By Byron Sanchez and Abraham Sanchez

As many already know, the Editor in Chief and Pastor of the Seventh Day Church of God, Byron Sanchez, is embroiled in a lawsuit- a lawsuit that he filed! He is suing two individuals, to try and regain control of the church’s assets, stop the sale of the church property and to be placed back upon the church’s board of directors.  This lawsuit has been ongoing for months and is one of the reasons that this magazine has been stagnant, waiting for a judgment by the Court.

But one very important question that arises is: Should Pastor Byron be suing members of his own church? Doesn’t the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 6 clearly prohibit doing this?  Should Christians be suing one another?

To understand this passage, like many others, requires that we read it in context and see specifically what it is saying and what it is not saying.  Notice I Cor 6:1

1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Know you not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? 4 If then you have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. 5 I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? 6 But brother goes to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. 
I Corinthians 6:1-6

It is clear here that Paul is not talking about a hypothetical situation.  There were members of the church in Corinth that have either taken other Christians to court in the past or were currently doing so.  And Paul wasn’t too happy about it.  When someone has a matter against another, they should be brought before the Church to judge, not before the courts of this world.  Verse 2 is clear that the World will be judged by the saints! 

Paul is very clear that not only will Angels be judged by the Saints but even those who are least esteemed in the church are more qualified than the “courts of the unjust”!  Paul goes on to say: “is it.. that there is not a wise man among you? … not one that shall be able to judge?”  There will always be disagreements and matters of controversy that need to be arbitrated, and the Apostle Paul is clear that they are to be judged before and by the church.   

So considering these very strong instructions by Paul, how is it that Pastor Byron is suing members of his own church?

In April of 2025, Pastor Byron Sanchez called a meeting to answer ongoing accusations by a member of his congregation.  These accusations had been going on for sometime by this person.  Although they were coming primarily from one person they were serious, continuous, repetitive and needed to be addressed.  Byron then called a meeting, outlined by the bylaws of the church and I Corinthians 6, to bring these matters before the church.  At Sabbath services on April 26 he announced a meeting, at Sabbath services that the entire congregation was invited to participate in this meeting that was to take place the next day.  He also invited another Pastor who was a regular speaker and member of the congregation to oversee.  

At the meeting on April 27, when all were allowed to speak, he addressed these accusations including his use of alcohol.  Other than Pastor Byron’s use of alcohol, no one voiced any concern with any of the accusations other than the same individual. At the meeting, no one called for his removal other than the same individual.  

At that point, the situation seemed to be resolved.  Pastor Sanchez would continue to preside over the congregation and acknowledged that his alcohol use needed to be carefully moderated. 

However despite the fact that these issues had been brought before the saints for judgment, that one same individual was not satisfied. That person apparently conspired to remove Pastor Sanchez even though I Corinthians 6 was followed.  That person filed an amendment with the Idaho Secretary of State’s office to have him removed from the board of directors and be replaced by someone else.  That person organized a very flimsy eviction letter to have him removed from the parcinage of the Church building.  And at the same time someone, who remains to be anonymous, made a complaint to the authorities about Byron. 

Minutes before the authorities arrived, that person handed Pastor Byron an eviction letter telling him he needed to vacate his home in 30 days.  The very next day the locks were changed at the church hall and on Byron’s living quarters and the Pastor of the afternoon congregation was told his congregation needed to move and find a new place of worship. Immediately, it appears, that person organized a moving party to have all of Pastor Byron’s belongings hauled off.  And in days the church property was put on the market to be sold!  Many people have testified that they helped move Byron’s belongings only because they were threatened that his belongings would be thrown away if they did not.  Some of his property that didn’t get moved in time probably did get thrown away.   

This is when Pastor Byron decided to file a lawsuit– to prevent the church from being sold and restore two congregations. 

See, when the Apostle Paul is reprimanding the church in Corinth, it is important to understand what he is saying and what he is not saying.  He isn’t saying:

  • You are never going to have a matter against a brother
  • You should just let yourself be abused and mistreated by others
  • You shouldn’t try to fix the problem
  • We as Christians should be a doormat for anyone to walk on.

Paul isn’t saying ANY of those things. What Paul IS saying is: that when you have a matter against a brother rather than go to the court of the unjust, these matters should first be brought before the Church congregation.  

And Pastor Byron did that.  On April 27 Pastor Byron called the meeting before the congregation to address accusations by that person.  And at the meeting no one called for his removal except that person.  And when that person(s) didn’t get the solution desired, that person took the matter outside the congregation.  That person filed with the Secretary of State’s office to have Pastor Byron removed from the Board of Directors.  That person (or persons) had Pastor Byron removed from the Church bank account. That person(s) drafted a legally deficient eviction letter to have him removed from his home.  It is very possible- that person or one of their collaborators was the one who made the anonymous complaint to the authorities. 

In my opinion it is clear- that person or persons were the ones who rejected the decision of the congregation and brought this into the jurisdiction of the court of the unjust- not Pastor Byron.  And if someone decides afterwards to once again bring this before the Congregation for judgment (Num 35:12) because new evidence is found, that is fine.  But it needs to be done according to Matthew 18– with both parties present, with 2 or 3 witnesses, before 2 or 3 elders and it needs to be done transparently- not by back door politicking, gossip and private influencing to the General Council without hearing both sides of the issue. That is the scriptural model.

The Apostle Paul goes on to say in verse 7:

Now therefore, there is altogether an utter fault among you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 
1 Corinthians 6:7 

Paul here is asking the question that even in cases where you might be legally correct, “Why not rather be defrauded?” Pastor Byron has thought about this question carefully. If these actions were only about Byron being defrauded- the answer would be easy. But considering there was no plan to continue the operation of the church. There was no plan presented on how the funds would be spent after the church was sold. The question was never presented to anyone in the morning or afternoon congregation about: “Should we sell the church, dissolve the congregation, and liquidate the assets?” The Congregations were only told that the closure was happening. No reasonable notice was given to either the morning or afternoon congregations. The congregation was never asked where they would attend beforehand. It is VERY CLEAR, Pastor Byron was not the only one being defrauded. And as the Pastor and shepherd, he has the duty to preserve and protect his congregation.

Recently I got the chance to read the By Laws of the Seventh Day Church of God Caldwell.  I was very impressed by the wisdom and guidelines that were laid out in it. The author, Martin Ogren and founder of the Church masterfully harmonized the guidelines of the State of Idaho with the teachings of Jesus Christ, The Apostles, and the Torah (Law of God).  Although I never met Martin Ogren, I believe he was definitely led by the Holy Spirit.  His bylaws required transparency for matters of controversy and for those matters to be brought before the congregation for judgment. It is a shame they were not respected.