I Corinthians 6:1-8
"Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to
law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the
saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by
you, are ye unworthy to
judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge
angels? how much more things pertaining to this life? If then ye have judgments
of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are
least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it
that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be
able to judge between his brethren? But brother goeth to law
with brother, and that before the unbelievers. Now therefore
there is utterly a fault among you…"
John Calvin's Commentary on this Scripture
"If any one has a controversy with a brother, it ought to be decided
before godly judges, and that it ought not to be before those that
are ungodly…But here it may be objected: "As it belongs to the office of
the magistrate, and as it is peculiarly his province to administer
justice to all, and to decide upon matters in dispute, why should not even
unbelievers, who are in the office of magistrate, have this authority,
and, if they have it, why are we prevented from maintaining our rights
before their tribunals?" I answer, that Paul does not here condemn
those who from necessity have a cause before unbelieving judges,
as when a person is summoned to a court; but those who, of
their own accord, bring their brethren into this situation, and harass
them, as it were, through means of unbelievers, while it is in their power
to employ another remedy. It is wrong, therefore, to institute of
one's own accord a law-suit against brethren before unbelieving judges.
If, on the other hand, you are summoned to a court, there is no harm in
appearing there and maintaining your cause... Here we have an argument
from the less to the greater; for Paul, being desirous to show that
injury is done to the Church of God when judgments on matters
of dispute connected with earthly things are carried before unbelievers,
as if there were no one in the society of the godly that was
qualified to judge, reasons in this strain: "Since God has reckoned
the saints worthy of such honor, as to have appointed them
to be judges of the whole world, it is unreasonable that they should
be shut out from judging as to small matters, as persons not
qualified for it." Hence it follows, that the
Corinthians inflict injury upon themselves, in resigning into the hands
of unbelievers the honor that has been conferred upon them by
God... What he finds fault with in the Corinthians is simply this,
that they carry their disputes before unbelieving judges, as if they
had none in the Church that were qualified to pass judgment, and farther,
he shows how much superior is the judgment that God has assigned
to his believing people... As, then, we do not detract in any degree from
the authority of the magistrate by having recourse
to arbitration, it is not without good reason that the Apostle enjoins
it upon Christians to refrain from resorting to profane, that is,
unbelieving judges. And lest they should allege that they were deprived
of a better remedy, he directs them to choose out of the Church arbiters,
who may settle causes agreeably and equitably. Farther, lest they
should allege that they have not a sufficient number of qualified
persons, he says that the meanest is competent to discharge this
office... I think I have faithfully brought out the Apostle's intention
-- that the lowest among believers was preferred by him to
unbelievers, as to capacity of judging... it appears [from
early Christian literature] that the bishops were accustomed to sit at
certain hours to settle disputes, as if the Apostle had been referring
to them here. As, however, matters always become worse, there
sprang from this error, in process of time, that jurisdiction which
the officials of the bishops assume to themselves in money matters.
In that ancient custom there are two things that are deserving
of reproof -- that the bishops were involved in matters that were
foreign to their office; and that they wronged God in making his
authority and command a pretext for turning aside from their proper
calling. "
The Historical Context
The Apostle Paul wrote his directives in an historical context in which
Jews maintained national and local Sanhedrins for the adjudication of legal
and religious questions. Such councils date back at least as far
as Moses (Exodus 18:25, Numbers 11:17, Deuteronomy 16:18). The Columbia
Encyclopedia describes the Sanhedrins at the time of the Apostle Paul thus:
"Sanhedrin, ancient Jewish legal and religious institution in Jerusalem
that appears to have exercised the functions of a court between c.63
B.C. and c.A.D. 68. .. Some scholars maintain that there probably
were two Sanhedrins-one political and civil, and the Great Sanhedrin, purely
religious." Alfred Edersheim describes the local Sanhedrins as follows:
Jews "would avail themselves of the opportunity for bringing any case that
might require legal decision before the local Sanhedrin". The Encyclopedia
Britannica describes them this way: "any of several official Jewish councils
in Palestine under Roman rule, to which various political, religious,
and judicial functions have been attributed. Taken from the Greek word
for council (synedrion), the term was apparently applied to various bodies
but became especially the designation for the supreme Jewish legislative
and judicial court—the Great Sanhedrin, or simply the Sanhedrin,
in Jerusalem. There were also local or provincial sanhedrins of lesser
jurisdiction and authority."
A Charge to Keep
God commands Christians to seek Christian judges, and this implies the
duty of the Christian community to establish appropriate councils for judgment.
Ideally, such Christian judges and rulers handling non-religious questions
would be the civil magistrates. As we read in Psalm 2:8-11, "I shall
give [thee] the heathen [for] thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts
of the earth [for] thy possession. .. Be wise now therefore,
O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD
with fear…" It is to our shame that today our civil judges and rulers
predominantly consist of unbelievers and heretics who do not base their
judgments upon the laws of God. But even in circumstances where God
has providentially placed unbelievers or heretics as our civil judges and
rulers, Christians are charged with seeking Christian judges to adjudicate
their disputes, especially with other professing Christians. As Calvin
notes, we should "choose out of the Church arbiters". Such Christian
councils of judges prepare the Christian community for the time when God
hands the civil magistracy over to us.
A Specific Proposal
In light of our charge to keep, reformed Christians should establish a council of judges for the US and Canada. The requirement for voting for council members or holding council office would be full subscription to the original Westminster Confession of Faith and the Three Forms of Unity . These standards accurately summarize the reformed, Biblical doctrines taught in scripture. Both voting and holding office would be limited to male communicant members of churches with such a doctrinal subscription. Such a council would adjudicate non-religious disputes, similar to the manner a Presbyterian synod or presbytery would adjudicate religious disputes. As circumstances permit, it would establish local or regional councils to be the courts of first resort. It would serve as the political wing of the reformed Christian movement, just as the church serves as its ecclesiastical wing. Therefore, it would be inappropriate for ministers to serve on its councils, even though the church synod or presbytery could advise it when appropriate. Council members could choose among themselves a council president (or moderator) and clerk, but all council members would have an equal vote on matters before it.
We can well learn from God's instruction to Ezra during a time when
the heathen controlled the civil magistracy of the Persian Empire: "And
thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that [is] in thine hand, set magistrates
and judges, which may judge all the people that [are] beyond the
river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know
[them] not." (Ezra 7:25)