1 Corinthians 6

A church is not just a group that likes to sing songs to God and listen to sermons; it is a community of love, where God’s love is known, and where that love is expressed in ways that make a difference in people’s lives. Love is often messy. A father’s love for his children is not all smiles and hugs. God’s love for us includes correction. When God loves us this way, He already knows the situations that we face in the fullest way. The church is not omniscient. If the church is to love people who are disagreeing with each other, someone may need to investigate the conflict between members and get the facts. Then the situation needs to be examined according to the Scriptures, and the conclusions of all this need to be discussed among those who are trying to do the Lord’s will. When those serving the church as leaders have come to some conclusions that seem good to them and to the Holy Spirit, they need to figure out a way to express God’s will in a humble, helpful, and appropriate way.

All of this takes time, and many errors can be made. Is it really worth the bother? Why not simply use the system of civil courts already set up for everyone in a well-ordered community? Can’t the laws and judges within any community do this job better than we can so that we can avoid making judgments against someone within the body of Christ? This may sound like an easy and attractive alternative, but it ignores the kingdom reality that our Lord has established within the New Covenant church. Jesus is the firstborn of a new resurrection kingdom. Those who believe in Him and who call upon His Name together are a part of this great kingdom. The world and all its powers and authorities have their purposes, but they are a part of a different kingdom that is decaying under the weight of Adam’s sin and the curse of God. When we feel incompetent to investigate disagreements within the body of Christ, and decide to turn over these matters to civil authorities, we are denying something of the victory of Christ in making peace among his beloved church.

The truth is that one day the church will judge not only the people of this world, but the angels who have rebelled against the authority of God. If this is the Lord’s plan for us, how can we run from simple cases of disagreements between brothers within the Lord’s house? We have the gospel. We have the law of God. We have the oracles of Jehovah. We have the Spirit of Jesus. Civil authorities may have excellent constitutions, statutes, and officials, but the church is the kingdom of God. To take our disagreements before magistrates is a horrible admission of incompetence and defeat.

It is bad enough that petty arguments should distract the church from its mission. If we are feeding on the blessings of cross-bought righteousness, it should be very easy for us to let love cover a multitude of sins among those who are part of the family of Jesus together with us. But when church members insist on their rights rather than willingly suffering wrong for the good of the gospel, we are already in very bad shape.

Nonetheless, we are not without hope. We consider what we once were. Where is the commandment that we have not violated? Is there one commandment among the ten about which we can honestly say, “Not guilty?” In a church that is seeing the blessing and healing that comes from Word and Spirit, it is not the self-proclaimed righteous who are being saved, but the unrighteous, but they are not being saved to continue to pursue unrighteousness, calling it salvation and freedom. We should not be shocked when the power of the cross touches the lives of the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, drunkards, and swindlers. But they must see the past as the past, and the newness of their life in the Spirit as the future. They must be washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

If they are among those who are still trying to evade God’s searching eye in His Law, they are not pursuing a way of life that will be helpful in our goal to live together as imitators of Christ. Is the life of sexual immorality acceptable as just the normal satisfaction of a natural desire, or is it to be rejected as an unacceptable choice for those who are charged to be imitators of Christ? Does the great Husband of the church leave His bride for the company of a prostitute, or does He not stay with His beloved, nourishing her, and cherishing her?

We are now the bride of the Christ, the Man who gave Himself for us. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit, the best Gift of God who has filled the church. We have not been saved for sin. We have been saved from sin for the purpose of resurrection holiness. We are not fighting each other for our rights, but giving ourselves to one another for God’s glory. We were bought with a price, the blood of Jesus. Our lives belong to our honorable Husband who gave Himself for us.