Family Matters
Saints Sinners Soldiers
March 17, 2019
Rev. Gabe Sylvia
The sermon warns against taking fellow believers to secular courts over trivial matters, urging the church to resolve disputes internally, pursue restoration (as in Matthew 18), and prioritize eternal spiritual goods over temporal property or vindication.
Summary
Using the example of a 2003 denominational split in Savannah that led to a property lawsuit, the preacher draws on Paul’s rebuke of Christians who take one another before unbelieving judges to argue that bringing church disputes into the secular arena confuses the church’s witness and reveals a lack of reliance on the church’s own resources. Matthew 18’s corrective process aims at restoration, renewal, and revival rather than litigious victory, and Paul even commends a readiness to suffer wrong rather than damage the body of Christ. The sermon's call is to focus on the things that cannot be lost—what Christ has secured—living by eternal priorities, and to pray and strengthen the church through Word and Sacrament.
Key Points
- Example: After the 2003 election of an openly gay bishop, Christ Church (Savannah) split and the diocese sued for property, showing a focus on property over faith
- Paul’s admonition: don’t have disputes judged by the unrighteous (secular courts) instead of the saints
- Taking church matters before the world confuses the church’s relationship to the world and weakens its witness
- Many disputes are “matters of this life” (trivial, everyday issues) and should be handled internally, not by unbelievers
- Matthew 18’s goal is restoration, renewal, and revival—spiritual reconciliation, not escalation
- Paul suggests it is better to suffer wrong than to fracture the church; a readiness to lose can be a powerful witness
- Keep eternal priorities in view: what Christ has earned for us cannot be lost, so avoid elevating small temporal matters
- Pastoral closing: pray for the church’s health, rely on Scripture and the Supper, and entrust governance and reconciliation to the body of Christ
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