked him for trusting in unbelieving Israel for help.

The prophet told him that if he went to war with the unbelieving hired troops that God would defeat him in battle.

So, the prophet told him to send the troops home.

But, before he did as the prophet instructed he voiced his concern about all the money he paid and would lose if he followed God’s advise…

“Then Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the hundred talents which I have given to the troops of Israel?”

Note God’s response…

”And the man of God answered, “The LORD is able to give you much more than this.”

So, brothers and sisters, how much faith do you have?

Are you willing to trust God to protect you and your family?

Do you really believe that God can and will bless you and cover your loses?

Are you willing to take the moral and spiritual high ground and suffer a loss rather than sue another Christian?

The bottom line is that our witness for Christ is of greater worth than any material benefit we might receive by dragging a brother or sister in Christ before a secular court.

The Standard (vs. 9-11)

1Cor. 6:9 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 homosexuals, nor sodomites,

1Cor. 6:10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

1Cor. 6:11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

√ The Standard

Paul’s final reason that the Corinthians ought not sue one another in court is that they had already been forgiven a far greater debt…

…therefore they ought to forgive any material debt owned them by an offending Christian.

Note the list of sins in vs. 9-10 that will prevent a person from obtaining the greatest wealth of all…

…entrance into God’s eternal Kingdom where the citizens share in all of God’s riches and glory!

Paul says that…

“…fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Then, the application…

“And such were some of you.” ~ vs. 11

Ouch! Paul’s point here is that the believers in Corinth had been hopelessly in debt to God because of their sin.

Like the man in the Parable of the unforgiving servant who owed 10,000 talents ~ several lifetimes of wages…

…they could never hope to redeem themselves from their sin debt.

Yet, God in His grace erased their debt and gave them the perfect righteousness of His Son!

So, in view of the immeasurable spiritual debt that they had been forgiven would it not be Christ-like to forgive a financial debt owed by a brother rather than drag him to court?

Absolutely! When we look at life from God’s perspective then the material things just don’t mean that much anymore.

It’s not that they aren’t important, or that we don’t need them…

…but in view of their short life span (they are going to burn after all!) why fight over stuff when we’ve been given eternal treasure?!

So, Paul’s advice is that in view of the great spiritual debt we have been forgiven why not forgive your brother the material debt he/she owes you rather than go to court?

Close

√ Disgraced by covetousness

Wow, this section of scripture provides some cool insight…

We get to judge demons and the wicked!

But it also presents us with a tough challenge regarding the cost of following Christ.

Comes down to whom you’re going to place your trust in.

Many of the Christians at Corinth were lovers of money and material goods, which led to their witness being disgraced by their covetousness.

May the Lord remind us that our treasure is in heaven and to keep a light touch on the material riches of the world so that our witness won’t be tarnished by covetousness.