Making The Right Call

Introduction

Paul’s letter to Philemon is filled with practical help for how we are to live our faith in Christ. Philemon’s character encourages us to live our faith in the day to day of our life. The life of Onesimus and Philemon teach us to trust God and allow the Holy Spirit to use us for His glory.

Paul’s appeal on behalf of Onesimus also shows us how to navigate the complicated moments of interpersonal conflict…and it is on this final point that we begin this morning...

You and Onesimus are now brothers — The subject of Paul’s appeal is clear…Onesimus has been saved and set free from slavery to sin…now his his physical slavery at the hands of Philemon and escape from his custody must be addressed.

Paul was a Jew and understood the law on escaped slaves to be clear. would be Paul’s guiding point.

Deuteronomy 23:15 NASB95

“You shall not hand over to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you.

Paul had no obligation to send Onesimus back to Philemon as a slave and did not intend to do so. Those who believe this little book to be an argument for the institution of slavery must take note of the context in which it is being written. It is written by a Jew who knew the law well. Paul had an obligation NOT to send Onesimus back to his master as a slave.

Paul was instead sending Onesimus back as a brother in Christ and expected Philemon to see him as such. Paul knew the right thing was to give Philemon an opportunity to do the right thing…receive Onesimus back, clear his name from the list of escaped slaves and declare him free.

If Philemon sent Onesimus back to serve Paul, it would be in Philemon’s employ and as a favor to Paul.

The Reason Onesimus Was Separated — Paul makes clear his belief that God was involved in the entire Philemon/Onesimus situation. Slavery was sin and wrong. Onesimus escaped, God brought him to Paul, he was saved from sin and slavery, now he was being sent back to Philemon so Philemon could be saved from his besetting sin himself and have a revival in his life.

So Philemon could also be Now God was returning Onesimus to Philemon so he himself could be saved…saved from the sin of slavery which surely hindered his walk with God.

Now Philemon and Onesimus would never be separated because they are now dear brothers! Their life was a ministry to one another as the body of Christ.

Remember Who You Are

A God honoring life doesn’t happen by accident…it requires a consistent series of practical steps of obedience. If we are going to honor God with our life, we must never lose sight of who we are and whose we are. Paul does a great job of reminding Philemon of both.

Paul reminds Philemon who he is through a series of compliments. This gives us a snapshot of this man’s life and in so doing leaves us the image of a great man of God…not a perfect man…but a man who loved the Lord and desired to obey Him with His life.

Simply put...Philemon gave Paul joy and comfort because of the way he loved God and others…and Paul wanted Philemon to be mindful of this as he asked him to repent of the sin of slavery and set Onesimus free.

I want to stop at this point so we might consider one particular aspect of Philemon’s life worth emulating...

Philemon was one of those people who had the gift of changing the temperature of a room by his mere presence. He just exuded love. He “refreshed” people around him.

Refresh — Causing someone to become refreshed by resting.

causing someone to become refreshed by resting.

So when Philemon walked into the room and began to interact with folks they would emotionally, spiritually and even physically relax…he would bring peace and rest into the group…all because of his capacity to love.

I think this is an important little nugget we can take from this little letter..encouragement to be so full of love for God and others that our mere presence would be refreshing.

Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 260). New York: United Bible Societies.

Philemon’s refreshing spirit gave Paul confidence that he would react to his request with wisdom and in the Spirit of the Lord…that he would do the right thing, repent of the sin of slavery and set Onesimus free.

Paul saw the work of the Holy Spirit through Philemon and knew this would be the guiding force by which the man would act on the Onesimus situation…So it was natural that when encouraging Philemon to a right decision he would remind him of the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in his life…remind him clearly of who he is and whose he is.

Paul’s Practical Guide to Making The Right Call

Look For a Right Reason to Act — Paul was an Apostle and could have demanded Philemon to do the right thing. But he wanted something more for Philemon…he wanted Philemon to understand why he should act.

Paul wanted Philemon to have a more genuine and perfect understanding so he might repent and obey God with a willing heart. It is a good thing to ask the question, “Why am I doing this?” Even when we are simply following a demand it should be after we have evaluated it and see it as righteous and good…God’s will for our life.

Paul encourages Philemon to continue loving…and show it through his actions toward Onesimus.

The place to look for our reason to act is the word of God…the same place Philemon found it through Paul.

Paul wanted Philemon to grow in his faith and obey because he understood Paul’s request to be God’s will for His life.

Do What You Do For Love’s Sake — Paul wanted love to be Philemon’s motivation to act…love of God, Paul and Onesimus. And our decisions should be motivated first and foremost by love aa well.

Love is a choice to have right attitudes and actions.

A woman is married to a man who turns out to be, in the common saying, "no good." He is unfaithful, he is intemperate, shiftless, at times cruel, the very caricature of husband and father. All that he means to the woman is want, shame, dread, and pain. His irregularities reach their climax in some criminal act, and the man forfeits his liberty for a season and is confined within the walls of the penitentiary. To the world, outside of that woman, he ceases to exist. His own brothers and sisters disown him and only hope never to set eyes upon him again. His old friends forget him. The years slip by. The term of imprisonment is ended. He is discharged. The penitentiary gates open for him as he steps back into the world on a bleak winter's day; and there, like an angel of mercy, stands his wife, with open arms, to welcome him back to life again.

How can you account for it? Only thus: she loves him. Marvelous, august, enduring love! Love that beareth all things. Many waters of adversity cannot quench it, neither can all the raging floods of sin drown it.

How can you account for it? Only thus: she loves him. Marvelous, august, enduring love! Love that beareth all things. Many waters of adversity cannot quench it, neither can all the raging floods of sin drown it.

Ask God to help you do what you do in love…to show right attitudes and actions toward God and others…so that all you do can be said to have been done for love’s sake. Not for your sake…not because for the sake of your feelings…but for love sake.

We have all seen the guy who does the right thing but his heart isn’t in it…he begrudgingly does right but even his right actions are tainted because we know his heart isn’t into it. This isn’t the kind of obedience God wants for our life. God desires us to have joy and the road to joy is love.

Listen to your elders — “Old man and prisoner of Christ Jesus” —

Philemon 9 NASB95

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—

Paul is referring to the wisdom that comes with his age and position as a follower of Christ. This is often lost in our culture…those who have walked with Christ longer than we have can teach us how to live out our faith in the practical affairs of day to day life.

If you want to launch big ships go where there is deep water.

If you want to accomplish big things in life you would do well to listen well to those who have lived before you. Ten minutes with an old saint who loves the Lord and is mature in his or her faith can be worth years of personal experience.

Paul says, “I am old, have served Christ for a long time, and have something to say. You should listen to carefully. You should do what I am asking you to do because I speak out of years of experience walking with Christ.”

Look For God at Work Around You — (Verse 11) Take a hard look at your circumstances and ask God to help you see where He is at work.

Paul led Philemon to faith in Christ…Onesimus escaped…somehow he managed to come into contact with Paul in Rome…Got saved…and now the man who led both Philemon and Onesimus to faith in Christ was appealing for Onesimus’ freedom from slavery…this is more than a coincidence!

Sometimes God’s work is painfully obvious and other times it requires a careful eye to see but don’t miss what He is doing in your life! Ask for eyes to see and pay attention!

Conclusions

Paul writes a simple letter reminding Philemon of how much God has done in his life…how changed he is…what a blessing he is to so many…and…what a blessing he still might be to others. In the process Paul encourages all of us to follow Christ well and be a refreshing encouragement in the process.

Find your “how to live” in the word of God. Look there for how He would have you to live…

Make love your motivation in all you do...

Listen and learn from the experience of other believers around you...

Have eyes to see where God is at work in your circumstances...

God is leading us…directing our steps…growing us in spiritual maturity…don’t miss out on what He is doing in your life right now!

Paul was a Jew and understood the law on escaped slaves to be clear. would be Paul’s guiding point.

Deuteronomy 23:15 NASB95

“You shall not hand over to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you.

Paul had no obligation to send Onesimus back to Philemon as a slave and did not intend to do so. Those who believe this little book to be an argument for the institution of slavery must take note of the context in which it is being written. It is written by a Jew who knew the law well and had an obligation NOT to send Onesimus back to his master as a slave.

Paul was instead sending Onesimus back as a brother in Christ and expected Philemon to see him as such. He wanted to just keep Onesimus and allow him to serve Paul while he was imprisoned but he knew the right thing to do was for Philemon to be given an opportunity to do the right thing…receive Onesimus back, clear his name from the list of escaped slaves and declare him free.

If Philemon sent Onesimus back it would be in Philemon’s employ and as a favor to Paul.

The Reason Onesimus Was Separated — Paul makes clear that God was in all of this. Slavery was sin and wrong. Onesimus escaped and God brought him to Paul so he could be saved. Now God was returning Onesimus to Philemon so he himself could be saved…saved from the sin of slavery which surely hindered his walk with God.

The story of Onesimus had involved sin, betrayal and tragedy, until his meeting with Paul made possible the new life. How the hand of God had been working in this process was not completely determinable. But Paul’s “perhaps” conveys the sense that God had turned misfortune into victory. Philemon was thus called to see the circumstances in which he was involved from that perspective. Had Onesimus returned only as a slave, the slave-master relation would have continued only till one of the two died. But as two Christians the higher relationship would never end

Now Philemon and Onesimus would never be separated because they are now dear brothers!

Ash, A. L. (1994). Philippians, Colossians & Philemon (). Joplin, MO: College Press.