Philemon

Welcome 

Ask if anyone bring late in morning

15 minutes early 5 minutes late

Late on exam day given grace 

So as we talk tonight I wanted to ask you guys to think about a time that you broke a rule, and deserved the consequences but were instead given a break. 

The key truth I want us to see tonight is that 

We are called to follow Christ, and be unified devoted disciples.

Let's pray and then dig into the text.

Pray.

Tonight we are going to be walking through the book of Philemon if you have your bibles. 

Background on the book it’s the 3rd shortest book in the Bible based on word count. 

We know from the first verse Paul and Timothy wrote this letter together. But Paul is the main author because of the way he uses I from verse 4 on. 

This letter was written while Paul was imprisoned in Rome and delivered by Onesiumus and Tychichus(TI CHI KUS) to Philemon.

Who was Philemon? I don't think it's a stretch to say if you were to ask somebody on the street to name 5 people from the bible, Philemon isn't making the first 5. 

He was a wealthy Christian who lived in the city of Colossae. It’s believed that during Paul’s ministry Philemon hears the gospel and gets saved. 

After he gets saved he starts serving Jesus, even opening his home to a local group of believers for them to have church. 

We see Paul greet him, he also greets his wife, his son, and the church that meets in his house. Verse 1

1. 'Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved brother and fellow worker, 2. and to Apphia(AF E AH)our sister, and to Archippus(AR KIPPUS) our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: 3. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4. I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, 5. because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints; 6. and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake. 7. For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother. 

Philemon was a wealthy dude who was using the resources available to him to make a difference in the lives of those around him. 

Providing his home as a church and building up those around him. He must have been doing a good job of this because Paul is imprisoned in Rome and knows the saints around Philemon are refreshed by what he is doing. 

Philemon is on a mission for the glory of God and it looks like he’s crushing it. 

But Paul has a purpose for this letter other than just hyping up Philemon and as we read on we are going to see Paul ask him to do something that's not very easy. Verse 8

8. Therefore, though I have enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is proper, 9. yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you —since I am such a person as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— 

It can seem kind of odd that this Paul is in prison is talking about the authority he has to order what is proper. 

Normally when you are in jail you have no freedom, you have no authority. We don't see a lot of prisoners making demands and those things being fulfilled.

But Paul is extremely well known and respected at this time among believers. 

He is an established leader and people listen to what he has to say, 

While his body is in prison he has freedom in Jesus. 

Paul is saying he has the confidence to command Philemon to do what is proper

He knows what is right and wrong and the beauty of grace but instead of just telling Philemon what to do, he appeals to him on the basis of love.

It’s always easier to motivate someone out of love instead of just demanding that they do something. 

I know my own heart is rebellious and when somebody tells me to do something without a good reason I question it. 

When you are kid and your parents tell you not to do something a popular response is “Because I said so” 

They are allowed to do that because they are the authority, and they know what's best for you. 

But isn't it a lot easier to comply when someone says “Here is why you shouldn't do this” and gives a good explanation.

If I tell my son not to touch the stove when it's on because I said so, he may listen and not do it. 

But if I tell him “if you touch the stove when it’s hot it will burn you, and its going to hurt” that's more of a motivation to listen. 

Paul continues in verse 10. 

10. I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment, 

This is the first mention of Onesimus. Like Philemon if you ask someone to name people from the bible, he’s probably not in the first 5. 

The name Onesiumus “means useful or profitable” and it was a name frequently given to servants during this time. 

So he was a servant or sometimes referred to as we see later on, as a slave.

Because of history , especially in America, our minds usually jump to one thing when we hear that someone was a slave. 

I know this can be a little confusing to hear that Philemon is a believer in Christ, and he had a slave.  

This is where we need to take a break and dive into the context of what's going on at the time. Because context is always key to understanding the full picture. 

So a slave during this time period also often referred to as a bondservant is very different from slavery in America. 

Slaves during this time were not racially motivated. 

Sometimes becoming a bondservant was a way to get out of poverty, or possibly there was a specific debt that needed to be paid off to someone. 

There are people out there who will try and discount the morality of the bible. 

They will say the bible condones slavery, but just because something is mentioned as going on does not mean that it was supported. 

We know that as sinful people we cannot define morality on our own, and God is the one who is holy and justified to define it.

We will see in the rest of this letter that Paul is not pro slavery he is actually arguing against it. 

I just wanted to make that clear before we went any further. 

So he is appealing for Onesimus, verse 11

11. who formerly was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me. 12. I have sent him back to you in person, that is, sending my very heart, 13. whom I wished to keep with me, so that on your behalf he might minister to me in my imprisonment for the gospel; 

The context of the day also helps us understand what an intense situation this is for Onesimus. 

Based on the description of Philemon’s character he probably wasn't a bad guy to work for. 

We know he was well off and he's described as being generous and loving. 

And we know Onesimus ends up in some terrible financial situation where he becomes a bondservant to Philemon. 

So Philemon is trying to help him out by giving him a job and then Onesimus steals from him and runs away. 

Stealing is still a big deal now but back in the days of the Roman empire they were very serious crimes. 

Slaves that ran away from their masters were branded on their foreheads so it was known that they ran away. 

Thieves also could have been branded so everyone knew they stole something and couldn't be trusted. 

Both of these could have happened to Onesiumus.

Guess what? That's the easy way out on the punishment side of things. 

Under Roman law he could have been put to death for his crimes if his master sought out that punishment. 

Under the government’s law Philemon would have been justified to seek that punishment. 

Knowing that, keep in mind that Onesimus is the one who is delivering this letter. 

I want you guys to imagine that, standing there in front of the person you did something wrong to. They have all the power and authority to put you to death for your crimes.

That is a terrifying position to be in. 

So why would he risk it all to go back?

At some point when Onesiumus ran away he gets saved and gets linked up with Paul. 

He begins assisting Paul's ministry. Maybe running errands or working jobs to earn money it's not specific what he did but we know he was very important to Paul.

Paul sends him back and describes the act as sending back his very heart, like sending a piece of himself. Paul see’s him as his brother. 

Why does he send him back? Because it was the right thing to do. 

Onesimus stole from and hurt Philemon. 

Now that he is a Christian, he has hurt a fellow brother in Christ. 

Even though he is free from the punishment of sin, that problem still exists between these two men and it needs to be addressed, it's not going away. 

Now here is the difficult part for Philemon. 

14. but without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion but of your own free will. 

We know this respect and authority Paul had. 

If he wrote the letter and said “Onesimus is doing great things here and serving the ministry im going to keep him here with me” 

Philemon may not have argued with him and went along. But then that debt still exists.

If that happened then Paul would have been making the choice for him. 

That leads to the first point RESPONSIBLE

We are responsible for our own actions and the consequences of them. 

We are also responsible for the way we interact with other people around us. 

If I go up to _____ and force him to give me all of his money, would it be truthful for me to say _____ made a donation out of the goodness of his heart. 

No! I would have made the decision for him. 

What's the benefit in that? How many of you guys have jobs? Do you guys get to keep all of your pay check then have the option to say

“I willingly donate my money to the state and federal government” 

NO! They take it out in taxes, it's not an option. 

For it to truly be His decision, it couldn’t be forced on him, he would need to make it for himself. 

Some of you guys chose to sign up for a mission trip to Honduras. You're going to leave the comforts of your home and travel over 1000 miles. That's a serious commitment. 

Some of you guys drive and chose to be here, you have jobs and pay for gas money and car insurance. You choose to be here every week on your own. 

Some of you that don't drive, maybe your parents are making you come to church and you don't want to be here. 

That’s fine, we are glad you are here! 

But there is going to come a time when you can decide for yourself if you want to go to church. 

When that day comes, what choice are you going to make? 

The appearance of doing good on the outside is not what’s most important. It’s the condition of our hearts and the decisions we make. We are responsible for our actions.

Your parents can make you come to church, but they can’t make a relationship with Christ for you, Pastor Chris or Pastor Jason can’t do it for you, Small group leaders cant do it for you. NOBODY can make that decision for you. 

You have to make the effort to grow in your relationship with Christ, you have to choose to give up free time to be in the word and to spend time with God in prayer. 

You have to fight to keep your purity. 

You have to fight against sin with everything you have!

People can come alongside you and help hold you accountable; that's what we are here for. But at the end of the day you have to make your own choices and decide what matters to you. 

He continues in verse 15

15. For perhaps he was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, 16. no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. 17. If then you regard me a partner, accept him as you would me. 

With the core truths we looked for a long time at the sovereignty of God. How He is all knowing and all good. His ways are better than our ways and His plans are better than ours. 

It's hard for us to understand that. 

There's so many terrible things that go on in the world. It's easy for us to look at bad situations and get angry. 

I'm sure when Onesiumus ran away and stole from Philemon he was mad about it. 

He probably wasn't looking at it as an opportunity for a lost man to start on a path to redemption. 

Paul says “For perhaps he was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother”

Paul is really driving home the point that now that Onesimus is saved he is his family.  He will have him back forever 

Now from Philemon's perspective I wonder how he felt looking at him. 

If someone robbed you and ran away with your stuff and you have no idea where they went and then all of a sudden they were standing there in front you. You would be angry and that's understandable. 

I'm sure it wouldn't have been easy for Philemon to forgive. That's not spelled out in the text that he struggled with it but it's reasonable to believe that he did. 

I can think about conflicts in my own life, sometimes with people I love, people I have trusted. Life’s hard and people will always let you down in some way. 

It's easy to let anger and hatred build up in our hearts. 

It's easy to be cold and bitter towards our enemies. 

It's not easy to forgive someone. 

It's also not easy to return to someone you have wronged and admit your mistakes and ask for forgiveness. 

But both of those are the right thing to do and its expected for followers of Jesus to do those things. 

We cannot allow conflict to grow in the church and divide us. 

We have enough to deal with out there in the world coming at us. We don't have time to be going at each other, the mission is too important. 

Jesus talks about conflict resolution in the sermon on the mount. 

'Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. '

Matthew 5:23-24

The key part there is if your brother has something AGAINST YOU! 

Conflict happens all the time, and sometimes we are the ones at fault!

If we do something wrong to somebody we are called to go make that right. It's our responsibility to do so. 

Onesimus did not let the potential consequences stand in the way of going and making things right with his brother. 

And at some point we have both been Philemon and Onesimus in life. We have all been hurt and we have all hurt somebody. 

When we are the person who is hurt. 

Why should we forgive those who hurt us? 

What motivation do we have for forgiveness?

Verse 18

18. But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account; 19. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand, I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well).

He offers to pay off the debt. Is Paul in any way responsible for the debt Philemon owes?

Of course not! Paul was never working for Philemon, 

Onesiumus is not Paul's earthly family; there is no logical way that makes Paul liable for this. 

So why does he offer to pay for it? 

Because he sees something in Onesimus. He sees a value in him and wants to help him out. One of the most influential brothers in the faith looks at this poor, law breaking, thief and says I love you and I want something better for you. 

That debt that you are responsible for I will pay it. Now that costs me something.

Lets recap the letter real quick

Onesimus makes mistakes and ends up in a bad situation and continues to dig the hole deeper. He is in a massive debt.

He realizes he made mistakes, he has done wrong and its great he comes to that realization. 

He wants to make it right and attempts to fix it but guess what? 

That debt is still there, there are still consequences for his mistakes that he is responsible for. 

Paul becomes friends with Onesimus and sees the debt he is in and offers to pay the debt off for him. 

He expects Onesimus to go forward from this and live a life of service on mission for the glory of God. 

What happens here is a parallel of the position every one of us is in. 

Every single one of us has sinned. The bible tells us for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 

Just knowing we are sinners isn't the end of the story because that debt is still there and somebody has to pay for it. None of us are able to work that off on our own.

I asked you to imagine what it was like for Onesiumus, standing there in front of the person you did something wrong to. When they determine the outcome of what happens to you. 

Scripture tells us one day we will stand before God, and He has all the power and authority to put us to an eternal death for our crimes. He would be justified in doing so.

But by the grace of God we don't have to search for someone to pay that off.

Point number 2 is Redemption

The Bible tells us about Jesus and how He came to earth and lived a perfect, sinless life, and followed every single law and command that every other person fell short of. 

In His perfection He willingly goes to the cross and pays that punishment that we deserve. Nobody forced Him to do it. 

He did it not because needs you but because He loves you.

We see Paul going to Philemon in defense of Onesimus. He goes on his behalf and argues for his position because he loves him. 

Paul is modeling the behavior we see from Jesus. Jesus goes to God on our behalf and advocates for us. If we are in Christ we have confidence in our defense.

'My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; '

1 John 2:1

As we finish up here 

Point 1 You are Responsible for your decisions. 

Point 2 Christ covered our Redemption

Point 3 we see freedom in Reconciliation

Scripture tells us if we repent and believe and turn away from our sinful ways that we can be a part of the family of God. 

We then have a purpose to go and live a life on mission to serve Jesus. 

Jesus is what we need more than anything and once we have that moment of conversion it begins to spread out and affect all areas of our life. 

I know you guys are at an age where conflict and drama is constantly going on, but if you have an issue with another believer, go talk to them. Tell them you are sorry

There's too many times we want justice for other people because they are not worthy of grace. 

But none of us are worthy of grace and God gave it to us anyway. So we must extend it to others. 

Christ Reconciled us to God

He erased the conflict between us and God, since that biggest task is done 

We can then be reconciled with other believers that we have had problems with.

Sometimes those relationships are repaired right away and they take time for wounds to heal. But we are obligated to try and make it right with other believers. 

Pastor Chris was talking about unity last week and the importance of it and it's true we need to strive for unity among believers.

Have any of you guys been to a basketball game, this usually happens in games smaller kids but happens at all levels. When somebody is playing defense and gets a rebound and they lose focus and put it right back scoring for the other team.

They are on the court with their teammates, they are all trying to win, they are all wearing the same jersey, but unintentionally score for the other team. 

As Christians we should all be on the same side with the same goals. Don't lose focus and hurt the team. 

It's God's desire for us to love the church, even when they don't deserve it, even in their imperfections. 

Because God loves us when we don't deserve it, and in our imperfections. 

1 John 3:14-16

'We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. '

As we go into small group time its my hope that we would have unity and an open place for tough conversations and questions. That we can build each other up.

If you don't know Jesus, please don't leave here without talking to someone. Find your small group leader or a trusted adult here and have that conversation. We are not promised another moment. 

Lets pray