Christians suing Christians: A Case Study

What is at Risk in the Erskine Lawsuit?
Another issue precipitated a lawsuit in another denomination. It is all instructive as pecusa continues their legal onslaught against traditionalist Anglicans. ed.


Opinion and Commentary

Written by Fred Greco
Friday, 12 March 2010 19:58

I believe that regardless of the outcome on the original matter, the
very fact of the lawsuit creates more damage to the Church (and
therefore to both sides of the Erskine controversy) than the dispute
out of which the lawsuit arose.


The last week has seen tremors run through Erskine College, the
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and the denominations related
to the ARP. Since the actions of the ARP Synod at the beginning of
this month, denominational news agencies, community newspapers and the
internet have been filled with stories, comments, and speculation
about Erskine College. Much ink has been spilled on what the
consequences of the dispute will be. But the matter took an entirely
new turn on late Wednesday afternoon, March 10, when a lawsuit was
filed against the ARP in the office of the Clerk of Court for
Abbeville, S.C. As soon as that lawsuit was filed, the character of
the matter changed. It went from being a dispute in the Church to
being a matter at law before a secular court. I believe that
regardless of the outcome on the original matter, the very fact of the
lawsuit creates more damage to the Church (and therefore to both sides
of the Erskine controversy) than the dispute out of which the lawsuit
arose.

The Apostle Paul was very concerned about the effect of Christians
taking their disputes to a civil (as opposed to a church, or
?ecclesiastical?) court. He voiced this concern under inspiration of
the Holy Spirit to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 6:1-8. This
passage in 1 Corinthians has been the place where Christians have
turned throughout the centuries to warn each other about the dangers
of bringing conflicts and disputes into the civil legal system. This
passage speaks so powerfully to the dangers of lawsuits among
Christians that many have heeded Paul?s call to ?rather suffer
wrong?rather be defrauded? than to involve the State in disputes among
believers. A good friend of mine and his Session took 1 Corinthians 6
so seriously that they voluntarily gave up their church building
rather than file a lawsuit when they were compelled to leave their
former denomination because of issues of Biblical fidelity. You might
ask: How could they do that? Why would they abandon all they had
worked for? They did it because they believed that the Lord meant what
He said in 1 Corinthians 6 (yes, God is the author of all Scripture).
They believed that He would bless them for valuing God?s Word more
than material things. I have to say that the Lord has shown Himself
faithful to that congregation, expanding their borders and providing a
wonderful temporary home for them as they prepare to construct a new
facility. God honors His Word. There is never any risk in following
His Word.

But there is a risk in ignoring God?s Word. In the case of 1
Corinthians 6, I believe that there are three risks:

1. the Community of God is put at risk
2. the Parties themselves are put at risk, and
3. the Gospel is put at risk

The Community of God is put at Risk
The Church, as a community of God?s people, is called to be different
from the world. Often this is described with reference to the Greek
New Testament word for the Church ? ekklessia. We see that word in our
term ?ecclesiastical,? or ?pertaining to the Church.? Ekklesia means
the ?body of the called out ones,? the men, women and children who
have been called out of the world into a new body ? the body of
Christ. The Church is not bounded by common ethnicity, common
interest, or even common location. The Church is made up of people of
all walks of life, all races, and all languages. The strong bond of
the Church is that it is the place where the children of God, those
redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ, are found. There is a connection
stronger than blood between believers in America, the Sudan, China and
Korea (to name just a few places). The Church is not an organization,
it is an organism, a living body that is united to Christ.

Because of this strong connection, there are many calls in the Bible
for believers to love one another, serve one another and encourage one
another. Paul calls the Church to exhibit Christ-likeness by
?look[ing] not only to [your] own interests, but also to the interests
of others? (Phil. 2:4). When Christians take their disputes outside of
the Church, when they bring their ?grievances against one another? to
unbelievers to decide, there is an incalculable loss. What such a
tactic does is to say to all the world, ?we can?t figure out what is
best here. We can?t come to a resolution without the help of the
world.? It says that Christians are no different than anyone else who
has no need for Christ. Have a dispute? Well, take it to court! That
is the American Way, after all. We hear all the time how many lawyers
there are in America (I will spare you the jokes I hear all the time).
News report after news report informs us of how litigious America is.
Among ordinary Americans, suing and being sued is expected, and it is
almost a joke in itself. No one expects a good resolution, just a slow
(and expensive) decision by which everyone must abide. Shouldn?t the
Church be different? Shouldn?t it be a place where we look not only
for a ?solution,? but reconciliation?

What makes this even more troubling is that many in the civil court
system seem to be getting the wisdom of applying Biblical principles
in a secular context. They would not cite the Bible, but there are
increasing calls for less litigation, less antagonism, less conflict.
A whole new body of law, called ?collaborative law,? is rising.
Collaborative law is as untypical a way to resolve disputes as you
could imagine in a court system. In collaborative law, the parties
hire lawyers who promise not to be involved in a lawsuit. In fact, if
the parties end up in litigation, the lawyers have already agreed that
they will resign! The parties and their lawyers sign an agreement
beforehand to negotiate in good faith to settle a legal matter without
resort to a court?s imposing the resolution, to provide all relevant
information and to engage only neutral experts and allied
professionals to assist in resolving issues. No hiding information, no
threats to sue. The goal is not just a resolution, but a resolution
that avoids further pain and conflict. What does it say to a watching
world when Christians are unwilling to place relationships before
results?

The Parties themselves are put at risk
The risk of lawsuits, however, among believers is not limited to the
harm it does the corporate body. There is also substantial risk to the
believers involved in such lawsuits. When Christians resort to civil
lawsuits to resolve a dispute, there is a loss to our character. Paul
says in 1 Corinthians 6:7, ?To have lawsuits at all with one another
is already a defeat for you.? How can that be so? Doesn?t at least one
party win a lawsuit? And yet Paul is saying that before the lawsuit is
even decided, it is a ?defeat.? No matter who wins, everybody loses.
Part of the reason for the defeat is that civil courts do not have
sufficient understanding of Biblical issues to resolve a dispute among
believers. The proper judges of such matters are the ?saints,? not the
?unrighteous.? Paul uses unrighteous here to designate those who are
not justified by the blood of Christ, not indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
As a result, unbelievers are incapable of rendering just judgment in
disputes among believers. There is a great risk then ? to both parties
in a dispute ? of an incorrect judgment. One commentator pictures this
by translating the phrase ?before the unrighteous? (ESV) as ?where
there is questionable justice.? When Christians take disputes to
court, they court disaster.

But it is not just the risk of a bad decision that arises when
Christians go to court. There is a risk of a greater kind, a risk of
moral failure. The word for ?defeat? in this passage also has the
connotation of moral failure. It is the same word used by Paul in
Romans 11:12, when he describes the failure of Israel to believe on
Jesus Christ, that led to the inclusion of the Gentiles. It is a
failure that affects not only the dispute at hand, but all future
matters. Relationships are damaged, trust in the Church to arbitrate
is lost, and pain is increased. Calvin puts it well in his commentary
on this passage: ?we treat our brethren disdainfully, when we of our
own accord subject them to the decisions of unbelievers.? The result
for the one who initiates the suit and for the Church is shame, writes
Paul (1 Cor. 6:5).


The Gospel is put at risk
The danger to the Christian community and to the parties involved in
the dispute is not the greatest risk that occurs when a Christian
takes another Christian to civil court. The most significant risk is
the risk to the gospel. When Christians take their conflict publicly
to the State, the entire notion of the gospel and its ability to heal
and reconcile is brought into question. ?If the gospel reconciles,?
one might ask, ?how is it that gospel people refuse to try
reconciliation?? Unbelievers who observe such behavior in Christians
will at best doubt the reality of the gospel, and at worst, judge it
to be false and worthless.

The reality of the gospel is brought into question by lawsuits because
outsiders cannot help but think that believers trust unbelievers more
than the Church (the gospel community) to solve problems. Does the
gospel make one wise? Lawsuits among believers answer the question
(practically, if not formally) in the negative. How can the Christian
tell his neighbor that Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God for all (1
Cor. 1:24, 30) when Jesus and His Church are not even enough wisdom
for this dispute? How can the Church proclaim ?with all wisdom, that
we may present everyone mature in Christ? (Col. 1:28) when it does not
have enough wisdom to advise in a dispute? How can individual
Christians teach and admonish one another in all wisdom (Col. 3:16)
when they cannot settle grievances without the aid of the State? This
is a sad state of affairs, and tarnishes Christians, the Church and
the gospel itself. Even more troubling is the opportunity that a
lawsuit among Christians provides opportunities for those who are
actively hostile to the gospel to degrade and mock the gospel. John
Calvin describes the situation in this way: ?disgrace is brought upon
the gospel, and the name of Christ is held up as it were to the
scoffings of the ungodly.?


What is the Solution?
Does this mean that Christians are meant to be perpetual punching
bags? Is there no way to resolve conflict among believers without
giving in all the time? Surely justice is a part of God?s character as
well, isn?t it? These are good questions that deserve an honest
answer. When Paul is advising Christians against taking brothers to
civil court, he is not pretending that conflict never occurs. He is
not assuming that there is no avenue for resolving legitimate
disputes. In fact, Paul is assuming that there will be conflict, and
that Christians need conflict solvers! It is not a matter of the civil
courts or nothing. It is a choice of whether Christians will trust the
body of Christ to resolve ?intra-family? disputes in a God-honoring
way. Paul?s complaint is not that Christians seek resolution of
conflict, but that they do so in a way that precludes ?the saints?
from judging (1 Cor. 6:1). The saints are perfectly capable of judging
disputes ? after all, they will judge the world and angels (1 Cor.
6:2-3).

Practically, this means that when Christians find themselves in
conflict, they should seek out Christian mediation. Within the Church,
this is found both informally and formally. Informally, the first
principles of Matthew 18 are a great benefit to believers. Going to
your brother to be reconciled and to seek resolution to conflict is
the path of peace and accountability. Seeking help from the body of
believers to come alongside you and encourage peacemaking shows wisdom
in following our Lord?s dictates. In a formal sense, the Church acts
through its courts (at the local level as well as broader levels) to
resolve disputes. Finally, there are Christian organizations such as
Peacemakers Ministries (www.hispeace.org) that apply Biblical
principles of peacemaking (including 1 Corinthians 6) to assist
Christians in resolving conflict. These types of Christian
alternatives are not perfect, but they are the Lord?s means of
resolving conflict and avoid the great risks posed by lawsuits to the
Christian community, the parties to a dispute and the gospel itself.


Rev. Fred Greco is the Senior Pastor of Christ Church PCA in Katy, TX
(suburban Houston) and is an former practicing corporate attorney.
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Hat tip: Fr. Drew Collins