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Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It continues to be a pleasure to steward this pulpit for the glory of the Lord through the exposition of His Word.

Mickey Cohen was an infamous gangster from years gone by. His life of crime started at a young age. When he was just 9 years old he was sent to reform school for petty crimes like shoplifting and theft. When he was a teenager he gained some notoriety fighting in underground boxing matches in LA. He then moved to Cleveland when he was 15 years old and joined a legitimate boxing league. In a match on June 12, 1931 Cohen fought and lost against the future world featherweight champ Tommy Paul. Mickey was knocked out just 2:20 into the first round. During this fight he was given the moniker, “Gangster Mickey Cohen”. Eventually he moved from Cleveland to Chicago where he became involved with organized crime. He’d cross paths with Al Capone and be in and out of prison. From there, Cohen would take his business out to Vegas and be involved with a variety of territory wars and shootings. He turned his home into a fortress. He had a well equipped arsenal that he kept right next to his closet of 200 tailor-made suits. After spending time in prison he would become an international celebrity with a menagerie of businesses, shops, clubs, casinos, even driving an ice cream van in LA.

At some point in this whirlwind of a life, Mickey Cohen had the opportunity to meet Billy Graham. Cohen was recorded in Time Magazine as saying, “I am very high on the Christian way of life. Billy came up, and before we had food he said— What do you call it, that thing they say before food? Grace? Yeah, grace. Then we talked a lot about Christianity and stuff.”

Christian leaders saw Cohen’s participation in these things as a great opportunity! This is a man who is quite literally known for his sin! For him to repent and come to Christ would be quite the testimony! So the Christian leaders who had access to Cohen would visit him regularly! It was reported that one night when they were discussing Revelation 3:20, Cohen said he “opened the door of his life [to Christ].” Of course the Christian leaders were elated! There were great hopes and expectations for this man. “But [the it was reported that] as the months passed there was no substantive change in the gangster’s life. [no fruit, no repentance]. Finally his Christian friends confronted [Gangster Mickey Cohen]. After the confrontation he responded, “no one told me I would have to give up my work or friends. After all, there were Christian football players, Christian cowboys, Christian politicians; why not a Christian gangster?”

I obviously wasn’t in the room with them that day, but had I been, I would’ve hoped to draw Mickey’s attention to Galatians 2:20

Galatians 2:20 ESV

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

I would’ve hoped to show him that coming to Christ means turning from the sin that once defined us. Coming to Christ does not ALWAYS mean leaving your profession, but if the foundation of your profession is contrary to God’s righteousness, then following Him will almost certainly require finding a profession. Pursuing holy and righteous living does not earn you favor before God, but it is the product of receiving favor!

As far as I could tell in my cursory study of Mickey Cohen’s life, there was never a moment of real repentance. He was never able to let go of his earthly desires. In many ways, he may be like the New Testament figure. Demas was mentioned at the end of Colossians and will be mentioned at the end of this letter as well. For a time he followed Paul, but some time later Paul would state in 2 Timothy that Demas had departed from following the Lord because he loved living in the present World too much.

We have no evidence of faith and conversion in Mickey Cohen and Demas, but that is not the case for Onesimus, whom we will learn more about today.

If you would, open your Bibles to the book of Philemon.

We started looking at this letter and we discovered that Paul is writing Philemon to encourage Philemon to forgive Onesimus.

As we walk through verses 8 and following this morning we will begin to gain an idea of the how Onesimus hurt Philemon. And as we see that, we will also see what the action of Christian reconciliation and forgiveness is. This series has been entitled, I am forgiven, I Forgive. Well that’s easy to say, but how do we actually do it! I want our church to be filled with people acting upon what they have learned from the Word of God, not just reciting meaningless pithy statements. If you’ve been in a committee meeting with me, you know I try to regularly end the meeting by asking what are action points: what are we gonna do with the stuff we talked about? Now, let’s go do it! That’s the approach we should have with Scripture. Sure, texts lend themselves to have more clearly defined responses than others, but we should always read the Word of God while asking “Lord, how can I use this for this glory?”

Through our look here at Philemon we are shown the character, actions, and motives of the one who is been forgiven by the Lord and empowered to extend forgiveness to others believers. Let’s not just hear these words, Let us be doers as well.

When Paul wrote this letter to Philemon, it is clear that he assumed Philemon already understood the theology of forgiveness. That is, Paul assumed Philemon knew the biblical foundations that would show Christians the importance of extending forgiveness.

Before we walk through our text today, I’d like to just briefly suggest five biblical reasons as to why Christians should be supernaturally inclined to extend forgiveness.

Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 5:21–22 ESV

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

Holding on to anger towards another person is sinful! The sixth command of Thou Shalt Not Murder, is not limited explicitly to taking another person’s life! But Jesus shows us that its intention is extended to harboring resentment towards another person. If we want to honor God in our lives, then we must seek peace and reconciliation.

2. We see in Scripture:

Matthew 22:39 ESV

And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

We have no problem forgiving ourselves when we know we have done wrong! When we have hurt someone else we think, “Why wont they forgive me! I said I’m sorry!” We excuse ourselves in our inner monologue time and time again. One Pastor noted, “It is utter selfishness not to extend that same forgiveness to others. Selfishness also causes us to exaggerate the faults of those who offend us.”

3. In the Psalms David Proclaims:

Psalm 51:4 ESV

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.

In this Psalm David is crying out to the Lord in anguish over the sin he committed against God. But what exactly were David’s sins? He committed adultery with Bathsheba, he had Uriah killed. These sins were against a woman, a man, really as king they were even sins against the nation he was supposed to be leading, and yet David cries out “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil.” This doesn’t mean that our sins have no effect on other people. Rather through this we learn that our offenses, or even the times when others sin against us, are an even GREATER offense against God! How does this shape our understanding of forgiveness? Well, if God can forgive even greater offenses to His Holy nature, than how can we not forgive lesser offenses against us? We are not more righteous, more holy, more perfect, more blameless than God!

4. We read in Romans:

Romans 12:19 ESV

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

When we find ourselves unable to forgive, we are forgetting that WE are not the great arbiters of justice. We are forgetting that God will rightly reward and punish every single thing that happens on this earth. We equate our view of justice, which is clouded by the flesh, with the perfect justice of God when we seek our own revenge. Christians don’t have to do that. They don’t have to hold on to animosity. We rest knowing that all of creation is in the hands of a just God.

5. Jesus also taught in the Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 5:23–24 ESV

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

When we there is ongoing animosity and conflict between us, we can’t even worship right! When revenge is weighing upon us we are distracted from giving God our first and our best. But this doesn’t mean that we just cram that feud into the back of minds and try to forget about it while we are at church. This means that is best to truly go to that person and seek reconciliation and then come back and worship the Lord! We should also note that we shouldn’t wait for the other person to seek reconciliation. If we known we have offended someone, we should approach them humbly and earnestly and seek their forgiveness. If someone has wronged us, even if they don’t know it, we should seek reconciliation humbly and earnestly for the glory of God!

These are just a some of the many biblical foundations for Christians. These are things that should be talked about in discipleship groups and Sunday school rooms. These are likely lessons Philemon already understood when we he sent him the letter we are reviewing today.

Let us now walk through verse 8-18 and see three actions for actually extending forgiveness. begin with me in verse 8.

Philemon 8–14 ESV

Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord.

I mentioned last week that Paul had the authority to simply tell Philemon what he should do in this situation and leave it at that. Paul was an apostle. Philemon was a member and host of a local church in his home. It would have been well within standards of practice for Philemon to receive orders from Paul and act accordingly. I think all of us have received orders from someone who is above us. But that’s not what happens here. Paul appeals to Philemon not as a superior, but as a friend. He is the guiding, compassionate, elder seeking to give Philemon wise counsel that Philemon enacts not out of obligation, but out of love.

That is how it should be in the church! As the Pastor the Lord and this church have given the opportunity to lead Durbin Memorial Baptist Church. From this position there are decisions that need to be made and challenges that need to be met. While I am not always as gracious as I would like to be, I hope that the church sees the direction and decisions I make or suggest not as blind commands from a cold superior, but rather as loving guidance. I desire to see us willfully walking together for the glory of God, not barely hanging on to the hand rail, resenting the crazy driver but staying in the car.

When all sides are approaching a situation with the intention of giving God glory, there often doesn’t need to be compulsion. We should be receiving direction from the Word of God and going together in that direction.

Plus, in the situation we are looking at today, how effective would’ve it have been to simply order Philemon to forgive Onesimus?

You ever seen two little brothers or sisters fighting with each other and mom walks in, stops the fight and says okay now give each other a hug! The kids look like you just told them to eat a slug! The give a half hearted hug then go to opposite ends of the room still pouting!

It’s hard, if not impossible to compel forgiveness.

But for the Christian, for Philemon, forgiveness is not to be compelled it is to be desired. As we saw last week, Philemon by the grace of God had a Christian Character that empowered him to forgive. When we have seen the clear instruction and great profitability of God’s Word we understand forgiveness not a compulsion, but as a grace of God, resting in His Sovereignty.

So Philemon is ready to forgive Onesimus and starting in verse 10 we see the first action of forgiveness.

Receive

Paul says there in verses 10-14 that he is sending Onesimus back to Philemon. The idea is that Philemon is opening his life back up in such a way as to allow Onesimus to be a part of it again.

In these verses we start to see the difference between Onesimus and that Gangster Mickey Cohen I mentioned at the onset of this message. Onesimus was truly repentant for what he had done to Philemon. We’ll see this more in a minute, but Onesimus was a slave who ran away from his benevolent Master’s home and not only did he run away, but contextually it seems very likely that he robbed the joint before getting out of dodge. For a slave to do this to his master in that time, it would’ve been a death sentence should he be caught. There was one instance of a roman official who was killed by one of his 300 slaves. The authorities couldn’t figure out which one did it, so they decided to kill all 300 of the slaves! Onesimus knew the seriousness of his crime and so he fled to Rome to blend in with the big city. He would be able to sink into the crowd and avoid detection. But now here he is, potentially the one who handed the master he scorned this letter, or at the very least, sitting there in the room watching while the man who could have him killed with the snap of his fingers read this letter.

What changed? What could’ve possibly made Onesimus go back to Philemon?

I’ll tell you what. Onesimus received Jesus Christ as his Lord.

Some how through the providence of God, Onesimus crossed paths with Paul in Rome. It’s conjecture but some suppose Onesimus may have heard someone humming a hymn he heard his old master hymn back home in Asia. He may have followed the sound of the hymn to the place where he would receive the gospel! The means is not as important as the end in this case because ole Onesimus found salvation in Rome. Paul believes it to be authentic. He calls Onesimus “my child” in verse 10. Showing that Paul has been discipling Onesimus. Paul became his father during imprisonment, the time Paul was in Rome. Now this fugitive has become a child of God! And it changed everything about Onesimus.

Paul uses a really clever word play that’s full of rich understanding for us as well in verse 11. You see Onesimus in greek was a common slave name that means useful. In verse 11 Paul points out the Useful was useless but now he indeed is useful!

Such is the power of the gospel! It doesn’t matter what this world calls you, without Christ we ain’t useful! Our efforts are for our own vain, fading glory. We toil in the sun. But then when we are saved by grace through faith, oh man how useful do we become! We are working then for eternal purposes! We are made stewards of our lives for the glory of God. And when we understand that we are called to be a part of the body of Christ, we should be using the blessings that God has given us, our time, talents, and treasures, to benefit the greater body of Christ! We should be useful to the Lord and to one another as believers! Much like when Paul said of Philemon in verse 7 that Philemon had refreshed the saints through his godly conduct, so should we seek such things.

With such an understanding of the impact of Christ on the believers life, forgiveness within the body becomes so much easier! Paul sends Onesimus back to Philemon so that Philemon can see the impact of the gospel on his own account! He is giving Philemon an opportunity to Receive Onesimus back to witness what the Lord has done.

We wont be able to extend forgiveness if there is no opportunity for interaction. There can be temporal consequences. We aren’t told that Philemon put Onesimus in charge of the house finances. But Philemon did receive him back in his life.

From receiving we see the next action of forgiveness in verses 15 and 16.

Philemon 15–16 ESV

For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

Paul suggests that Philemon not only receive Onesimus into his home, but to

Restore

Restore him back to service.

Paul let’s Philemon know that God’s hand has been at work in this whole situation. Even the hurt that Philemon undoubtedly felt when Onesimus ran away with his bounty. While not speaking for God, Paul draws our attention to the sovereignty of God.

PERHAPS, this is why Onesimus parted. So that when he came back he wouldn’t be that useless, loathing man he was before but so that he might be the useful, loving, bondservant AND brother! Philemon could receive him back and now enjoy their work together in the flesh (v16) and their work together in the kingdom of God, in the Lord!

I would hope that church as a whole would be marked by restoration! That we would own up to our faults and gladly receive one another back in good company.

I can say fairly confidently, that by the grace of God, that has happened even here. There have been times in the past in which something had gone awry, feelings had been hurt, poor decision had been made, whatever the case may be and people have left the church with negative feelings. Being here just a short time, I won’t claim to know or even comment on the particulars, but I know that by the grace of God folks have been drawn back to this church and by the grace of God restored to the body with a loving embrace! Christians! May we forgive each other for the glory and by the grace of God!

In forgiving others we receive, we restore and then there is one more action:

Philemon 17–18 ESV

So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.

The final action of forgiveness seen in this section of Philemon is

Rectification

The situation is to be rectified.

In the case of Onesimus, its likely he took a great deal of valuables from Philemon. Its possible that simply running away caused great financial harm to Philemon. And so Paul says, if there is any harm that has come to Philemon by way of Onesimus, if anything is owed, charge it Paul’s account. Paul says accept him, receive him, as you would accept or receive Paul himself.

“Restitution is an essential component of forgiveness, and it would have been right for Philemon to demand it of Onesimus. It is not wrong, however, to be gracious.”

It is good and right for the offending party to try to make the situation right. When Zaccheus, the corrupt tax-collector, came to know the Lord he repaid what he took from the people four-fold. When we offend someone else we should wholeheartedly seek to rectify the situation, to make it right.

Now in this situation, Onesimus likely had little to no means. He was a runaway slave. Like the Prodigal Son he probably squandered all that he took from Philemon on the way to Rome. It was just for Philemon to require repayment. When Paul offers to pay for Onesimus’ debt, he is removing the pressure Philemon would have felt to receive payment. It is good for Philemon to show grace towards his offender. In our lives, it is good to show grace to those whom harmed us, particularly when they do not have the means to repay what they owe.

We should also note: “Paul’s willingness to meet Onesimus’ debt to restore the relationship with Philemon is a marvelous picture of Christ’s work.”

If you were to break this story down, we see a reflection of the gospel. Philemon was offended by Onesimus. Every one of our many sins are offensive to the Holy Nature of God. Onesimus stood before Philemon honestly completely dead to rights. As I mentioned earlier, Philemon had every right to send Onesimus to his death. Such it is with sinners before the Holy God. Because of our offense He has every right to reign wrath upon us. It is in no ways a violation of Justice to give sinners the death sentence they deserve. But then Paul offers to pay the price Onesimus owes to bring reconciliation between Onesimus and Philemon. In a similar but even greater way, Christ not only offers to pay the price for the sinner before the Holy God, but He paid it! Christ died on the cross so that who so ever believes in Him, would not perish, but have everlasting life! He dies so that God would forgive us our trespass, canceling the record of debt that stood against us, having us dead to rights by all of the legal demands. And He forgave that debt and canceled that record by nailing it to the cross of Jesus Christ!

When you have come to receive Jesus as Lord, you are forgiven in a way that unimaginably beautiful and beyond compare. If that’s something you’d like to know more about, I’d love to talk to you more about that. Reach out today.

But as we conclude I want to remind us all this morning that we are reflections of the grace of God when we forgive others. We’re reflections of the love of Christ when we pay someone else debt and facilitate reconciliation. May we be in the habit of receiving people back in our lives, restoring unity, and rectifying situations all of this done, for the glory of God.

Let’s pray.