1 Corinthians 6:1-20

Common Sense isn’t Common

Paul addresses two things in this chapter before he moves on to address questions the Corinthians have asked. Both of these things seem to be obvious but they apparently were in first century Corinth and they are seemingly not any more obvious now.

Don’t sue your brother. Before I go any further let’s be clear that this is talking about fellow believers. There is no prohibition about going to court with non believers. You don’t have to sure non believers but you this passage certainly doesn’t prohibit it. (And if you ever get a clear shot at AT&T please take it.)

The problem here was apparently that if brother had a problem they were unable to settle it in a godly manner so they would take it to court. What this said to the world was that the Holy Spirit wasn’t enough of an arbiter and this “love one another” thing was pretty much a sham. That’s right, we get to stand up for our rights and give the gospel a black eye. Maybe a few hundred people see it and as a result refuse to believe and spend eternity away from God, but hey, I won the case!

My friend Ray is an Anglican Rector. He used to be in the Episcopal church but as a result of the apostasy in that organization he felt compelled to start to distance his parish from the Episcopal brand. He received a call one Saturday telling him that the Diocese was coming to take the building the next day. Ray started this church from nothing and after years of hard work his flock had built that building. Rather than “fight” over the situation they walked away and left everything. “Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?” Ray and his people walked that out. (After meeting in rented spaces for over five years they are now close to having their new building finished!)

The other things Paul addresses here? OK, everything is permissible, I am saved by grace, but when will we ever learn that not everything is a good idea? I’m talking about sexual immorality. Everybody’s tempted but it never ends well. Just don’t do it. That’s common sense.