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"I say this to your shame."

Text: 1 Corinthians 6:5

FROM PRAISE TO SHAME

When Paul began writing his epistle to the Corinthians, he praised them for being a very gifted Church. However, he could not continue to offer words of praise as he addressed the problems that had been left unresolved. The believers in Corinth seemed to have been immersed in problems.

“I say this to your shame.
Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one,
who will be able to judge between his brethren?
But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers!”
1 Corinthians 6:5-6

1. “I say this to your shame”

a) Approval could not be given.

b) Much less praise.

c) Shame had to be expressed.

i) Disappointment

ii) Sadness

2. “There is not a wise man among you, not even one”

a) Could it be that not a single wise man existed in the gifted Corinthian Church?

b) Did the Corinthians even try and locate a wise man?

3. “Who will be able to judge between his brethren”

a) Paul found it incredulous that no wise man was found in their midst.

b) This is sarcasm.

i) He believed that there were wise men in their midst.

ii) But the Corinthians chose to take their cases to the secular law courts instead.

4. “Brother goes to law against brother”

a) This was a reality.

b) It was a sad reality!

c) Brothers should not need to go to the secular courts to resolve their differences.

5. “And that before unbelievers”

a) The secular court is in focus here.

b) Unbelieving judges would resort to secular law to resolve all disputes.

c) The whole idea of being “brethren” was in danger of being lost in the process!