Stop your fighting: 1 Corinthians 6v1-11

And that is on page 1147.

If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for justice, for judgment instead of before the saints?

Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?

And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge tribal cases?

Do you not know that we will judge angels?

How much more the things of this life?

Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church.

If I say this to shame you, is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers?

But instead, one brother goes to law against another, if this in front of unbelievers.

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?

Instead, you yourself cheat and do wrong.

And you do this to your brothers.

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Do not be deceived.

Neither do sexually immorals, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexual offenders,

nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor the drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers.

Will inherit the kingdom of God.

And that is, 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.

Thank you, Orvita.

Well, we're going to pray as we keep that section of Scripture open,

as we've been following along in our studies of 1 Corinthians.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Our Father God, we thank you for the work that you have done in our lives

through Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

And we pray that we would continually know,

as we read and think about your Word this morning,

that we would know your Spirit at work in our lives,

changing us and bringing us on,

individually but also corporately together,

as your family.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So,

are you a saint?

Or are you a sinner?

Well, maybe like me,

there's some days you feel like a saint.

Maybe there's other days when you feel like a sinner.

Well, if we are Christians,

if we're followers of the Lord Jesus,

we are actually both.

We are saints who sin.

Look at how this church is addressed in chapter 6.

We see at the end of verse 1

that they were to bring disputes before the saints.

Verse 2,

Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?

So, the saints are the church,

the people of God.

You see,

a saint is not a dead person with a title.

A saint is a living person

who has been made holy,

pure and clean before God.

So, look at verse 11.

He tells us how that came about.

Just the second line into verse 11.

He says,

You were washed.

You were sanctified.

You were justified

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

and by the Spirit of our God.

It's telling us there that Jesus,

who was pure and clean and holy,

took our sin on himself,

cleaned us,

forgave us,

so that we could become pure before God.

So, the saints are the church of God,

the people of God,

who have been made holy.

But let's not forget,

we are saints who still sin.

So, back in verse 1 of chapter 6,

if any one of you

has a dispute.

In other words,

it is possible that saints

fall out with each other.

We are forgiven,

but we still struggle

with our sinful nature.

We all mess up privately

and publicly.

So, in this church,

in Corinth,

and indeed this church,

or indeed any church,

we shouldn't be surprised

to find saints

who are sinning.

And sometimes,

there will be sinful disputes.

Look at verse 1 of chapter 6.

If any one of you

has a dispute

with another Christian,

another believer,

another saint,

dare they take it

before the ungodly

for judgment

instead of

before the saints?

Now, perhaps this dispute

was over a land deal

that went wrong.

Maybe it was the promise

of work between

two believers

that never got finished.

Maybe it was two siblings

who were in the church family

and they were fighting

over an inheritance.

Whatever was going on,

it was not just the fact

that there was a dispute.

It was the way

they were handling

the dispute.

Rather than deal

with the dispute themselves

in love and forgiveness,

look at verse 6.

Instead,

one brother goes to law

against another.

They've been checking out

nowinnofee.com.

Bring each other to court,

suing and claiming damages.

Instead of dealing

with the matter

as fellow saints,

as fellow believers,

look at verse 8.

Instead,

you yourselves

cheat and do wrong

and you do this

to your brothers,

to your fellow Christians.

You see,

what should have been

worked out

in a private,

holy way

has been done

in a very public

and unholy way.

Not very saintly.

Well,

I hope that none of us

ends up in court

because somebody

has brought us to court.

But I think we can all

fall out with each other,

can't we?

In our own relationships,

our family relationships,

even within the church family,

we can fall out.

She never asks

how I am.

After all that I've done

for her,

that's the last time

I'm going to offer her help.

He really annoys me

the way he goes on.

I'm never going

to that study again.

Well,

they didn't vote

the way I wanted them to.

I'm not.

I'm going to stop

my involvement now.

If they don't choose

the elder that I want,

then I'm leaving

for another church.

Is it possible

that we could fall out

with each other?

I think it is sometimes.

But saints who sin

are also quick

to deal with sin.

Look again at verse 1.

So if any of you

has a dispute

with another,

dare we take it

to the ungodly

for judgment,

those outside

instead of before

the saints?

You see,

rather than voice

our complaints

to those outside

of the church,

unbelievers,

we should seek counsel

from those inside

the church,

the true believers.

Listen to this quote.

I think it's helpful

as we reflect

on what it is

to bring matters

before the saints,

before the church.

Unrepentant sin

and those who

continually cherish it

are like cancers

that need to be removed

if the body

to us enjoy health

and engage

in productive work.

confessing sins

to one another

makes us bring

our sins

into the light

where they can be

dealt with

in the context

of mutually

sanctifying friendships

in which people

are strengthening

each other

through prayer,

encouragement

and application

of the word.

Bringing our sin

into the light

by confessing it

in the context

of personal

accountability

friendships

helps to prevent

the sins

we struggle

with now

from becoming

scandalous

later.

Churches grow

when sin

is nipped

in the bud.

Can we see

how that relates

to this particular

context?

You see,

instead of running

to those outside

the church

who agree with us

and will always

take our side

if we search

long enough

we'll always find

somebody who will

accept our sin,

we instead

turn to those

inside the church

to one another

to fellow believers

who will help us

fight our sin

and deal with

our sin.

It's in the context

of personal

accountable

friendships.

We don't go

to others

we go to

each other

within the family

of the church.

And we're given

three reasons

for dealing

with our sin

urgently

and quickly

within the context

of the church

family.

So here is the

first reason

why we need

to deal

with our sin.

First,

because saints

will be judges

of the world.

Because saints

will be judges

of the world.

Look at verse 2.

Do you not know

that the saints

will judge the world?

And if you are

to judge the world,

are you not

competent to judge

trivial cases?

Now that should

kind of jump out

at us as something

quite astounding.

Because of our

faith in Christ,

we are bound up

in what Christ

will do.

One day Christ

is going to come

and he's going

to judge the world.

He's going to bring

about justice,

correcting all wrongs.

And incredibly,

look at verse 2.

Don't you know

that the saints,

the church,

are going to be

involved in that

judgment?

Not because we are

perfect,

but because

we have been

made holy

by our repentance

before God.

We will be

judging

with Christ

the whole world.

Now if we're

going to be judges

of the whole world,

don't you think

that we can

manage to judge

sinful behaviour

within the church

family?

One author

likened this scenario

to a high court

judge dealing

with a case

of national

consequence,

who's ignoring

a dispute

between his two

little children.

You can picture

the high court

judge sitting

at home in

his armchair,

smoking a pipe,

reading the newspaper,

and in the room

beside him are his

two children

causing war.

Don't you think

a high court judge

could deal with

a simple matter

of his two

little children?

Well in the same

way,

if we are going

to be judging

the world,

don't you think

we can deal

with little matters

of life here

on earth?

Look at verse 3,

do you not know

that we will judge

angels?

How much more

the things of

this life?

The church,

the believers

are going to be

at the centre

of a universal

judgement.

So can't we

deal with

sinful squabbles

and sinful

behaviour now?

Verse 4,

therefore,

if you have

disputes about

such matters,

appoint as judges

even men

of little account

or people

who are just

young in their

faith

who can settle

these matters

between you.

So rather than

turning to

ungodly

solicitors

solicitors

and counsellors,

and I don't

mean to say

that solicitors

and counsellors

can't be

Christians,

of course

they're good

Christian

solicitors

and counsellors,

but why turn

to unbelievers?

Turn to the

church,

to the saints?

Because the

church here

is not just

a gathering

on a Sunday

morning,

the church

is God's

ordained way

of dealing

with our

sinful hearts.

This is the

place where

we keep

each other

accountable.

This is where

we confess

our sins,

where we

build up

support and

point each

other to

Christ.

That's why

we always

say,

come along

on Wednesdays.

Why?

So we can

have accountability

with each

other.

The church,

the saints,

are God's

means of

healing damaged

relationships

and restoring

our broken

lives.

so we

deal with

our sin

because we

will be

judges of

the world.

The second

reason is we

deal with our

sin within

the church

because we

are witnesses

to the world.

Look at

verse 6.

You see this

church here that

we're reading

about in

Corinth.

instead,

we're told,

one brother

goes to

law against

another and

this is in

front of

unbelievers.

What should

have been

worked out in

a private

holy way has

been done in

a public

unholy way.

Rather than

the church

getting alongside

and praying and

supporting for

one another,

the community

is looking in,

laughing and

joking at the

church.

church.

They're reading

about the

church on the

back pages of

their newspaper.

Look at this

event.

Did you see

what's happening?

Verse 7.

The very fact

that you have

lawsuits among

you means that

you've been

completely defeated

already.

In other words,

your witness to

the wider

community is a

mess.

Why not

rather be

wronged?

Why not

rather be

cheated?

You see,

the church

is meant to

be a witness,

this visible

demonstration to

the world and

the community

around us of

the cross of

reconciliation.

Because when

Jesus died on

the cross,

he brought

about our

reconciliation to

God.

Jesus, as he

died on the

cross with his

arms hung on

the cross,

took our

wrongs on

himself and

was willing to

be treated

as a

wrongdoer for

us.

He was

willing to

be cheated

for us.

Why?

So that

people like

you and me

could be

forgiven and

welcomed and

accepted and

reconciled to

God.

He did not

treat us as

our sins

deserve so

that we might

be treasured

as his

child.

Now,

if God

has healed

and restored

our relationship

with him,

shouldn't the

church family

be a place

where our

relationships are

also healed

and restored?

What does it

look like if

we're saying

to people,

Christ reconciles

sinners,

Christ makes it

possible for us

to be friends

with God,

when we can't

be reconciled

to each other?

What are we

saying?

Well, we're just

acting as

hypocrites.

Verse 8,

instead,

you yourselves

cheat and

do wrong

and you do

this to

your brothers.

Can you

see in the

context here

of what's

going on,

how serious

it is when

we don't

deal with

sin in the

right way?

When we

take it out

into the

public realm,

we push

people away

from Christ

rather than

draw them

in towards

Christ.

Christ.

And again,

we mightn't

be taking

people to

court or

we mightn't

be writing

about it

in the

newspaper,

but we

can sure

gossip to

our friends

and talk

about other

people behind

their backs.

What are we

saying?

We're dragging

Christ through

the dirt.

But,

when we

apply the

work of

Christ to

our lives,

the church

becomes this

visible

demonstration of

Christ and

his cross.

As people

look in,

they see the

power of

Christ at

work within

our lives.

As they

look amongst

us,

they see

relationships

that have

been healed

between one

and another.

They see

friendships that

have been

renewed.

They see

family relationships

that have been

broken for

years, put

back together

again.

They see

wrongs

forgiven.

Instead of

revenge,

they see

grace and

love.

Now,

doesn't that

look like

something beautiful

to you?

Isn't that

something very

attractive where

relationships are

healed and

friendships

renewed?

We are

witnesses to

the world as

we apply the

gospel to our

lives and

live out what

it is to

forgive and

work with

each other.

So we deal

quickly with

our sin and

urgently to

reflect the

beauty of

Christ to

the world

around us.

sins.

So we

deal with

sin because

we'll be

judges of

the world

and because

we are

witnesses to

the world

and third

because we

are to be

holy in

the world.

You see,

there is a

serious matter

to all of

this.

There's a

serious matter

when we

don't deal

with disputes

or any

other kind

of sin.

Look at

what it is

in verse

nine.

Do you

not know

that the

wicked will

not inherit

the kingdom

of God?

The wicked

there being

the unrepentant.

Don't you

realise that

unless you

face up to

your sin,

you too

will be

judged.

Look at the

rest of

verse nine.

Do not be

deceived.

Don't think

that God is

just going to

overlook it and

say,

it really

doesn't

matter how

you behave,

it's all

right.

No, it

does matter.

Do not

be deceived.

Neither

the sexually

immoral,

nor

idolaters,

nor

adulterers,

nor male

prostitutes,

nor homosexual

offenders,

nor thieves,

nor the

greedy,

nor drunkards,

nor slanderers,

nor swindlers

will inherit

the kingdom

of God.

God.

Now, the

shocking thing

is, as I

read through

that list,

is not that

these are kind

of big

sins,

but if we

look and read

carefully enough,

we're all in

that list,

in one way

or another.

But this is not

talking about

people who are

repenting of

their sin,

and people who

are seeking to

change their

lives.

This is

addressing those

who claim to

be followers of

Jesus, but

continually persist

in their sinful

behaviour.

The reality is

those who claim

to be followers

of Jesus, but

show no sign

of change,

no desire for

accountability

within the

church family,

there is no

genuine repentance,

look what it

says at the end

of verse 11,

will not

inherit the

kingdom of

God.

The evidence

is simply

not there.

If we are not

taking sin

seriously, if we

are not dealing

with it in our

lives, then we

do not inherit

the kingdom of

God.

It's a serious

matter.

So if that's

you here this

morning, if

there is sin

that is undealt

with, do

not leave

without getting

your life right

with God.

Do not leave

without talking

to another

believer and

seeking their

help and

support for

the things that

you struggle

with in your

life.

But this is

not the full

story.

Look at

verse 11.

verse 11.

And that

is what

some of you

were.

That is what

some of you

were.

You see, we

all have a

past, don't

we?

We've all

fallen and

failed.

We've all

got skeletons

in the

cupboard that

we don't

want anybody

to know

about.

We've all

sinned in

all kinds

of different

ways.

But, look

at the rest

of verse 11,

sinned, but

you were

washed.

You've been

made clean

before God.

Jesus has

taken your

sin and

he's washed

you and

cleaned you

on the

inside.

But you

were sanctified.

You've now

been set

apart for

God, to

live for

God and

for his

desires.

But you

are now

justified.

You've been

put right

with God

in that

relationship

where you

are now

his child

and God

is your

father.

And all

of this

in the

name of

the Lord

Jesus

Christ and

by the

spirit of

our God.

Isn't

that incredible?

Washed and

sanctified and

justified.

But notice

the change

here that's

taken place.

Look at

verse 11

again.

That is

what some

of you

were.

This is

the kind

of life

you used

to live.

This is

the way

you were.

So this

church was

made up

of people

who were

sexually

immoral,

adulterers,

male prostitutes,

homosexual offenders,

thieves, greedy

drunkards.

This church

in Corinth was

full of all

these kinds

of people,

but now

they've been

changed.

They've been

transformed

by the

grace of

God.

And now

they live

a new

life

completely.

Not that

they don't

struggle with

their sins,

they're still

struggling and

still working

it out,

and they're

bringing it

before God,

and they're

working it,

and they're

trying,

and they're

accountable to

one another.

That's

the difference.

Again,

look at

verse 11.

To be

sanctified

means to

be set

apart for

God.

You've

now changed

your direction

of life.

You're no

longer seeking

to go this

way.

You are

now seeking

to live

God's way,

a holy

life.

no longer

ignoring

sin,

but dealing

with it

in your

life.

No longer

tolerant

with sin,

but repentant.

You see,

we are a

church that

quickly and

urgently deals

with our sin

because we

have been

made the

holy people

of God.

It's not

saying we

are the

perfect people

of God,

but we're

working on

it.

with one

another,

accountable

to each

other,

going to

the

saints.

So let

me ask

the question

that we

started with

this morning.

Are you

a saint

or are you

a sinner?

Well,

if we are

Christians,

we're both,

aren't we?

We are saints

who sin.

But the

saints who

sin are

those who

deal with

their sin.

Instead of

running to

those outside

the church

who accept

our sin

and who

will agree

with us

and take

our side,

we seek

support from

those inside

the church,

the saints,

those who

will help

us fight

our sin,

those who

will confront

us and hold

us accountable.

And it's

within the

community of

the church

family where

we begin to

confess our

sins to

each other,

where we

seek that

personal support,

where together

we walk

alongside each

other,

hand in

hand,

not looking

down in

superiority,

but walking

as equals

towards the

cross of

Christ,

seeking

forgiveness

for all

of our

lives.

We are

saints.

but sadly

we sin.

But we're

saints who

deal with

our sin.

Let's pray

together.

Our

Father God,

we thank

you that

when you

show us

our sin,

we are

not in

despair,

for we

have a

saviour,

the Lord

Jesus Christ,

who died

for us

on the

cross,

who has

washed

us,

who has

sanctified

us,

who has

justified

us.

We thank

you that

we are

now your

children through

faith,

faith,

and we

ask for

the help

of your

ongoing

work,

the power

of your

Holy Spirit

to deal

with our

sin,

that we

might become

the Holy

Church of

God.

We thank you

for one

another.

We thank you

for the people

that you have

placed around

us,

the people

sitting next

to us,

in front of

us,

and all

around,

your fellow

saints,

to support

us and to

encourage us.

We thank

you,

Father,

for your

church,

and for

your family.

In Jesus'

name we all

pray.

Amen.

We're going

to sing

together.

If you

know the

forgiveness

of the

Lord Jesus

Christ,

then what

can we

say then

to say

thank you

for saving

me.

You

took

me

to

me.