Overcoming The Challenge Of Change, Part 2: The Gospel Transforms Lives & Relationships

Introduction

“Art is made in hindsight.”

Those are the words of the late fashion designer Virgil Abloh (1980-2021)

Making history as the first Black American artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear line

Virgil Abloh was revered for his cutting-edge creations, which uniquely combined streetwear and high fashion.

He gave this quote in an interview with "Billboard," where he explained the concept behind the logo for his streetwear line, Off-White. Abloh recalled crossing out a rejected mock-up, and later, when he glanced at the scribble, he realized the design would make the perfect logo. He recognized that a work of art is not always intentional, but also depends on how it is experienced by others.

Psalm 100:3 ESV

3 Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Ephesians 2:8–10 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. ποίημα

that which is made, work, creation, in our lit. only of the works of divine creation

Transition To Body

Philemon 4–7 ESV

4 I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 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. 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.

Body- The Church Shows Or Demonstrates Our Lives & Relationships Are Transformed By The Gospel When We

Appropriately Advocate For Another In Christ Jesus (vv8-10)

Philemon 8–10 ESV

8 Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, 9 yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— 10 I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment.

Required- reach a point of connection , focus on what is appropriate

order you to do the right thing (appeal for reciprocity )

the quality of warm regard for and interest in another, esteem, affection, regard, love

Address child- father relationship in v10

Illustration: Parents advocate for their children…Sometime even when they are wrong

{

Not only does

The Church Show Or Demonstrate Our Lives & Relationships Are Transformed By The Gospel When We

Appropriately Advocate For Another In Christ Jesus (vv8-10)

but additionally when we

}

Affectionately Value Genuine Gospel-Centered Relationships (vv11-13)

Philemon 11–13 ESV

11 (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) 12 I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. 13 I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel,

Onesimus- useful or beneficial, common name in antiquity for slaves

The Church ought not have clicks- in crowds & out crowds

We ought value our relationship with every member of God’s family

{

So

The Church Shows Or Demonstrates Our Lives & Relationships Are Transformed By The Gospel When We

Appropriately Advocate For Another In Christ Jesus (vv8-10)

and we

Affectionately Value Genuine Gospel-Centered Relationships (vv11-13)

but finally when we are

}

Acknowledging The LORD’S Redemptive Work In Humanity

Philemon 14–16 ESV

14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. 15 For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16 no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

Illustration: Recalibrating our perceptions of one another

: to calibrate (something) again

… these systems gradually drift off course so that the navigator periodically needs a fresh point of reference to recalibrate the navigation system.

Illustration: Human Dignity

The Center is a bioethics research center at Trinity International University

Human dignity is the recognition that human beings possess a special value intrinsic to their humanity and as such are worthy of respect simply because they are human beings. This concept, once foundational to ethical reflection in such diverse areas of engagement as social ethics and human rights on to the clinical bedside and bioethics, has come under increasing criticism.

As part of our institutional identity as a Christian bioethics center, The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity is firmly committed to the belief that human dignity is an inherent quality in all human beings in virtue of our having been created in the image of God.

Thus every human being, regardless of age, ability, status, gender, ethnicity, etc., is to be treated with respect. 

Furthermore, we believe that how one understands this concept affects how one views and engages bioethical issues across the entire life span. The articles in this section explore this key concept in both its foundational development and its application to the broader concerns of bioethics.

Forever - pert. to a period of unending duration, without end

Philemon 15 ESV

15 For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever,

Note change in familial relationship between Philemon and Onesimus

Philemon 16 ESV

16 no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

Whom The Son Sets Free Is Free Indeed

John 8:31–38 ESV

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

Has the son set you free from the practice of sin!

Romans 3:21–27 ESV

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.

Balancing The physical vs. spiritual

James 1:26–27 ESV

26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Show No Partiality

James 2:1–7 ESV

1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?

Give What Is Needed For Both the Spiritual & Physical Body

James 2:14–17 ESV

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Transition To Close- if not for God‘s grace or if not for the grace of God

Illustration: Finding Forrester, starring Sean Connery as Forrester, is about a reclusive writer who, after winning the Pulitzer Prize for his first novel, locks himself inside his apartment to hide from the world. Forrester lives off the royalties generated by his classic novel and spends his time reading and writing an occasional article. He refuses to write another book. From his window, Forrester uses binoculars to watch the world outside. To the kids playing ball in the playground below, Forrester is known simply as “The Window.”

On a dare, a high school student, Jamal (played by Robert Brown), breaks into Forrester’s apartment. Jamal is frightened by Forrester and runs off, leaving his backpack behind. Forrester opens the pack and discovers that Jamal is a budding writer. Forrester edits several of Jamal’s writing journals and later throws the backpack containing the journals out the window as Jamal passes below.

These events initiate an unlikely but mutually encouraging relationship. Forrester mentors Jamal, developing him into a writer of such skill that his teachers suspect him of plagiarism. Forrester helps transform Jamal from a person with great potential into a person of accomplishment.

Jamal similarly transforms Forrester. As Forrester helps Jamal progress as a writer, Jamal helps Forrester end his self-imposed exile. Because of Jamal’s encouragement, Forrester has the courage to go outside alone, ride his bike again, and even travel to visit his homeland, Scotland, before he dies of cancer. It is largely due to Jamal’s friendship that Forrester writes a second novel just before his death.

The final scene shows Jamal reading a letter from Forrester, who has already died. Forrester writes, “While I may have waited until the winter of my life to see the things I have seen this past year, there is no doubt I would have waited too long, had it not been for you.”

Forrester spurred Jamal to become an accomplished writer while Jamal spurred Forrester to live his life fully. Mentoring goes both ways church. We are designed for relationship, and God grows us through the people who help us and through the people we help.

So We This By The Grace Of the LORD Jesus Christ...

Philemon 25 ESV

25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Paul’s other appeal

Philemon 9 ESV

9 yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus—

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 6:20–23 ESV

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Close- Greater Love Has No One than....

John 15:12–17 ESV

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

John 13:31–32 ESV

31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.

John 13:34–35 ESV

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

All Things Work Together For Good

Romans 8:28–30 ESV

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.