Philemon 1-21; The Mark of a Believer

The Mark of a Believer

Well, good morning. It is so good to be with everyone today. 

I think it’s been a few weeks since I’ve been up here. How is everybody been? 

Well, I gotta be honest with you.

I am very excited about the sermon today. 

And just by show of hands,

how many of us have ever heard a sermon on the book of Philemon? 

You know, as I was going back in time within my mind

I was honestly thinking

of all the hundreds of hours of sermons

that I have listened to

And I mean hours upon hours of study I have done

all the sermons that I have preached.

I don’t think I have ever heard a sermon on the book of Philemon

I know for sure I have never preached a sermon on the book of Philemon

And so I’ve got the excitement today of someone who is almost covering new ground. 

You know as I was preparing this sermon,

I realized I didn’t have the usual jitters or concerns that I normally have

And let me explain

I mean it’s interesting because how many of you all know

That each one of us chaplains that serve here in this chapel

Come from different denominations

Chaplain Woodward is a Lutheran

Chaplain Chester I believe is Baptist

Myself, I think you all have heard me tell you

that I come from what I call Bapticostal

And what I mean by that is that my denomination sort of toes the line

between Pentecostal and Baptist

Then you have Chaplain Sowders he’s from Church of God in Christ

And so what’s unique is that every time we get up here to preach

you have to cater to different audiences

and different views because each of us

comes from similar and yet also very different theological backgrounds,

And so the fact that I get to preach on a book

that hasn’t been given much attention…

Honestly its not as threatening as usual, if that makes any sense

Philemon is just not one of those books

That is heavily studied like say the book of Romans

Or maybe even the book of Hebrews

And so this is also one of those sermons

that you really don’t have to concern yourself too deeply

with the varying different views out there

And partly because this book

is so applicational

and so relatable

to the modern day

that it is truly fascinating

and I hope that you enjoy today

just as much as I enjoyed studying for it 

So as usual with me,

we’re gonna read the entire selection of scripture all 25 verses,

and I hope that you will gain the context

of the reading as we spend just a few moments reading

because trust me,

Once you understand the context

You will begin to see how relatable

This short book truly is to modern to our modern day experience

So without further to do let’s go ahead and open up to the book of Philemon

if you’re looking for it

It is right before the book of Hebrews and right after the book of Titus

and believe it or not might only be one page in your Bible

and we will be starting off with verse number one and going down to verse 25

And if nothing else, you can tell your friends and family

That you read an entire book of the bible today in church!

New Living Translation Philemon

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.

So as we open up the sermon today,

I want you to start to think and ponder

the truth of this question

What does it mean to be a Christian?

What is required of me in my character

in my morality

in my ethic

what is required of me if I am to claim the badge of being a Christian

because there are going to be certain lessons

that you will learn within this letter

that may or may not make you a bit uncomfortable

There’s gonna be certain questions that you’re going to have to wrestle with

when it comes down to our treatment of other human beings,

our understanding of church authority,

our understanding of brotherly love,

sisterly love in the faith,

even our understanding of how we treat

our fellow Christians

when compared with others throughout the world  

There are lessons within this short book

that are going to be taught

that are also going to ask you to wonder

What version of the Bible did they have back in the day.

What version have they been reading throughout church history

because a lot of what you learn in this short little book

goes against our understanding or our acceptance of historical Christianity. 

And what unique is that this book deals a lot with the issue of slavery,

and how we as Christians are to view slavery,

and even how we are to treat slaves,

and how slaves are to treat their masters

As short as this book is,

It’s a complicated book

It’s a book that challenges you all throughout the 25 verses here

PAUSE….

And you know I am not one that is so blind

That I won’t acknowledge the obvious elephant in the room

And lets just be honest

Here in the United States we have an ugly past. 

When it comes to this particular topic of slavery

And don’t get me wrong, we also have a glorious past.

We fought and won our freedom.

We have the constitution that guarantees our rights to worship

we have a lot of great things about us

but at the same time we do have a past

that is so nasty

that a lot of us would just like to brush it under the rug

and try to imagine that it never happened

But I think to do so would be to deny

The truth about human nature

and the calling to something new that Paul is calling Philemon to

Here in this letter.

And so let’s go ahead to get into the context

of this passage

Because once you truly understand the situation

You will begin to realize why this letter packs such a massive punch

And so first off take notice

Paul is once again in prison

And most commentaries I read on the subject put him in prison

In the city of Rome

But then notice the entire letter is written to one man

But it centers on three main characters

But then I want you real quick

I want you to put yourself in Philemons shoes here

Just too imagine what it would be like to receive a letter

Directly from a man like Paul…

I mean we have seen the letters to the Corinthian church

We have seen the letter to the church of Galatia

And if we are honest, it wouldn’t be to comfortable reading them

And so to receive a personal letter from this man

Might just be a bit jarring

Because what you are seeing is Paul paying special attention

To one individual by the name of Philemon

Asking him for a special favor

So then who is this man Philemon

Most scholars hold that Philemon was

Fairly well off guy

Well off enough to have slaves and servants working for him

Would have most definitely been in the upper class of society

And would have been camped out in and around Colossae

And we know that by the names that appear within both books

But at some point Paul and Philemon's paths had crossed

And Philemon had become a Christian because of Pauls preaching

And you can see in verse 19 where Pauls

States that Philemon owes him his soul

Making it a point that it was Paul that first brought the Gospel to this man

But then notice the second character Onesimus

What is obvious in the letter is that Onesimus is or was Philemon’s slave

And at some point Onesimus decided he was going to run away

And for reasons that are unclear but one might imagine

that these reasons would cause a good deal of anger

Maybe even resentment and a desire towards revenge

And so as we look within this letter we see Paul

Asking a favor from Philemon

As Onesimus has become a fellow Christian

Has been assisting Paul in the ministry

And has in fact become quite valuable to the ministry work that Paul is doing

But take notice of something here.

As we get into the letter itself

Paul could have very easily just told Onesiumus

To lay low, to just do the work of God and steer clear of Philemon

ADLIB HERE ABOUT THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE TWO

You know if I am being honest, I think that is exactly the advice I would have given

But isn’t it interesting that Paul’s conscience

And method of discipleship would not allow him

To deceive another brother in Christ

Even if it meant hardship on one or the other

And really look at this…

How many of us in this room

would allow our conscience or our desire to be in right standing with God

To govern every little detail and every decision in life.

I’ll be honest I look at a passage like this

And I am just absolutely blown away

As I seen a giant in the faith such as Paul

Making a plea for not only a former slave to return return to his master

But to go back and repay his master for what ever damage he may have done

due to his abscence or the circumstances

But then on the opposite side of the coin

Paul is also pleading with Philemon

To forgive a runaway slave, to forgive his debt

and treat him as his equal

And think on this…

Paul was more concerned with the moral and ethical dilemma

Than he was with the physical and emotional comfort of their carnal nature

Paul was more concerned with their eternity and the example that this may set

Than he was with their temporary comfort here in this life

I got to be honest, I look at a passage like this and I am put to shame

Because had this been me, there is not a chance

I would have told that former slave to return to his master

Not a chance at all

And yet what you are seeing here is something completely opposite

To what we are conditioned to accept

Let me ask you and be honest with yourself today

How often do we view this Christian thing as something we do in our spare time

Because what Paul is doing here is asking them to do something extreme

He is asking them to literally put aside all earthly identifications

And to consider themselves as slaves or servants of Christ.

Seriously think on what Paul is asking of both men

Really try and imagine what Paul is calling these men to

because at a surface level it almost looks insane

I mean how many of us would first off voluntarily go back to our slave master

knowing the punishment and harsh treatment that might be coming

Knowing the punishment that is legally binding by Roman law

But then how many of us would actually listen to Paul

if we were Onesimus and go through with this crazy plan

How many of us wouldn’t just flip this man the bird and take off? 

You see this is why the context is absolutely vital because when you realize what Paul is asking of this man 

And when you realize how determined this man is to live a godly life,

It almost forces you to take a look at yourself and ask the question, would I do the same?

How deep does my faith go

This in all reality is one of the more convicting passages

I have ever really studied

because Paul is arguing

that Christian behavior and the Christian life

is far more important than temporary comfort. 

Almost as if he is preparing us for what is going to be required of us

In God’s eternity

And let me ask you, did you hear what I just said?

A Christian’s lifestyle

or a Christian’s moral compass

is more important to Paul

Is more important to God

than temporary comfort. 

Now that’s hard to stomach folks. 

But now let’s flip the coin,

Look what he is asking Philemon to do. 

And keep in mind Philemon is a man of wealth,

a man of stature,

who most likely has the backing of the current government,

and is legally within his rights

to do whatever he wants here,

and yet Paul is asking this man

to not only forgive Onesimus

but also to consider him his equal!

And just as a side note

How many of y’all heard of the YouTube channel the Bible project? 

As I was studying for this sermon

I just jumped over real quick and took a look at their animation

on this wonderful book

but what really got me was their take or their time spent on helping you understand

the absolute importance of equality within the faith,

of the shared mission

and shared responsibility of spreading the good news. 

And what is unique here is that this is exactly

the influence that Paul uses here

Look with me at verses 4-6 

“I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for Christs service or Christs purpose.”

Philemon 1:4-6 ESV

Not to get all nerdy on you but that word sharing.

You know every commentary hit on this one point.  As Paul was using a specific Greek word here

to convince Philemon to consider those of the faith

As brothers and sisters in Christ

as we are all to be used in the service of Christ. 

And so if we get back into the head of Philemon

And as you’re reading this letter

and you begin to put yourself in his shoes and

Realizing who this letter is from…

Philemon has to be asking himself,

Are you telling me that you want me to let this man go,

to forgive his debts,

to ignore the embarrassment of having a slave runaway,

to ignore the potential insults of my fellow wealthy neighbors,

to show mercy

and potentially have others rebel in the same manner,

but not only that

but you want me to consider him an equal,

a brother in Christ,

and allow him to serve with you as a free man

for the purpose will of Christ?

That’s what you’re asking me to do?

To make a slave as my equal thats what you’re asking

It’s when you get to the deeper emotional experience

of these two men and the massive ask

that Paul is requiring of both,

thats when you get the heart of this letter. 

Paul is appealing to the very core of what it is to be Christian 

To put love first

To put the Gospel first

and to put the mission first in everything

To put the will of God as priority over everything

Let me close with one final passage

And I think you will begin to truly understand where Pauls mindset truly is

In Paul’s letter to the Galatians you can almost see the same type of struggle

And yet Paul leaves them with a bomb that would have just rocked

Everything they are comfortable with

Galatians 3:26–28(NLT)

26For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 

27And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. 

28There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 

Prayer