July 3, 2016 A.D., by Pastor Ben Willis

Philemon 1-25 [NLTse]

1 This letter is from Paul, a prisoner for preaching the Good News about Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.

I am writing to Philemon, our beloved co-worker, 2 and to our sister Apphia, and to our fellow soldier Archippus, and to the church that meets in your house.

3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

4 I always thank my God when I pray for you, Philemon, 5 because I keep hearing about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people. 6 And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ. 7 Your love has given me much joy and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God’s people.

8 That is why I am boldly asking a favor of you. I could demand it in the name of Christ because it is the right thing for you to do. 9 But because of our love, I prefer simply to ask you. Consider this as a request from me—Paul, an old man and now also a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus.

10 I appeal to you to show kindness to my child, Onesimus. I became his father in the faith while here in prison. 11 Onesimus hasn’t been of much use to you in the past, but now he is very useful to both of us. 12 I am sending him back to you, and with him comes my own heart.

13 I wanted to keep him here with me while I am in these chains for preaching the Good News, and he would have helped me on your behalf. 14 But I didn’t want to do anything without your consent. I wanted you to help because you were willing, not because you were forced. 15 It seems you lost Onesimus for a little while so that you could have him back forever. 16 He is no longer like a slave to you. He is more than a slave, for he is a beloved brother, especially to me. Now he will mean much more to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.

17 So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19 I, PAUL, WRITE THIS WITH MY OWN HAND: I WILL REPAY IT. AND I WON’T MENTION THAT YOU OWE ME YOUR VERY SOUL!

20 Yes, my brother, please do me this favor for the Lord’s sake. Give me this encouragement in Christ.

21 I am confident as I write this letter that you will do what I ask and even more! 22 One more thing—please prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that God will answer your prayers and let me return to you soon.

23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. 24 So do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my co-workers.

25 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Sermon

We have been reading through the New Testament together as a congregation this 2016, and each Sunday I’ve been preaching from something we’ve read the week before. We just began reading Hebrews this past week. So, if you’ve gotten behind or haven’t been a part of this yet, catch up by reading Hebrews 1 and 2, and then you can find the readings for this-coming week – Hebrews 3 and onward – on the back flap of our Bulletins and on the right-hand side of our website.

As a part of this last-week’s readings, we read the short letter Philemon that Elder Neil Frazer just read to us again.

Philemon lived in Colosse and had apparently become a Christian through Paul’s ministry during one of the Paul’s several missionary journeys through that region. Like every person of any substance in the Roman world of that time, Philemon owned slaves. One of them, Onesimus, had run away. (A crime punishable by death.) To make matters worse, it seems Onesimus had stolen from Philemon as he fled. As the Holy Spirit would orchestrate things, however, while on the run Onesimus had come under Paul’s influence and had become a Christian! Paul was imprisoned during the time he was discipling Onesimus, and Onesimus had grown to become a great support and encouragement to Paul during his days and weeks in jail.

The reason for the letter is that Paul has made a huge demand of Onesimus: For Christ’s sake, Paul has demanded that Onesimus return to Colosse, face his master and any consequences for his sins in escaping and stealing from himi, and to be reconciled to his master, Philemon, if Philemon will allow it. In the letter itself, Paul has made a huge request of Philemon, asking him to accept Onesimus back, without any penalty. And if that weren’t enough, Paul is clearly hinting that Philemon should set Onesimus free!

We never find out what happened. Did Philemon punish Onesimus, or did he forgive him, set him free, and let him return to help Paul, as the apostle had hoped? We don’t know.

But we do see the gospel being lived out in several dramatic ways across the short letter. First, in Onesimus’ return to Colosse and his presenting himself to his master, Philemon, we can see that living in obedience to Jesus Christ is worth everything, even our very lives.

We live in a day where personal happiness is touted as being the most important thing to achieve in life. “Does it make you happy?” you hear people asking as the final deal-maker or -breaker for decisions today? (Or, “does he make you happy?” or, “does she make you happy?”) “If it’s good for me it must be good,” we’ve been brainwashed to believe. But Philemon shows us that making God happy – knowing and doing His will – is the way to achieve true happiness.

The Lord Jesus, as always, is our role-model in such things, and the One Who always goes first. Hebrews states in 12:1-2, “Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion Who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” I read these words and think that we human beings are too satisfied by lesser happiness-es. The Lord Jesus shows us that trusting the Father, even if trusting Him might lead to trouble and trial and a cross, is always the way to true and complete happiness.

Submitting himself to his master was clearly the faithful thing for Onesimus to do. And yet it could have led to his death! But trusting in Jesus is the road to true happiness. I can imagine the peace Onesimus must have experienced once he determined to trust in the Lord and return to pay his dues. Yes, I can imagine the temptations towards fear and worry that must have come against him, as well. But I can imagine how the Holy Spirit must have comforted this faithful son as he set himself to do the Father’s will, even though it might cost him his life.

A second way we see the gospel so beautifully lived out is when Paul asks Philemon to forgive Onesimus his many wrongs. Paul makes clear that he could have ordered Philemon to forgive Onesimus and set him free. Philemon accepted Paul’s apostleship, and so Paul’s words to him would have been as though coming directly from the Lord Jesus Himself! But Paul didn’t command Philemon to do what he wanted. Paul asked Philemon. He asked him to forgive Onesimus and set him free on account of their love for each other, Just as the Lord asks us to trust, follow, and obey Him on account of His love for us and our love for Him, likewise, Paul asked Philemon to forgive Onesimus and set him free on account of their mutual love, all the while making absolutely clear that Philemon didn’t have to do as he’d asked. He made sure that Philemon knew he was free to do what Paul had asked of him or not!

This can be a tough one in our culture that teaches us that we deserve the good things in life. So, we should take what we want, whatever it takes. Be nasty, be rude, coerce, manipulate, put others down, boss them around, if necessary: Whatever it takes to get what you want, do it. You deserve it! But that’s not Jesus’ Way.

Walking in Jesus’ Way, seeming gain proves loss, and seeming loss proves gain. The persecution of the early church drove Christians far afield, and thus spread the gospel – like seed carried on the wind. Blessing came from apparent disaster. Who could have prophesied that a Babe born in a stable in a remote and conquered province would be the Savior of the world? Or that pain could be a better teacher than prosperity? Or that the fact of death could reveal everlasting arms beneath the void? Or that a thieving, runaway slave could be a herald for God’s Kingdom?

The Lord Jesus tells us that the greatest will be the servant of all, that if you want to make your enemy miserable to do them good and treat them kindly, and (though it’s not Scripture), that love truly does conquer all.

And, a last beautiful picture of Christ I’d like to highlight: Acknowledging that Philemon may have suffered hardship or loss on account of Onesimus’ running away, we read of Paul telling Philemon to transfer any and all of Onesimus’ debts to Paul’s account: Paul would repay them all.

It’s the same way that the Lord Jesus responded to our own indebtedness: Christ Jesus paid the penalty our sins deserved, He died on the cross, we live confident in our righteousness before God on account of Jesus’ sacrifice. Likewise, Paul has told Philemon that whatever Onesimus owed him, whatever was due, that Paul would repay it to Philemon in full!

So, a Philemon recap:

Living in obedience to Jesus Christ is worth everything, even our very lives. Trusting Him is the source of true happiness;

Let’s make the main influence we have over others come from the love they know we have for them and that they have for us, instead of coming from any kind of heavy-handed power and authority; and,

Christ came to do what humanity could not do: Pay the penalty for human sin. Let us, likewise, commit ourselves to doing what we recognize others around us can’t do for themselves: To pay the debts they can’t repay; to pray the prayers they can’t yet offer; to serve expecting nothing in return; to use our influence and abilities, time and stuff, for Jesus’ sake in their lives.

Let us pray…