Can Believers Sue One Another? (Part 1)

Dear Bethelites,

According to statistics, Australia is one of the countries with the most lawsuits. People are quick to sue one another in court over some of the most trivial matters; e.g. defamation, discrimination, harassment, disagreement over contracts, property disputes and so forth.

The situation in Corinth was very similar. Lawsuits were a part of everyday life. In those days, the people were so used to striving, arguing and debating, that taking one another to court was like a challenge. It had become a form of entertainment to the people. Before their conversions, the Corinthian believers had been so used to taking one another to court, and somehow, this practice was brought over into their new lives as Christians.

Therefore, Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 to deal with this matter of bringing one another to court. Can believers sue one another? The answer given in this passage is, no!

Obviously, this passage was speaking of non-criminal cases. If someone calls himself a believer and does things like murder, kidnapping, robbing, fraud, rape, molestation, and so forth, then proper legal actions must be carried out. These crimes must be punished by the state as a deterrence to others (Romans 13:3-4). It is the duty of the state to maintain law and order, and protect its citizens. As believers, we must never hinder the state from performing its duty. It does not matter whether the person is a believer or not, legal action has to be taken against such culprits. We are obligated to bring such matters to the court of law, and the failure to do so is a crime.

Here, this passage was not dealing with such criminal cases, but rather non-criminal cases. 1 Corinthians 6:7 reveals the nature of the situation. It talked about the believers being treated wrongly or unfairly. These would be like disagreements over contracts, or the dividing of inherited estates, or money owing to certain business ventures, etc. In such situations, the believer should not sue another fellow believer in court.

Let us consider the different biblical reasons why we should not sue one another in court. Notice, the Apostle Paul asked a series of rhetorical questions to emphasize the point why the believers should not sue one another in court.

I. The different standard of judgment

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

The word law can be translated as court, and the word unjust refers to the spiritual standing of the secular judges (as far as their standing before God is concerned, they are unjustified).

When the believer goes to the secular court, they would be judged by a different standard of judgment to the unbeliever. It is a standard that may not always be in harmony with God’s higher standard. That was why Paul said, “How can it be? How dare you; when you have an issue with another brother, and you go to the pagan’s secular court instead of going to the saints, the believers?”

The believers are members of Christ’s body, the church. They are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, and they have the wisdom that cometh from the Word of God. They are people who have the fruit of the Spirit that is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. With all these wonderful spiritual resources, if the believers cannot settle a dispute or disagreement, how can they expect the unbelievers to do it?

II. The Christian testimony

The second reason why believers should not bring one another to court is because of their Christian testimony. Although this reason might not be clearly stated in the passage, surely it was implied.

When the believers bring one another to court, they are going against the commandments of God, therefore they would not have the right attitude and motivation. When one does not have the right attitude and motivation, most certainly, he would be more concerned with vengeance, gain, advantage and victory, than about resolving the issue.

Possibly, that could be one of the reasons why the Corinthians were willing to sue one another in the secular court, because they knew that if they were to turn to the church, they would not receive the maximum result. However, in the secular court, they could punish their opponent more severely.

Christians are supposed to win the unbelievers to Christ through the testimony of their word and conduct. One can imagine what kind of effect our unchristian behaviours would have on the judges, lawyers, defendants, administrators, and those who are attending the hearing? Will it help them to believe in Christ? Will it promote the cause of Christ? Definitely not! One may win the lawsuit, but in the process, he would do devastating damage to his Christian testimony.

In every normal family, there are bound to be problems, disagreements and misunderstandings. Only the family members will understand the dynamics of that particular household, and they themselves will know how to deal with those issues, and it is best to let those issues remain within the family. The people outside the family may not fully understand those things, and they may jump to the wrong conclusion. What advantage will the family gain when they air their dirty linens to the general public? It will only destroy the image of the family unnecessarily. The church is a spiritual family! But in the case of the church, the consequences are far more serious. It will not only destroy the image of the church, it will shame the name of the Lord Jesus Christ whom we represent, and hinder many people from coming to Him for salvation. And who is the happiest person in this situation? The devil! That is what he wants; to stumble as many unbelievers as possible, and to keep them in their unbelief. God forbids that we fall into the snares of the devil, to bring fellow believers to court.

With love in Christ,

Pastor Paul Cheng

(To be continued in the next pastoral chat)