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2022-3-13, The Gospel Changes Everything: Accountability, Refreshment, Changed Relationships, Philemon 1-16
Review
So, a slave, named Onesimus, stole money from his owner, Philemon, who was a Christian, and fled as a fugitive to a huge city, Rome, at the center of the empire.
There, he crosses paths with the man of God, the apostle Paul, who happened to have led his master, Philemon, to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Coincidence?
No.
It was the sovereign Lord orchestrating circumstances according to His perfect will.
There are no coincidences.
God orchestrates circumstances according to His perfect will.
The slave, Onesimus, heard the gospel and believed it.
He trusted it.
Like Paul and like Philemon, Onesimus became a believer.
His life was transformed by the gospel.
He went from being a useless runaway slave, thief, and fugitive to being
a humble servant of God,
a new creation in Christ, a citizen of heaven,
a child of the living God,
and useful to Paul in the Christian cause in Rome.
The gospel has the power to transform lives.
But with this change came a mandate from the Spirit of God.
The runaway slave couldn’t stay in Rome, serving the man of God.
He remained a runaway slave, at odds with the law, and more importantly, at odds with his master.
Reconciliation needed to take place.
The gospel reconciles us with God.
Also, The gospel compels us and equips us to be reconciled with each other.
Paul, being the spiritual father of both men, was led to facilitate reconciliation between the two.
He sent Onesimus back to Colossae with Tychicus (in part to protect Onesimus from slave hunters) with a personal note for Philemon.
The note contains a huge challenge for Philemon to forgive wrongs Onesimus did to him.
Further, Paul’s note made it clear that their relationship as master/slave relationship will have to change because of the gospel.
This letter gives us insight regarding how our family and church relationships change because of the gospel.
In this letter we will see...
Our families and our church give us accountability and help us to be godly believers.
This is something we should welcome.
Philemon teaches us that...
Godly character and obedience refreshes the church.
This is something we should imitate.
Paul is also going to show us that...
The gospel transforms the nature of our relationships.
This is something we should marvel at and embrace.
1.
Our families and our church give us accountability and help us to be godly believers.
This note is mainly between Paul and Philemon regarding Onesimus.
However, more than these three are included in the letter.
A. Paul names Timothy.
He was with Paul in prison.
Timothy is Paul’s #1.
He was highly respected in his own right in the early church.
As if Paul’s influence were not enough, Philemon knew that Timothy was aware of the situation with Onesimus.
Paul’s point is to communicated that the greater church was watching and was concerned about how it will resolved.
It had implications for the cause of Christ.
B. Paul includes Philemon’s family in the situation- Apphia and Archippus.
Paul wants people in Philemon’s life to know about this reconciliation he is facilitating.
C. Paul also involves the local church.
“…and the church in your house.”
Paul wants this letter to Philemon read in front of the church that meets in his house.
We could guess that is 10-50 people.
They have a shared testimony.
The action of Philemon affects the testimony of the membership.
So Paul has invited many people to be in on this big ask that he is giving to Philemon?
Why?
Accountability.
The family and the local church exist for accountability in godliness.
With many eyes watching, Philemon is more likely to do the right thing.
This is important to know.
The church is filled with redeemed sinners.
Yes we have new hearts and we are new creations, but Paul teaches us that we still have the sin of the flesh to battle with.
This is true even for church leaders like Philemon!
Philemon may have been harboring bitterness toward Onesimus.
He might have been thinking about what he’d do to him if he ever showed that good-for-nothing face around Colossae again.
But with the greater church, his family, and the church meeting in his home all watching the situation, Philemon had to think more about the implications of his actions.
If he rejects reconciliation and forgiveness, then that would undercut the message of the gospel and discourage those whom he leads.
Knowing that there will be a ripple effect from his decision, Philemon will more likely make the decision that glorifies the Lord.
In this way, positive peer pressure supports Christians in godliness and integrity.
When others are watching, we are concerned that we don’t embarrass ourselves.
We are concerned that we don’t embarrass the Lord.
We don’t want to let down those whom God has given us to lead
We all need this accountability.
In the home, we’ve a spouse and children, or parents and siblings watching us.
We want the believers looking up to us to be encouraged by our actions, not discouraged.
This affects our judgments.
Our families and our church give us accountability and help us to be godly believers.
We should welcome this.
In our homes and in our GGs...
Lift up the Word of God and strive to live it out.
Encourage one another by obeying it.
Demonstrate confession and repentance when we fail.
Next, in verses 4-7, we see that Philemon is a mature believer and a leader in the church.
He has a great track record.
His
2. Godly character and obedience refreshes the church.
Here Paul celebrates Philemon’s love and faith (5).
Philemon loves the Lord.
He trusts the Lord.
As Philemon lives out his faith, he has fulfilled the commands of Christ:
Specifically, Philemon has loved other believers (5).
In so doing, Philemon has shared his faith with others in the church and has refreshed the other believers (7).
This gives glory to Christ.
Paul gets a lot of joy and comfort in his prison cell as he’s heard from Epaphras’s stories about Philemon’s faith and generosity.
Philemon is a good Christian man.
Paul remembers him in his prayers, and gives thanks.
I don’t know about you, but it strengthens my faith when I watch others be faithful.
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