PRAY: Father, as I listen for your direction today, please show me your will that I may make it my own. Let my thoughts be your thoughts.
READ: 1 Corinthians 6:1–8 (also recommended: Matthew 18)
MEDITATE:
We must believe from these verses that the body of Christ has been empowered and gifted to appropriately negotiate the disputes (NIV), cases (NASB), and grievances (ESV) of 1 Corinthians 6:1. If we are intended to reign with Christ, Paul wants us to know that we are qualified to resolve grievances that exist between brothers and sisters within the church (v. 6, 8). Although Paul certainly had in mind the politically and socially motivated Roman courts of his day, we must not ignore his inherent motivation: to do everything possible to achieve resolution face to face while preventing secular influences from determining the outcomes of family matters within the church. Not only do we commit ourselves to an outside authority when we engage in a public battle in the courts, we run the risk of solidifying the accusation that we have been defeated (NIV, ESV, and NASB).
We must have faith that if God wants us to retain our property, he will enable this to happen. Our job is to discern whether or not any contending for that property is consistent with the scriptures and allows us a godly avenue that both advocates for our civil rights and portrays the face of Jesus to a lost world. When this is all over, we must be able to proclaim the gospel with the credibility of Christ on the cross, with a clear conscience that we have acted in truth and humility rather than self-interest.
Questions and Application:
- What does this passage say?
- What does this passage mean?
- How can we guard against our decisions regarding property being guided by a sense of entitlement, as opposed to a sense of responsibility as stewards of Christ’s resources?
PRAY: Father, reveal to me the state of my heart. Do I embody the life of Christ in every act I make and word I speak? Let our choices reflect the perfect character of your son. Thy will be done.