5 Smooth Stones

judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.” There seem to be as many who go overboard on their interpretation of the 1 Corinthians 6 exhortation not to go lightly before the nonbeliever, as there are those who ignore the possibility of judging ma tt ers within the church in order to fi nd a remedy. Paul did not say never to go before the secular judge, but not to go lightly; should you not “judge the smallest ma tt ers.” There are situations between believers in Christ which might have huge impact or broad reaching consequences or costs which may need to be resolved in a court of law or mediation, but to automatically neglect the possibility of judging ma tt ers within the church has caused much harm which could have been avoided with the application of wisdom and discernment in judgment in many situations. In Ma tt hew 18 Jesus lays out the standard for taking care of personal problems and issues in His church. Ma tt hew 18:15 "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.” The standard here when dealing with a brother or sister in Christ is to fi rst take the ma tt er to the person and see if unity can be restored in love. If it is not, then secondly go before the church leadership and see if it can be resolved. Most things can be resolved at these stages, but in those cases where issues are not resolved, then the ma tt er should be taken to the entire church body so everyone is aware. I have been told of situations where fraud was brought upon church members by another member, and when this was known it was taken to the accused party, who refused to repent and simply went to another church. The church members at the fi rst church were warned by the leadership so no one would be ignorant of the scheme. The pastor of the second church where the guilty individual went was likewise warned so he would be aware. His response was that they did not want to judge anyone. After a few months he found that many innocent folks in his congregation had been defrauded just as a few had been in the fi rst congregation. This could have been avoided simply by following Jesus’ teaching and using sound judgment. There is a reason that there is a stricter judgment for those in leadership (James 3:1) because they have a

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