1 Corinthians 6:1

Dare any of you, having. matter against his neighbor, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?

'Dare' -'does not express the boldness of the act involved but the lack of shame thus shown.' (Lenski p. 234) 'The insulted majesty of Christians is denoted by. grand word.' (Vincent p. 212)

'any of you' -no specific individual is named. From verses 7-8, it appears that this litigation was more widespread than just one isolated case.

'against his neighbor' -i.e. fellow Christian. (1 Corinthians 6:5) This section is specifically dealing with lawsuits between Christians.

'With reference to the man of chapter. the Corinthians adopted. "we cannot judge or condemn" attitude. But when it came to their own gain or loss they weren't slow in recognizing who was right or wrong.' [Note:. McGuiggan p. 69]

'go to law' -'to have his case tried before the heathen' (TCNT)

'the unrighteous' -Now it wasn't that the courts in Corinth were "corrupt" (or more corrupt than any other). For even Paul himself, had found justice before the courts in Corinth. (Acts 18:12) And Paul isn't forbidding all use of the courts. After all, we are commanded to obey the laws of the land (Romans 13:1), and obeying certain laws demands that we use the court system, i.e. marriage licenses, adoptions, jury duty, etc..

But Paul is dealing with disputes between brethren (1 Corinthians 6:5). 'The apostle is not so much depreciating the justice of the Gentile courts as he is emphasizing the different standards of authority employed by Christians and non-Christians. How can non-Christians make decisions compatible with Christian standards of morality?' (Willis p. 180)

'and not before the saints' -indicating the course of action that should have been taken.

'Rather than allowing these personal matters to get out of control and be taken before pagan courts, the matters should have been handled by the brethren. The brethren were sinfully negligent of the spiritual needs of the congregation; they not only failed to become involved in the case of incest but also in matters of disputes between members which eventually ended up in heathen courts.' [Note:. Willis p. 181]

This verse isn't authorizing the institution of "Christian Courts". Rather, if the unbelieving world, with it's wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:21) is viewed as competent to resolve issues, then shouldn't the local congregation, with God's wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:9-13), be able to handle it's own problems? (Matthew 5:23; Matthew 18:15 ff; Galatians 6:1 ff)

At this point some in Corinth might of responded, 'but we aren't competent to judge such matters!' 'We can't handle such issues!'

Points to Note:

1. While this section deals with taking brethren to law before pagan courts. Some of the principles here must apply to. couple of other areas. (a) Two Christians using the courts to get. divorce (no fornication was involved by either party), and airing their dirty laundry before unbelievers. (b). Christian couple going to. secular marriage counsellor for help with their marriage.

2. Unfortunately, Christians who claim to possess "all the truth", sure don't act like it when they appeal to the "world" for help with. problem. Has God given us everything we need, or hasn't He? (2 Peter 1:3)

3. But often members will say, 'but these people are the experts'. But whose "wisdom" are these experts using? (Jeremiah 2:9; 1 Corinthians 1:21; James 3:14)

4. How credible and relevant does Christianity look, when members of the church must continually run to the world for the answers to their personal problems?

5. Unfortunately, the church has been intimidated by the world into believing that the local congregation doesn't have the resources nor the "expertise" to help people with many of their personal problems.

And it isn't that the world never has. good idea. But it is only the Christian (because of his attachment to truth), who is able to sort out the good advice of the world, from the bad and harmful.

This presents an interesting scenario. We have the truth to save your soul, but we can't help you stop drinking, gambling, or beating your wife. We have all truth, but we don't know what to tell you about your marriage problem, or the problem your having with your teenage son.