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Handling Disputes Among Believers

June 30, 2024

1 Corinthians 6:1-11

If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? 2 Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 4 Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church? 5 I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? 6 But instead, one brother takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers!

7 The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters. 9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Read 1 Corinthians 6:1-6

  1. Unlike earlier passages, Paul here says he is actually trying to produce a sense of shame among the Corinthian believers. Why is that appropriate in the situation he is addressing?
  2. Do some Google research to see if you can determine where Paul gets his idea that believers will judge the angels. Share with the group what you learned.
  3. On what basis does Paul suggest that believers should be able to handle their disputes ‘in house’?
  4. Early in the letter, Paul discussed the unity Christ desires in His church. How do those earlier passages affect the way you read and understand this one?

Read 1 Corinthians 6:7-11

  1. Why does Paul say that the existence of lawsuits between believers means they are already defeated?
  2. Speculate: do you think Paul is more troubled by the lack of unity in the church or by the loss of the church’s reputation in the eyes of the world?
  3. In your view, does this passage prohibit modern-day believers from suing one another in all circumstances? Does the principle of “it’s better to be wronged or be cheated than to promote disunity in the church” apply today as Paul applied it then? Are there differences in our circumstances from those of the Corinthians that might require us to apply this passage differently?
  4. Paul lists a number of unacceptable practices, saying the wrongdoers who practice them will not inherit the kingdom of God. Are these sins worse or less forgivable than others? Are people who have committed these particular sins automatically disqualified from forgiveness, salvation, redemption and heaven? What is Paul getting at?
  5. Why do you imagine Christians sometimes focus more of their attention and outrage on some sins than others?
  6. How does the final verse in this passage help us understand why Paul addresses these sinful behaviors in the church so strongly?