Sanctified Conflict Resolution

Who we are called to be in Christ is meant to impact every part of our lives

The Church, Jesus’ Body, is to on a journey to be made like Christ

‘Realignment’ 2 God’s ways impacts our social, legal, sexual, ethical & relational lives

The Word of God, The Scriptures, call us out to be Holy, in every area of life

This is nothing new, God has been showing us how we are to live in union with Him

Paul is using different issues in the lives of the Corinthians to make the same point

As fully surrendered Christ Followers we are to be ‘Transformed’ by God’s Spirit

Paul asks a number of questions in this passage: Theological Questions

Last one: Do you not know that the ‘Unrighteous’ will not inherit the Kingdom of God?

So we see that it all about being made ‘Righteous’ and then living that out

When the Gospel is total reality we move from self absorption to Christ Absorption

Various factions in the congregation label others as wise or foolish, weak or strong; fight over who was the best pastor before the current one; bring lawsuits against one another; argue over sexual morality, whether it’s better to be married or single, what makes a healthy marriage, what constitutes grounds for divorce, what are appropriate dietary practices; what is the correct understanding of resurrection and the afterlife; and on and on. When conflict becomes that pervasive, no conflict management plans have any hope of succeeding unless the people involved can move beyond self-absorption, step back, and see a bigger picture of a higher calling. Paul seeks to accomplish that. ~ Frank Crouch

Our objective as Christ followers is to be ONE with Christ.

He must increase, we must decrease

1st Corinthians 6:1-11

When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world?

  • Unrighteous vs Sanctified: God does the sanctifying that makes us righteous
  • TOGETHER with Jesus we will Judge all creation

And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!

  • Knowing our eternal future gives us a pattern for here and now
  • We will be one with Christ (Biblical Conversion) HE we will Judge everything
  • He prepares us for eternity living as HIS Church (Justifies & Sanctifies)

So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame.

  • If Christ is the focus of our lives we can settle all disputes ‘In The Spirit’
  • It is a shame when we don’t trust God for basic things…

Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers?

  • The idea that God’s people should learn to settle their own disputes Exodus 18
  • This is one of the roles of Elders & Mature / Experienced in Christ’s church

To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!

  • If there is anything that eclipses Christ’s Spirit governing in our lives is a ‘fail’
  • We are better off suffering wrong than letting anything else take priority over JC

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:

  • The mark of ‘Unrighteousness’ is that our self desires rule instead of Christ
  • Until we have surrendered our lives to Christ our desires own us
  • We cannot be righteous in any way until we give our entire self to HIM
  • Don’t be fooled by yourself or the culture of the day:(Stick with God’s Standard)
  • The reality of your relationship to Christ is revealed in your ‘Lifestyle’

Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

  • This is a list of ‘lifestyle / habitual Sin’
  • Identity is crucial, when your desires rule you they become who you are
  • People are not ‘Unrighteous’ because they may have done these things…
  • They do these things, make them lifestyle, shape identity around because they have not been made ‘Righteous’ in Christ by surrendering to the Gospel
  • These are lifestyles that God has clearly been against forever
  • The priority of Self vs that of Christ’s Body (what we do proves what is priority)
  • If your desires are consistently more important than God’s ways, have you been made ‘Righteous’ by Christ?
  • If being found ‘right’ in a dispute is more important to you than the unity of Christ’s Body, then are you really part of that Body?

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

  • We all start out in this category: Unrighteous & not inheriting The Kingdom
  • But those of us who have surrendered our lives to Christ and HIS Gospel…
  • We have been made repentant of our sin through Christ’s perfect sacrifice
  • God’s Spirit enabled us to surrender and began the process of sanctification
  • We are justified when our reality is Christ’s Lordship of our lives
  • God does all of this by HIS Spirit, we cannot make any of it happen

Application Questions:

Why does Jesus want His Body to settle their disagreements among themselves?

How does our union with Christ reflect in how we settle disputes?

How can we leverage the wisdom of our congregation to help settle disagreements?

What is it that makes any of us righteous or unrighteous?