Let it Go!

Have you ever lost a dish that you have taken to a church dinner and at the next church dinner see your dish again with someone else’s food in it? Let’s say it was nice Tupperware. How did you respond? As you read 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 we will read how the Corinthian church responded to a similar incident and the lesson that the Scripture teaches us. The Corinthian believers responded to a similar incident by taking their fellow church members to court. They probably used unsaved lawyers and before an unsaved judge who was going to make a decision for them in small claims court. This all could have been avoided if the church members had just followed the lesson that Jesus taught in Matthew 18:15-18 about what to do if someone offends you. Part of our problem is that we do not practice what Jesus taught us in this passage of Scripture. Secondly, it becomes obvious that the Corinthians believers didn’t understand the Christian life nor did they understand how to live it. Paul makes this clear in verses 2-3 about the body of Christ judging the world and angels in the future. Daniel wrote of this in Daniel 7:22 “until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.” “Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the tribes of Israel. Late John the Beloved affirms Jesus’ teaching as the ascended Lord shows him what will take place in the future. Revelation 20:4a John writes, “Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed.” The body of Christ will judge the world and angels even the things pertaining to this life. The reason why the body of Christ is able to make such judgments is because the counseling ministry of the Holy Spirit has been given to each believer. As each believer grows in their faith, their relationship with the Lord through discipleship they are able to know what the Lord is saying to them through this ministry. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and he will guide us into all truth. Apparently the Corinthians didn’t have some mature believers who were able to help decide such matters.There is another option that they and we could take when we’re offended in such cases. We could just let it go. Look closely at verses 7-8. The Corinthians were wronging and defrauding each other instead of walking in the light of God’s word. Jesus suffered wrongly. On the cross he asked the Father to forgive them because they didn’t know what they were doing. You and I can let it go for this reason. We are not God. We know that God has shown us mercy and therefore we can show and give mercy to others. We are not the judge God is. He always works everything according to the counsel of his will and the purpose of his plans. Just look at Genesis 50:20 and Romans 8:28. And we are a new creation in Christ Jesus. So if someone in the Church body offends you, go and tell them or just let it go and ask the Lord to show you what it is he is teaching you.