Take One or Two Others Along
By God’s grace, most conflicts between Christians can be resolved by talking personally and privately with someone who has offended you. When personal efforts do not succeed, Jesus has given us a simple yet effective process for involving other people who can promote understanding and agreement. When this involvement is carried out with prayer, wisdom, and reliance on the power of the gospel, God is pleased to use our efforts to promote just settlements and preserve relationships that would otherwise have been lost.
1. Are the personal or material issues in this conflict too serious to overlook or walk away from? Why? (Prov. 19:11)
2. Why do you think your efforts to resolve this dispute in private have failed? Is there anything you could still do to resolve it in private?
3. If you must seek outside help to resolve this dispute, are there any individuals who are likely to be trusted and respected by both you and the other person? (PM @ 187-192)
4. What will you say to the other person to encourage him or her to allow other people to meet with the two of you to help resolve this dispute? In particular, how would you describe the advantages of getting outside assistance? (PM @ 188-190)
5. If the other person refuses to work voluntarily with others, would it be better to drop the matter or to ask the church to get involved? Why? (PM @ 192-193)
6. If all other avenues have failed to resolve this matter and you are considering filing a lawsuit, have you satisfied the biblical conditions for doing so? (PM @ 279-286; 1 Cor. 6:1-8; 10:31-11:1)
