Book of 1 Corinthians - Ch. 5, Vs. 10-Ch. 6, Vs. 8 (12/17/2000)

Park Meadows Church

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10th chapter, the 5th, the 10th verse of the 5th chapter of 1st

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Corinthians. Yet not all together with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or with extortioners, or with the idolaters, for then must ye needs go out of the world.

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Bill, what's he mean? That those things are not what they should be.

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First of all, we would not interact with those people if they were in the church, but concerning people out in the world, we would come in contact with those people.

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On that basis, if I stop calling each other out there, therefore, if we would not have contact with them, we would have to remove ourselves from the world.

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It is not the will of God that good men should retire from the world to avoid its evil.

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Nor is it that the way to become more holy, useful, or happy, their duty is to compromise with wicked for the purpose of doing them good, and to labor in the world till God shall call them forth, call them out.

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But now I have written unto you, not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or a covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or drunkard, extortioner, with such had one not to eat.

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Now, to eat carries with it the idea of communion.

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He now writes and explains his meaning. Church members must not have social intercourse with one who has been a member, who is guilty of grievous sins, the ones that he named, the covetous, the greedy person under the influence of passions, not only greedy for gain, but for self -indulgence.

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With such a one do not eat, either at the Lord's table or in friendly meals, which would imply brotherly recognition.

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Just eating with a person implies brotherly recognition.

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We need to remember that. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without?

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Do not ye judge them that are within? Now, he's getting ready to go into an explanation of judging.

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What have I to do to judge them without? Do I have anything to do with them?

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David, what's he talking about? Well, he talks about... Alright, does

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Paul judge them? Well, I think what he's getting at is that they're not born again, so they can't serve the things of God, and they're not under the same obligation,

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I guess you could say, as the Christians are. Alright. You judge your fellow citizens, not strangers.

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It is not your duty to judge them that are... It is your duty to judge them that are within.

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We do judge each other. God shall judge them that are without.

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Do not look at... Do not look at home. God is the judge of salvation of the heathen, not we.

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He will pronounce that judgment. Paul here gives the censure of things, of their going to law with saints before heathens.

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He's going to touch a little bit more on that, instead of judging such cases among themselves.

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Should a Christian take a Christian to court, under no circumstances?

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If you follow the court... What? If you are being sued, you have to answer for that.

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Well, but should a

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Christian take another one to court? Yes. Does everyone agree with that?

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Yes. Paul would say it's better to bear the loss. And I'm not sure that he would say it's better to bear the loss if the person takes you to court.

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David? A couple of things have to be considered. First of all, the difference in their words.

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The Bible days. In the Bible days, there obviously were problems among people.

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And Moses had to take care of those kinds of things. And they had judges that took care of those kinds of things. So, that in itself proved that it was not wrong, too.

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And that sometimes it was, in fact, necessary to have that type of proceedings before proceedings.

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But in the early church, it was supposed to be done in the church and by the elders.

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If you had a problem with a brother, that where you just could not resolve it, you were supposed to bring it before the elders of the church and they would resolve it.

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Nowadays, that's virtually impossible to do that way. Because your brother may very well not go to the same local church you go to.

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Since there's 15 zillion kinds of churches. And even in this area, there's probably 50

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Baptist churches within a 40 -mile radius of right here. So, if you're not going to the same local church, there's no way that the message can be the same.

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And the second thing you have to consider is the person of your brother. Because he says he's a Christian.

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You know, he's not going to your local church and you don't know him. You don't really know if he is or not. So, there are cases, there are clear cases where you might have to go to court.

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So, I don't believe you can say that it categorically says you never take another person to court.

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I think if you knew this was a genuine brother, you should not do it.

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You know it's a genuine brother. The problem you have then is how you resolve the difference if you don't have a church willing to judge the matter for it.

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But you should figure out some way to work it out outside the court. You're talking about something that needs to be settled.

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Yes. Okay. It's better to bear the loss than to take another

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Christian to court. Within our own community, that's absolutely right.

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I'd have to look at each situation to tell. Therefore, put away from among you, yourselves, that wicked person.

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We've got, let's say that we have a so -called member and he has done something, whatever, that violates my civil rights.

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We hear that term quite often. What should I do, Richard?

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Say it again. All right. We have a brother, as far as we know he's a brother, that has violated my civil rights.

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What should I do? Civil rights, you're talking about constitutional rights.

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Yes. Yes. Like Brother Barney used to always say,

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I'll pray for you, but I want you to know why I'm praying for you. The unconverted are left to the hands of God.

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He will judge them according to their deeds. We're not to seek to inflict punishment on them by shunning them, but rather to go to them in love and Christ and try to lead them to repentance.

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All right. Chapter six. Brother, before you go on.

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Yes. If you look at it, it says, therefore, there may not be a resolution.

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The kind of person taking advantage of you is a so -called brother.

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He's not really the one you want to honor, and you should separate yourself from him. That's basically a function of the discipline of the church.

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If the church does its discipline correctly, then that person will not be within the church.

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That's right. So if you have some agreements between us, we need to go before the church and have the church mediate our problem.

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And if we both are brothers, then we will both accept the dispensation of the church.

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If one of us is not a brother, then that person is to be—if one accepts the discipline of the church, then he would not be a part of the church.

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And the church would not be part of the church. That's right. It gets down to, are you a

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Christian or are you not? Those that are not, that have been acting like they were, it will show right quick when you touch their pocketbook.

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So that's what Paul is saying, that if you're a Christian, work it out. If you're involved against someone that is not a

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Christian, then I don't think you should go to court.

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The court part should be initiated on his part, not on yours.

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Brothers, in that situation there, if we were doing just what you were saying, that we would be not acting as a

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Christian brotherhood, that's what you'd be seeing. We'd be acting as a world.

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Yes. Yes. Of course, I was always taught that in all dealings that you're to do, that you're to run all dealings by the word of God.

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Which means you're not to attach yourself that doesn't operate the same as you typically.

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It's the same as being unequally built. I was also taught that if you lend money in usury, that you're to expect it not to come back.

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And you're to lend it only to a brotherhood without usury. These principles that I was taught was to protect me from getting into that situation.

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I was taught that if you do lend, you are to expect it back. And the reason for that is for a brotherhood at the time that you lend.

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Our money that we operate in is given from God. It is not ours for our own doing, or for piling up, or for making profit, or for doing anything.

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It is given to us to sustain and to operate and to do what he has for us here.

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And in all dealings, the business I was taught, I had my own furniture business on the side.

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He was taught that if he took a risk with someone that was not a Christian, that he was not to consider it to come back.

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And that if he did, it was just a blessing from God. But with a Christian, he was taught to not charge usury or anything else.

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And my dad always operated that way. Now I may be naive or a foolish person, but that is how

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I was taught. So you don't unequally yoke yourself with a spouse or a business partner or anybody.

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Because God doesn't ordain that. He doesn't bless us when we go into business with someone that's not.

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And I'll give you an example. I have a wonderful friend that's a hair, that cuts hair. He's a wonderful man.

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However, in his business, there are homosexuals. And I told my husband, I could not support this man in his business.

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I said, I like the man. He's an honest man. He's a good man. But he has homosexuals in his business.

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If he asks us for money, I can't support him. Now that's a principle God taught me. That's not the world's principle.

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They would say, be a nice man. Give him a chance. He might become a Christian if you do this.

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Well, they don't become a Christian because you take care of them. They become a Christian because the Lord willed it that they be his.

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So we think we're saving these people by them relying on us. And we're not

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God. And so that is what I was taught. And the reason I'm saying this is we make too light of this as Christians.

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And we get ourselves entangled with the world. And that is not

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God's will. I believe that what he has ordained and given us is all his.

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We are but keepers of it. We are to sit there and pretend that our home, our house, our business, our cows, our cattle on the field are his, but to do with what he wills.

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And if we have that attitude, we won't be running around with that kind of stuff. That's right. He starts out in the first verse.

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How dare any of you, having a manner against another, go to law before the unjust and not before the saints?

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How dare any of you go to law, go to court, with an unsaved judge, and not first have gone to the church?

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That it was not simply and absolutely their going to the law, which the apostle condemns, but their impending one on another in pagan tributes, tribunal, that's it.

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In that time, we had lots of pagan tribunals.

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We still have pagan tribunals. Now, how dare one of you, who is a

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Christian, go to court before that kind of court?

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If you're drawn into court, that's different. But they're impending one on another, and that on a pagan judge.

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And before heathen judges, the law's good if used lawfully. But the best thing may be abused.

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So is often the law itself. We have just been through an experience in this country of legal versus political.

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And I don't know where the two divide, because I wasn't privileged to everything. Most often, most evident, it is that the apostle, who is afforded at the use of the law before infidels, allows it before Christians, as the first verse implies.

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Do you not know that the saint shall judge the world, and if the world shall be judged by you, and ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

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Everything else becomes very small. You shall sit with Christ after they have been judged, while the world is judged.

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If so high a trust is put in you, then how is it that you go to law to settle an earthly matter between church members?

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How can you go to law? How can I take Richard into,

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I'm going to sue you, and he a Christian, me a

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Christian, how can we do this, and at the same time look forward to judging the angels?

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The thing here on earth is such a trivial thing.

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We think the end is in this, that when we try, when we work up the end, that that is the end.

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It isn't. It's just a milestone that we pass while going toward the end.

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Know you not that we shall judge angels, how much more things that pertain to this life?

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If we're going to judge angels, the bad angels is what he's talking about, then how are we ever going to judge things of this life?

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If then we have judgment of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.

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Now, I labored long and hard over this. Let me get some ideas.

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Saying those that are least esteemed in the church, in the church is the key.

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Joy, how do you explain the fourth verse?

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For then you have judgment of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are the least among the brethren.

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Well, but we need the wise, the spiritually wise in the church.

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Well, he could judge better than the world could judge him, but in the church we're supposed to have a private to argue something about.

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Richard? Is least esteemed talking about people or?

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Yes, people. I guess it would mean that the problems that we're talking about would be far below the church problems.

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All right. Clarence? Well, I think this least esteemed piece, it puts you in perspective that from a world perspective, the least esteemed are ones who are maybe not as knowledgeable as this, but spiritually and religious aspects, they are believers and founders of faith.

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And even though they may not have worldly measure, high esteem because of their strength in their belief in the

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Lord the Savior, they're much more qualified to just have the guidance of the Holy Spirit to show them how to judge people.

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All right. I think it has to do with humility versus pride. The least esteemed in the church have no love of their brethren, and those may be able to stand before the church consistently.

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Maybe run certain areas of the church. The least esteemed are those who sit there day after day and are faithful and humble and just do what

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God tells them to do every day without a lot of fanfare, without a lot of attention. All right. Is he not saying this, that those that do not judge, those that are a pew sitter as you're talking, never make any noise, they are just coming day after day, observing, growing.

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Are they not capable of judging the least, the things of the world, when the heavier things that are deeper of Christ, there are those that judge?

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I think he's using, I think he's using, ironically, a comparison that the weakest member of the church is able to judge that.

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Let's get on with what we've got to do. It must still be observed that the apostle does not go about to abolish the use of the secular judgment or condemn going to law, but only reproves the abuses that were found among them.

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The highest writer, the one that stood at the front, they would go to law over the least thing.

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One that entails not before a

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Christian, but a heathen magistrate, by means whereof the Gentiles become acquainted and revenge which was among the

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Christians to the dishonor of God and the discredited gospel.

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The least, that's what threw me, the least important, let me say it that way, not that one's more important than the other, but one is more visible than the other.

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The least is able to judge that. It must be that if we are letting the law take its course, if we're letting

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Christianity take its course, then the least on the Christian side can judge that over there.

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We're not to judge one another. We're not to take everybody to court. We're not to do that.

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It's becoming rampant in this country lately. Well, not lately, but more all of the time to judge everybody, take you to court, judging.

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So I would say that the Christian must criticize, must rebuke, must contain within itself the

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Christian approach. Now, there are times that we're dragged into court, but then

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God's taking care of everything, even being taken to court. So we have to be very careful.

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You have judgment of things pertaining to this life. That means outside the church. Set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.

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Diane, you wanted to say something? You got to where I was agreeing.

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Okay. That is, the least person with really no pride, which doesn't hurt to know, that is able to judge those things.

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The Lord time and time again shows that those who exalt themselves, those who humble themselves,

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He says the least in the kingdom will be the greatest thereof. That's right. He's wanting you to be aware of, that if your whole heart is totally committed to Him, and if your desire to serve

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Him is, that you even be in the least, that He considers that you can judge

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Him. There is also wisdom in the multitude of the council of men.

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It is very important for us as Christians, in the church, and especially the way it is today, that we take the council of our

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Christians, those Christians. If we feel that there is something hidden, I called my mom just yesterday and said,

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Mom, if there's anything in your heart, if there's any sin, if there's anything you have, please confess it, and then

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I'm going to give you my request, and just pray for me. We should be the closest thing to me

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I've ever met. That's that.

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So we have to realize, that those that don't really seem to be doing anything, that have a heart for the

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Lord, can give us great wisdom. We are not to go to one person, and if that one person be anybody, it's

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Christ Jesus. And we have to start doing that in the body of Christ, to be strengthened.

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Alright. I speak to your shame. He's saying right there, I speak to your shame.

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It is so that there is not a wise man among you. We think we can judge.

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We think we can call it right or wrong. No, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren.

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We can judge only on the surface. We can judge only what is present, what we can see, what we can taste.

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That is as far as we can go with judgment. He applies the general proposition to a particular, always calling them back to this, to make a way, to take away from them the false opinion of his own excellency, from where all of these evils spring.

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But brother goeth to law against brother, and that before the unbeliever.

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The Christian sues another at law. This is almost as great a scandal as can exist in the

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Christian church. We don't look at it like that today, but that doesn't change the meaning of it, that those in a religious community who will not submit to a proper arbitration, made by a person among themselves, should be expelled from a church.

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Those of this congregation that would not agree to a proper arbitration, yet come out to the very best that we can do, if they still won't agree, then put them out of the church.

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That's kind of what I meant, if you take this whole man's least esteem, the least able, for whatever grounds it is against God's least esteem, who it may be in the church, is capable of judging fair and better, within the community, than anyone without the church.

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That's right. So what he is is, he would go without the church to resolve an internal problem, but the least of the people within the church, the least able to judge and discern, within the church, would do a better job of discerning than anyone outside.

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That's right. He raised his hand to clear his voice.

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I didn't raise my hand to have a problem with the church. I think Bill's exactly summed it up very well.

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Verse 5, the second sentence of verse 5 is a question, not a statement.

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And what it is saying is that the fact is the least person in the church is able to judge better than the great, the most highly esteemed

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Dr. Borlaug. Like Bill said. But it is not saying that, therefore in the church, when we have a situation like this, that we should take the least wise person in the church, like the people who judge, it's not saying that at all.

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No, no. Verse 5 is saying, are you telling me that you should?

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And when we study the pastoral epistles of Timothy and so forth, that teach us how to set the church and government up, if you study

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Book of Acts, you see very clearly that the churches were patterned after the Old Testament manner of doing things where you had elders, which did commentate the wisdom that comes with age.

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But it didn't just mean age, because it also came to mean the pastors or the called men of God in the church as well.

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So it was a mix of both. It was the person who would be a pastor, but it was also some of the laymen in the church who were spiritual men, who were in the word, and who the church had elected to be the elders, which

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I don't know what we would call it today. Some churches don't. I don't see why elders wouldn't be a great word for it.

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But what we would do if we had a problem that they couldn't solve, not that they weren't trying, but they just didn't agree on it.

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And maybe it was an issue over, well, who knows what? You can think of a hundred examples.

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And if they, for some reason, could not resolve it, then they should bring it to the pastor, and the pastor should get together a group of men.

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And I think the church should vote on who they would be, that they consider some of the wiser men in the church to get together and have a board, and you would listen to both cases, and you would decide.

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And like Bill said, if one of the parties wouldn't accept the decision, that might tell you a little bit about that party.

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Maybe he's not saying he feels that way. Might be. But if both are brothers, it would be resolved in prayer, and the

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Lord would work it out. All right.

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Now, therefore, there is among you a fault.

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He gets down to the bottom line. There is utterly a fault among you because you go to law one with another.

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Why do you not rather take wrong? Why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?

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And that goes against the grain. But that's the Christian way. Utterly a fault.

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They did wrong in going to the heathen to decide their differences. They ought to have decided them by arbitration or in some other way among themselves.

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If it were better even to suffer wrong than this to do wrong, all differences of Christians should be settled among themselves according to principles of equity without appealing to the civil tribunes, especially those of wicked men.

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Nay, we do wrong and defraud, and that your brethren. Far from suffering now, you are the aggressors.

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And defraud your pious, long -suffering brethren who submit to this wrong rather than take those methods to redress their grievances among spiritual

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Christianity. Forbids, probably the apostle refers to himself who had taken his father's wife.

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Remember, that was at the heart of the whole discussion way back at the beginning in the other chapter.

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We find the one. And the church was sweeping it under the rug.

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They were acting like there's nothing wrong. They were going on. If I don't see it and don't know it and don't talk about it, then

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I'm all right. You can't do that. We are looked at as an individual.

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We are looked at as a collection of individuals. Now, that collection is where he's talking right now.

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In that each one of us, we have our own input, but as a body, we have an input.

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It is that body that he's looking at. It's made up of individuals.

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But what does the body decide to do? Yes? That's part of it.

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It's how does the body know it. Communicating the word and fellowship.

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That's why the fellowship is so important. That's right. That's one of the biggest problems nowadays.

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We're all so busy. You know, there's a verse that says, I just read it somewhere, about half -hours to an hour to one quarter to another.

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Yes. You can visit around the word and fellowship.

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That's right. That way, the body does communicate and knows when there are things that may need to be discussed.

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Most of the time, when there's a problem, it's an imaginary problem that the enemy brings in the minds of each of us, and we blow it up bigger than it is, and we would sit down and just talk with each other and it would go away.

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God wants it to go away. He's not the author of the confusion. So many, how did

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I say it this morning, who got an email? Nobody looked?

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I hope they didn't go to church. What did it say, Marianne? What are some things that you think about when you sit around and worry about things and they talk to each other a lot and they do talk?

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We worry and discuss and think about things that never happen, and therefore we get to enjoy that that never happens.

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Well, our time is up. We're going to start with verse 9 next week.

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And we tend to think, and I get the feeling that you're all thinking this was something that belonged to that church way back there.

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It's present today. It's in this church. Maybe not the same color, maybe not the same shape, maybe not the same design, but as pure as we are, which isn't very pure, we would think that if we could really see the difference,

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Greg, if we could really see the truth, just as it is, we'd hide our head in shame.