Faith in People: Philemon 17-25

We come to our last portion of this small letter. Now, we have noted for the past two weeks that what this letter provides us with is a demonstration of faith in action. In fact, that is the series title.

While Paul normally presents doctrine and then practice based on said doctrine, in this small letter Paul focuses on the practical outflow of doctrinal truths.

Our title may be a little deceiving, and I want to clarify why I chose this title before we move on to our sermon. Our faith in people, if it were separated from any dependency and trust in God, would be horribly misplaced. Unfortunately, we often find ourselves putting our faith in people and are left disappointed and discouraged.

Think of people you have looked up to. If they fall, or commit some grievous sin, how do you respond? If you are completely distraught, the chances are that your faith was misplaced.

When I use the title “Faith in People” I am referring to what Paul reveals in 1 Corinthians 13:7, “It [love, charity], always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” The faith is demonstrated by protecting people from harmful gossip or negative views, by believing the best in people, and by steadfastly holding on to them. That is, it is Faith in People.

We have good reason to have faith in people, to believe, hope for, and work toward the best. We discussed three spiritual realities last week from 10-16. Those were salvation, sanctification, and spiritual relationships. If God has saved us, then we are completely new (see 2 Cor. 5:17). If God has saved us, He is changing us (Phil. 1:6 and Rom. 8:28-29). If God has saved us, we are family (Heb. 2:11-13). These are plenty of reasons why we should have faith in people.

Faith in People Changes How We Relate- 17-21

As we have considered the majority of this letter, I hope it has been apparent the way that Christ changes our views of each other. One of the manifestations of this is how we relate to each other.

We have already looked at how differently Paul addressed Philemon, but I want to see now how Paul expected Philemon to respond, all of which is based on the work of God in our lives.

We relate to one another as brothers and sisters of equal status- 17

There is no hierarchy in the Christian faith. The rich are not better than the poor, nor are the poor better than the rich. The intelligent and ignorant are both alike in the body of Christ. The good looking and the something-to-be-desired are one. Paul teaches us this in Galatians 3:28.

The teachings found within the Scriptures present us with a different view of other people than does the world. I mention the economic, academic differences, and beauty (or lack thereof) differences. But there are so many more. Think of all the differences based simply on skin color.

Our nation has a history of racism, but think of people from the Middle East, of from Asia, or from Mexico. Christians should not related to one another the way the world does! The Church on earth should demonstrate the church in heaven as we read in Revelation 7:9, “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”

Paul related to Philemon, and expected Philemon to relate to him differently, based on the truths of the Gospel.

We respond to wrongdoing differently- 18-19

Believers, based upon the work of God, behave differently. We respond to our faults with a desire to rectify the situation. In this case, Onesimus must have taken something that belonged to Philemon. We are not told what it was or how much it cost, but it was significant enough for Paul to mention.

Paul did not simply brush it away and claim the Gospel as a reason to forgive Onesimus. And this gives us an important truth that we must consider. Jesus tells us to forgive extravagantly (see Matt. 18:21-35), but that extravagance is not irresponsible. Let me illustrate this point.

When someone steals from you and they repent and ask for your forgiveness, you give it to them. Now, this does not mean you hand them a copy of your house and car key. In fact, you may be more watchful of them around yours or others’ stuff. That is forgiving responsibly.

Additionally, if someone is asking for forgiveness and truly repenting, their behavior will change. Zaccheus, that wee-little man, demonstrates this for us in Luke 19:1-10. After Zaccheus states he is going to pay back fourfold anything he stole, Jesus replies “Today salvation has come to this house.” Now, salvation did not come as a result of his actions, his actions came as a result of his salvation. Or, to put it in James’ words, “his faith demonstrated itself by works,” (cf. James 2:14-26).

Faith in People Develops Hope- 22

Faith in People Is Not Always Glamorous- 23-25