Halakha – The Right Way to Go

"Does any of you who has a complaint against someone dare go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels--not to speak of things pertaining to this life? So if you have cases pertaining to this life, do you select those who have no standing in the church to judge? I say this to your shame! Can it be that there is not one person among you who will be able to arbitrate between his brothers? Instead, brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers!" - 1 Corinthians 6:1-6 HCSB

Thousands of years ago, Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, suggested that Moses delegate some of his authority to lower courts so that the people would be able to get timely justice. This suggestion was adopted and formalized by God’s explicit command to "establish judges and officers in your gates."

The office and role of these "judges and officers", or as they were later identified "elders and deacons," is categorically established as New Testament church doctrine and practice.

One of the more important roles of an elder is that of Dayan or judge. Many times, God’s people (who are unfortunately not yet perfect) are unsure as to the correct behavior in a given circumstance. They often come and ask shayla (religious questions) of a posek (an elder assigned to answer such questions).

Elders anxious to correctly teach the word of truth meet together and discuss the Scriptures’ application to real-world issues in what is known as a Beit Din, which is a type of congregational court. Though it is uncommon to find such a structure among Christians, it should be common among the Ransomed for we see it clearly in today’s passage.

The elders, therefore, acting as Dayanim or judges, are responsible for the development of Halakha. Halakha is the collective corpus of biblical law that governs the behavior of the Ransomed Ones. Halakha comes from the Hebrew word halach which means "to walk" or "to go". It is probably better understood as "the right way to go."

Halakha is generally broken down into
- Devar Mishnah (clear settled law),
- Shikul HaDaat (matters not settled and left to the understanding of the individual) and
- Minhag (customs or community practices that are not directly commanded by God but that have been found to be useful to tzaddikim)

Halakha is developed from both explicit biblical instructions and implicit case history. A wise elder will prefer having both explicit instruction and case history illustrating the point in hand before rendering a decision.

Adherence to Halakha is not the means to but the result of salvation. After all, the Master said our love would be demonstrated by obedient lives.