The Freedom and Power of Forgiveness
The Book of Philemon • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction:
Introduction:
Philemon is the shortest of all the Epistles of Paul.
It is also the only one of the prison Epistles that was addressed to an individual.
Although it does not reach the doctrinal heights that some of the other epistles of Paul do, yet this is a very practical book dealing with the very practical issue of forgiveness.
That Christians are to forgive each other, as God has forgiven them, is an underlying theme in Philemon.
Now, Philemon had been led to saving faith in Jesus Christ several years earlier by Paul, probably during the Apostle’s ministry in Ephesus.
He has become a prominent member in the Church at Colossae.
Philemon was wealthy, owning a house large enough to the Colossian Church to meet ().
He was obviously active in serving the cause of Christ, because refers to him as a “fellow worker” ().
He also owned at least one slave, a man name Onesimus.
Onesimus, who was not a Christian at the time, ran away from his master to Rome.
He probably had hoped that he would get lost in the crowd that was in Rome.
However, through the providence of God, he met the Apostle Paul.
Perhaps he ran into Epaphras, who would have been Philemon’s Pastor in Colossae, we are not really sure how Onesimus met Paul other than the work of God.
Not long after running into Paul, Onesimus; life was forever changed by placing His faith and trust in Christ alone.
Onesimus quickly lived up to his name, which means “useful” by assisting Paul.
Paul would have gladly kept him at his side to continue to minister to him.
But there was an issue that needed to be settled.
Onesimus was a run away slave and was, therefore, a criminal.
In running away, he defrauded his master, Philemon, by depriving him of his services.
He may even haver stolen money () from Philemon when he fled.
Paul knew that the relationship between Onesimus and Philemon needed to be restored.
Onesimus had to return to his master and seek forgiveness and restoration.
To send Onesimus back alone alone would have exposed him to the danger of being caught by the ever vigilant slave catchers.
But the opportunity to send him back with someone came when Paul finished his letters to the Colossians and Ephesians.
Because Tychicus would be delivering those letters, Onesimus could return to Colossae with him in relative safety.
If returning Onesimus to his master was a sacrifice for Paul, it was a grave risk for Onesimus.
“Roman law … practically imposed no limits to the power of the master over his slave. The alternative of life or death rested solely with Philemon, and slaves were constantly crucified for far lighter offenses than his. A thief and a runaway, he had no claim to forgiveness”
Not content merely to send Onesimus back under the protection of Tychicus, Paul sends along a letter to Philemon.
In that letter, he urges Philemon to forgive Onesimus and receive him as a new brother in Christ.
Paul implores Philemon to put into practice the principle taught in Ephesians 4:32 and Colossians 3:13 and treat Onesimus as Christ treated him.
In encouraging Philemon to forgive Onesimus, he uses three distinctions of one who forgives that I want us to see over the next few weeks.
The Spiritual Personality of one who Forgives.
The Spiritual Practice of one who Forgives.
The Spiritual Motive of one who Forgives.
I. The Spiritual Personality of the one who forgives (4-7)
I. The Spiritual Personality of the one who forgives (4-7)
We live in a self centered society that cares very little about forgiveness.
In fact, our society has grown so cold to the idea of forgiveness, that for many forgiveness is seen as something only for the weak and unforgiving people are seen as strong.
Our society celebrates vengeance and “getting even” with people”.
Lawsuits are rampant, even among those that call themselves followers of Jesus Christ.
I would think that I would be safe in saying that the lack of forgiveness is the leading cause of the breakups in family relationships.
Now, for the Christian, unwillingness to forgive is unthinkable.
It is a rebellious, blatant, open act of disobedience to God.
As believers, we are to forgive others as God has forgiven us.
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
The unfortunate part about unforgiveness is that even though we convince ourselves that we are justified to feel the way that we do, it really does have a counter effect on our lives in at at least four way.
First, unforgiveness imprisons believers to their past.
What it does is that it keeps the pain alive; it keeps the sore open and it never allows the wound to heal.
Dwelling on the wrong done feeds anger and resentment and robs us of the joy of living.
Forgiveness, on the other hand, opens the prisons doors and sets the believer free from the past.
Second, unforgiveness produces bitterness.
Listen. the longer that a believer dwells on the offense that was committed against them, the more bitter they become.
You see bitterness is not just a sin; it is an infection.
Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
What happens when bitterness sets in is that the persons speech is cutting, sarcastic, even slanderous.
Bitterness distorts a persons whole outlook on life, producing violent emotions, intolerance, and thoughts of revenge.
Forgiveness, on the other hand, replaces bitterness with love, joy, peace, and the other fruits of the Spirit.
Third, unforgiveness gives Satan an open door.
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
Neither give place to the devil.
Eph.
To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;
Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
I do not think that it is a stretch to say that most of the ground that Satan gains in our lives is due to unforgiveness.
Fourth, unforgiveness hinders fellowship with God.
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Now, just a reminder that passage does not speak of the completed, past forgiveness of salvation, but of the ongoing relational forgiveness between believers and the Father.
It is a serious matter, no doubt, to understand the fact that one cannot be right with God if he/she is not forgiving to others.
What forgiveness is that is restores the believer to the place of maximum blessing from God.
If truly restores the joy of salvation and fellowship with God.
Philemon: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Chapter 1: The Spiritual Character of One Who Forgives
• To Forgive Is To Turn The Key, Open the cell door, and let the prisoner walk free.
• To Forgive Is To Write In Large Letters across a debt, “Nothing owed”
• To Forgive Is To Pound The Gavel In a courtroom and declare, “Not guilty!”
• To Forgive Is To Shoot An Arrow So high and so far that it can never be found again.
• To Forgive Is To Bundle Up All The garbage and trash and dispose of it, leaving the house clean and fresh.
• To Forgive Is To Loose The Moorings Of a ship and release it to the open sea.
• To Forgive Is To Grant A Full Pardon to a condemned criminal.
• To Forgive Is To Relax A Strangle hold On a wrestling opponent.
• To Forgive Is To Sandblast A Wall Of graffiti, leaving it looking like new.
• To Forgive Is To Smash A Clay Pot into a thousand pieces so it can never be pieced together again.
Listen, forgiveness is so important that the Holy Spirit inspired an entire book to it.
The Spiritual Personality of the one that chooses to forgive can be broken down into 6 parts in the first seven verses.
And do not be mistaken, just as forgiveness is a choice that the believers makes, unforgiveness is also a choice that the believer makes.
And the decision that you make regarding forgiveness really does tell a story of the spirituality of that person.
So, when we consider the Spiritual Personality of the one who forgives, what does that kind of personality look like?
What are the most concerned with?
What is the focus of their lives when faced with the opportunity to either forgive or to not forgive?
Notice with the six Personality traits that are present in the life of the person that chooses to forgive.
A. A Concern for Christ (vs. 5-5a)
A. A Concern for Christ (vs. 5-5a)
I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,
Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;
As a genuine believer, and having heard of Philemon’s love and faith towards Christ, he knew that Philemon was concerns about Christ and wanted to live a life that would please Him.
The fact is that since Christ had forgiven Philemon, how could He not forgive others?
And I would suppose that that is the ugliest part of unforgiveness and that is that it assumes that what someone else has done to me is of a greater offense then what I have done to Christ.
Because while I expect Christ’s forgiveness, I do not offer it to others; that has got to be the worse case of arrogance and pride; to think that the offenses done against me are greater and I am justified in my unforgiveness.
Christian’s forgive because they have been reconciled to Christ.
When we truly think about all that we have been forgiven, how dare not have a forgiving spirit within us.
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
EPH. 2:16
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
In reconciliation, the guilt that our sin had incurred is removed.
God and man were made enemies because of our sins and because of the atonement we have been reconciled to Christ, meaning the guilt of sin and the punishment of God’s wrath is removed and dealt with in Christ.
As propitiation is the removal of God’s wrath against the sinner, reconciliation is the removal of God’s enmity against sinners.
Reconciliation, just life justification, is a forensic act meaning that because of the atonement our legal standing before God has been changed.
We have not just been found “not guilty” we have been seen has “never charged”.
And because that legal standing has changed our legal standing as God’s friends have been changed in reconciliation.
Because of Christ’s atonement, sinner once separated from God may be restored to loving fellowship with Him whom they were created to know and worship.
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
Now, that is not even a “taste” of what Christ has done for us, that is just a “drive-by” of what He has done; but with all that being understood, do we really have a right or a position to think that there is ever a time when we are justified to not forgive others?
The spiritual personality of one that forgives is to be more concerned about Christ then they are about “wrongs” done to them.
So, there is a Concern for Christ
B. A Concern for Christians (vs. 5b)
B. A Concern for Christians (vs. 5b)
Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;
The spiritual personality of the one who forgives is more concerned about other Christians than how they were wronged.
“Love” is the Greek word “ἀγάπη” and is the love of the will and choice, of self-sacrifice and humility.
Because Paul knew that Philemon’s faith was real, he knew that he had a tremendous love for other Christians.
Because Philemon had a concern for other Christians, it gave the ability to forgive.
As also noted in verse 2, Philemon was known for his hospitality to other believers.
And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:
True, genuine love for God’s people will naturally usher in forgiveness.
That is why where there is no forgiveness, among other things, there is no love and very possibly no true spiritual life.
For if it is true that we are never more like God than when we forgive and never more like Satan then when we choose not to forgive, and if one continually has a spirit of unforgiveness, it may be because they belong to their Father the Devil.
True forgiveness looks at the Christian says, “I choose not only to love you with humility and grace, but I also choose to forgive you”.
So, the Spiritual Personality of one who forgives is that they have a Concern for Christ and they have a concern for the Christian.
C. A Concern for Companionship (vs. 6a)
C. A Concern for Companionship (vs. 6a)
That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
“Communication” is the Greek word “κοινωνία” and speaks of fellowship, partnership.
Real love and faith will inevitably result in a concern for fellowship.
Listen, there is no place in the body of Christ for an attitude of individualism that does not care about others.
The concern to be in partnership or fellowship with Onesimus also motivated Philemon to forgive him.
Believers belong to each other but virtue of our common faith that is in Jesus Christ.
A true spiritually minded believer does not want broken fellowship among those that are his brother/sisters in Christ.
Paul says if you choose to forgive Onesimus, then the fellowship or partnership of your faith will become more effective.
“Effective” is “ἐνεργής” and literally means “active or powerful”.
Listen, such an act of forgiveness would send a powerful message to the Church about the importance of fellowship.
Forgiving a brother, no matter what the offense, makes a strong statement of concern for the fellowship.
It says, “ I would rather have you as a partner than to hold onto the offense”.
The Spiritual Personality of the one who forgives is that there is a Concern for Christ, there is a Concern for Christians, and there is a Concern for Companionship.
D. A Concern for Comprehension (vs. 6b)
D. A Concern for Comprehension (vs. 6b)
That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
Listen, this is so practical.
The Word of God says that we have been blessed:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
We have been given a new nature.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
How was Philemon to discover “every good thing” that is in him?
“Acknowledging” is “ἐπίγνωσις” and refers to deep, rich, full, experiential knowledge.
It is the knowledge that comes through personal acquaintance with the truth.
Listen, Philemon would read of forgiveness, or hear a sermon about it.
But until he forgave, he could have no experiential knowledge about it.
By forgiving Onesimus, Philemon would experience that good thing in him known as forgiveness.
By walking in obedience to God’s will, believers experience the good things God has placed within them.
Philemon: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary A Concern for Knowledge
There is a vast difference between reading a book on skiing and actually skiing. There is a certain flat, one-dimensional knowledge to be gained from a book, but it cannot compare to experiencing the exhilaration of a downhill run. The same thing is true in the spiritual realm. It is thrilling to grasp a truth from Scripture intellectually. But it is far more exciting to live that truth out in practice. Practicing the truths of Scripture leads to the epignōsis that brings spiritual maturity (cf. Eph. 4:12–13). It is wonderful to understand what it means to trust God, but more wonderful to experience His power in the times when we trusted Him with no strength of our own.
Paul is confident that Philemon will want to experience a true knowledge of forgiveness by forgiving Onesimus.
He is Philemon and us a gentle reminder of the importance of a Concern for knowledge.
So, the Spiritual Personality of who is forgives:
There is a Concern for Christ.
There is a Concern for Christians.
There is a Concern for Companionship.
There is a Concern for Comprehension.
E. A Concern for Character (vs. 6c)
E. A Concern for Character (vs. 6c)
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.
Listen, everything that we do is for Christs’ sake and it literally unto Christ.
Everything that we do should be done for glory of Christ knowing that His character is at stake by how we act.
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
If a professing believer displays the attitude of unforgiveness, then he shows that the character of God is that of one who is not forgiving.
Someone that is devoted to the glory and the character of God would certainly forgive one another, as un unforgiving attitude does not glorify Christ or display His proper character.
Paul was confident that Philemon would forgive Onesimus because he knew that he was concerned that the character of God be put on display properly.
The Spiritual Personality of one who forgives:
A Concern for Christ.
A Concern for Christians.
A Concern for Companionship.
A Concern for Comprehension.
A Concern for Character.
F. A Concern for Comfort (vs. 7)
F. A Concern for Comfort (vs. 7)
For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.
Paul knew that Philemon already had the reputation of love and that was a fact that brought Paul much comfort and joy.
And the saints hearts had been refreshed in that fact.
“Refreshed” is the Greek word “ἀναπαύω” and it is a military term that speaks of an army resting from a march.
Philemon brought troubled people rest and renewal; he was a peacemaker.
He was a man of instinctive kindness, a source of blessing to everyone.
The kind of person that Paul knew that he could depend on to forgive.
He knew that the same comfort that he brought to other believers, he would also shed on Onesimus.
You see, when a believer is given the opportunity to forgive he has a concern to comfort other believers by showing an attitude of forgiveness.
If God can so tenderly forgive us, can we not, like Philemon, have the desire to bring comfort to others by extending forgiveness.
So, the Spiritual Personality of one who forgives:
A Concern for Christ.
A Concern for Christians.
A Concern for Companionship.
A Concern for Comprehension.
A Concern Character.
A Concern for Confort.
The Power of Grace of Forgiveness is a choice; as God extends to His children full forgiveness, we should also extend to other.
So, there is not only a Spiritual Personality of one who Forgives; but, secondly:
II. The Spiritual Practice of the one who Forgives (vs. 8-18)
II. The Spiritual Practice of the one who Forgives (vs. 8-18)