Why Paul had Confidence in Philemon
Letters to Philemon • Sermon • Submitted
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· 33 viewsThe evidence that Philemon will acts responsibility
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Why Paul had Confidence in Philemon
Why Paul had Confidence in Philemon
Phil
5 hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;
Philemon
6 that the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
7 For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.
philemon
Doing the Right Thing requires:
Confrontation
Confessing
Making it right
Asking for forgiveness
Getting involved
Confronting a friend
The absence of taking action can be devastating
Paul - was a prisoner when he wrote Philemon (vv. 1, 9).
Philemon was a slave owner that Paul led to the Lord.
He was active in the new church that was at Colossae.
One of his slaves had Run away and stole from Philemon.
This slave ran to Rome and met Paul and accepted Christ.
But Paul realized that Onesimus had a responsibility to Philemon and should make restitution for his thievery. Thus Paul deemed it right to return Onesimus to Philemon. This this is the letter Paul penned to Philemon
In this letter to Philemon Paul explained his situation and asked Philemon to treat Onesimus not as a runaway, thieving slave, but now as a beloved brother in Christ .
Would this be an act of futility
Would this request by Paul fall on daef ears ?
As we will see today there is evidence that Paul knew how Philemon would respond
But what is clear is Paul’s sense of urgency that the right thing be done, and his willingness to play upon all the organ stops so that it would happen.
Intervening in the master-slave relationship, a relationship fully entrenched in the culture of the day, Paul undercuts the culture itself at the outset by making it clear that he himself is writing “in chains of Christ Jesus.”
His theological reflection on his own imprisonment speaks to the Christian reality that there is really only one master and lord, and we all are slaves and servants by nature (cf. ). Paul’s “chains” set a context for Philemon’s response.
Illustration - can we predict how one might respond or the actions they might take?
How will report card be
evidence
studying
interim grades
Its should not be a-surprise the grades recieved.
11-0 Auburn vs 0-11 - Chicho State
Do you think there is some evidence of what the result will be?
Evidence of How Philemon would respond
I. His Faith in Christ was Known
I. His Faith in Christ was Known
philemon 4-
4 I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers, 5 hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;
Whenever Paul prayed for Philemon, he thanked God for this noble brother.
We have every reason to believe that he was a choice trophy of the grace of God—the kind of man you would like to have as a friend and brother.
Love and faith vs 5
Look at V. 5 There were two qualities in Philemon’s character that gave great joy to Paul—his love and the faith which he had toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints.
His faith in Christ showed he had the root of divine life and his love toward all the saints showed that he had the fruit as well. His faith was productive.
Love of the saints - can that be said of you ?
The object of faith is the Lord Jesus.
The object of love is the saints.
Paul may have heard about Philemon’s faith in Christ and love for the saints from Onesimus and Epaphras. Philemon’s faith in Christ produced love for all the saints. Since Philemon loved “all” the saints, he surely should include Onesimus, now a saint, in his love!
His Faith in Christ was not a secrete
Illustration - PRPA engineers sharing Christ - this was a surprise and I did not expect that based on what i had seen and heard.
When i have a request do i ask someone that i not sure how they will respond...
My understanding was that Paul had a pretty good Idea how Philemon would respond based upon what he knew.
Evidence of How Philemon would respond
II His Faith in Christ was Shared
II His Faith in Christ was Shared
6 that the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
V. 6 The previous two verses expressed Paul’s thanks for Philemon. This one discloses the nature of the apostle’s prayer for him.
communion - sharing may become effective
The sharing of your faith means the practical kindness which Philemon showed to others. We can share our faith not only by preaching Christ but also by feeding the hungry, clothing the destitute, comforting the bereaved, relieving the distressed—yes, even by forgiving a runaway slave. Paul prayed then that Philemon’s life of benevolence would lead many to acknowledge that all his good deeds came from Christ Jesus. There is tremendous power and influence in a life where the love of God is manifest. It is one thing to read about love in a book, but how compelling it is to see the Word become flesh in a human life!
6 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 the sake of Christ.
The sharing of your faith means the practical kindness which Philemon showed to others.
We can share our faith not only by preaching Christ but also by feeding the hungry, clothing the destitute, comforting the bereaved, relieving the distressed—yes, even by forgiving a runaway slave. Paul prayed then that Philemon’s life of benevolence would lead many to acknowledge that all his good deeds came from Christ Jesus. There is tremendous power and influence in a life where the love of God is manifest. It is one thing to read about love in a book, but how compelling it is to see the Word become flesh in a human life!
Philemon no doubt had a ministry in Colossae
Evidence of how he would respond!
No doubt from this text he was ; a church leader and know in the community as sharing faith with works and doctrine.
More here
More here
III His Faith Refreshed
III His Faith Refreshed
7 For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.
7 For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.
7 For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.
refreshed - rested and helped....
so much here is said about PhilemonHis Faith in Christ was Known
His Faith in Christ was Known
What a ministry to others .... Philemon had
philemon
What a ministry to others .... Philemon had
refreshed - rested and helped....
His Faith in Christ was Known
What a ministry to others .... Philemon had
His Faith in Christ was Shared
His Faith Refreshed
V
V
News of Philemon’s overflowing generosity and self-sacrificial love traveled from Colosse to Rome, bringing great joy (or thanksgiving, NKJV margin) and comfort to Christ’s prisoner.
It had been a great privilege for Paul to lead Philemon to the Lord, but now how rewarding it was to hear that his child in the faith was going on well for the Lord. How assuring it was to know that the hearts of the saints were being greatly refreshed by this beloved brother, and especially by his love.
No one lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. Our actions affect others. We cannot measure the range of our influence. We have limitless potential for good or for evil.
no doubt according to this letter Philemon had the faith and the works...
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
His Faith in Christ was Known
His Faith in Christ was Shared
His Faith Refreshed
More here