Good morning Mozart's Starling. You have a very interesting name and avatar. I like it, it sounds very classical.... I'd like to add a little to your thread with this portion of Scripture....
Lawsuits Against Believers
1Corinthians 6:1 "Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
6:4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.
6:5 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?
6:6 But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
6:7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
6:8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren."
This portion of Scripture deals with the New Testament Church of Jesus Christ. Your question of Matthew 5:25 is better resolved by the preceding two verses....Matthew 5:23 "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Mat. 5:24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way;
first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."
Lets say that you borrow a nice lawn mower from a friend who's going away for 6 months. When he returns from his trip abroad, he wants his lawn mower back. You don't want to give it back because he's rich and can buy another lawn mower, and you can't. You refuse all contact with him in hopes he'll forget the mower and just buy another.
We all know this is wrong. The Holy Spirit convicts you to return the mower, but you simply love that lawn mower and refuse to return it. One day, you are mowing your lawn and your friend shows up. You two have a conversation but you refuse to give it back and he tells you that He'll take you to court and get it back.
You both are Christians and go to the same Church. This, according to 1 Corinthians is where you settle "out of court" this situation....Well, the Scriptures are very clear. The lawn mower must be returned to your friend and fellowship with one another must be repaired thru repentance and forgiveness.
I hope this helps my new classical friend.
Love You, Chopper