1 When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers! 2-3 Don’t you realise that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves? Don’t you realise that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life. 4-5 If you have legal disputes about such matters, why go to outside judges who are not respected by the church? I am saying this to shame you. Isn’t there anyone in all the church who is wise enough to decide these issues? 6-7 But instead, one believer sues another - right in front of unbelievers! Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves are the ones who do wrong and cheat even your fellow believers.

9 Don’t you realise that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people - none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:1-10 New Living Translation.

Would you agree that it's better to be cheated than to cheat? That’s what Paul says in vs 6-7. Why do you think he said that?

I think it's because they were washing their dirty laundry in front of unsaved people! He says the fact that they were doing so many wrong things to one another (vs 8) was bad enough - but to then take it to court where unsaved people had to sort the problem out was tragic. Imagine what it made the unsaved people think of Christianity and of Christ.

He doesn't explain more what he meant about judging the world and angels (vs 2-3) and some think he may have had Daniel 7:27 in mind where it says: “The sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High.” The New Testament writer Jude tells us too that: “Angels who didn't stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place where they belonged are now kept by God chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgement.” (Jude vs 6) So it may be that because Christians are united to Christ there's a sense in which they share in the judgements He passes at the end of the age. Paul's point though is that Christians ought to be wise enough to sort out serious internal disputes. (That doesn't mean of course that Christians must shelter real criminals.)

He then challenges them in vs 8. Those who choose a life of selfish wrongdoing mustn't expect to get to heaven! We can't say 'Christ has forgiven my sins', and then persist in the lifestyles he describes in vs 9-10. And there's something important to take to heart here. Most Christians agree that the lifestyles he mentions in vs 9 disqualify people from heaven - but what about the things he mentions in vs 10?

We must never think it's ok if we 'only do little sins'. Taking something that's not ours – greed - getting smashed – abusiveness - dishonesty, are also things that disqualify us from heaven if we keep doing them instead of repenting of them. That was Paul's concern. He was worried some of them were fooling themselves, thinking they were Christians when their lifestyle suggested they'd not been truly saved. A real Christian wouldn't only turn from those things - they would also be willing to rather be personally let down than to have Christ's name dragged through the dirt in a secular law court.

Such a step might cost us financially, but remember that Christ was rich - yet for our sake He became poor, so that we through his poverty might become rich. To be cheated by someone who said they were a Christian and not take action is a tough call – but it's something God will always honour.