I am sorry to read of the conflict you are having with a Christian couple that you purchased land with.  Going by the details you have given me; it doesn’t seem fair that they are unwilling to make things right by allowing you to “clear the balance that you owe them.” This has resulted in hard feelings AND the Lord is dishonored as well. Your fellowship with them needs to be restored and thus we read in Matthew 18:15, “Moreover if your bother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.” This is the right course of action and according to what you told me you did go to him and yet “he did not hear you,” which means he did not take to heart what you said for if he had he would have given you the chance to make things right by allowing you to pay the balance.  

What is the next step? I don’t know all the details regarding your purchase. Was there a contract drawn up with conditions that could settle the matter? If so, I would encourage you to try to settle this matter “outside of a human court where unbelievers are involved.” I believe that it would be wrong to “claim what rightfully belongs to your family” by taking your partner to a court presided over by an unsaved judge. I base this on what we read in 1 Corinthians 6:1, “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?” The Apostle Paul is clearly condemning this course of action. Notice his last words, “and not before the saints.” In these words, he is instructing us to take matters such as yours before believers who can judge the matter with the Lord’s wisdom and for His honor and glory. Paul confirms this by what we read next (in verses 2-4), “Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge?” The Lord is teaching us here that fellow-believers are indeed qualified to judge matters between believers and thus it would be inconsistent (and dishonoring to the Lord) to appoint an unsaved judge to settle the matter. Paul then reproves those who would go to a human court, “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. Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that to go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and do you these things to your brethren” (verses 5-8). It would be a “greater wrong” to go before the unsaved and “air your dirty laundry before them” than to “accept the wrong that was done to you by another believer.”

In closing, IF you aren’t willing to “accept the wrong of being cheated” and you go to the saints to judge the matter, there is a possibility they won’t be able to settle the dispute. What then? I had already quoted Matthew 18:15 which you have already acted on and the couple didn’t respond favorably. The next two verses give us further instruction: “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.’ 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.” In this case the local church must exercise scriptural discipline against the offending party. In those cases, the idea is that they will REPENT and be RESTORED to the Lord, which would also mean fellowship with you would also be restored.  (DO)  (629.5)