Lessons Learned From Philemon

by Jeff Smith

Introduction

Many people are turned off to the Bible because they perceive it to be a book which addresses doctrinal issues they are unable to understand because they haven't been to some religious school - they think understanding the Bible requires some theological degree. Many Christians become complacent to the Bible because they struggle with how to make practical application of its teachings, and they revert to the thinking mentioned above of unbelievers - indicates many saints are not spending much private time in study

Wouldn't it be helpful if we could see the Scripture as having a "personal touch" on everyday situations, offering practical instruction on how to behave in a way that pleased God?

Theme

We have such an example in the short epistle of Philemon It offers some real substantive and practical lessons that "put a face on Christianity" What lessons can we learn from studying this little book?

Body

PRIOR TO THESE LESSONS, WE NEED TO KNOW SOME THINGS ABOUT PHILEMON. -

• The Man - lived in Colossae (Col. 4:9) -
• had a slave named Onesimus who had run away to Rome and was converted to Christ by Paul (Phlm. 10, 16) -
• Onesimus was "one of the number" of Colossians -
• Colossian church met in his home (Phlm. 2) -
• Archippus (possibly his son) was a gospel preacher (Phlm. 2; Col. 4:17) -
• the way Paul introduces this short book infers that Apphia was Philemon's wife, and Archippus was Philemon's son -
• The Book - one of the 4 "prison epistles" (others are Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians) - written from prison in Rome by Paul around 61-62 A.D. (cp. Acts 28:30-31) -
• only "personal letter" preserved by the Holy Spirit

A) WE LEARN HOW TO RESPOND TO SIN'S CONSEQUENCES -

• sin is inappropriate behavior; it is something one does (1 Jn. 3:4) -
• sin not a state into which one is born -
• all behavior carries consequences, good and bad -
• God wants us to repent of sin to be right with Him (Lk. 13:3; Acts 2:38; 8:22; 17:30) -
• repentance will restore fellowship with God (Acts 3:19) -
• however, consequences can still linger for sin that has been repented of -
• those consequences must still be faced (murder, theft, etc.) -
• Onesimus had apparently stolen from Philemon, and run away to Rome (Phlm. 18) -
• just because he was now a Christian didn't mean "all was to be forgiven & forgotten" -
• Paul was sending him back to face the consequences (Phlm. 12) -
• even though Philemon was a Christian, Onesimus was going back to face potential punishment under the Roman rule of law -
• believed to be 60,000,000 slaves in Roman Empire (Barclay) -
• master had unlimited power over the slave, and could punish him/her w/o prejudice "The slave was absolutely at the master's disposal; for the smallest offence he might be scourged, mutilated, crucified, thrown to wild beasts" (Lightfoot) -
• not suggesting Philemon was such a master (Phlm. 5-7) -
• but possibly Onesimus wasn't convinced of his character -
• after all, he had already stolen from him

The Lesson:

Christians always have to do what is right, even facing the consequences of our own sinful actions

B) WE LEARN HOW TO RESOLVE SOCIETY'S INJUSTICES -

• slavery was a social injustice prevalent in the 1st century -
• Paul, other apostles & inspired apostles, never attacked or protested against slavery -
• to have done so would have buried the church in political turmoil -
• rather, in preaching the gospel, they emphasized new relationships -
• based on fellowship with God, other believers -
• that eventually should eliminate all social injustices -
• slaves taught to obey masters (Eph. 6:5-8; Col. 3:22-25; 1 Pet. 2:18-20) -
• masters taught to be fair, show consideration (Eph. 6:9; Col. 4:1) -
• the gospel knew no difference between the 2 groups (Gal. 3:26-28) -
• Philemon was to take Onesimus back as a brother (Phlm. 15b-16) -
• Paul the apostle could have ordered it so, but appealed to Philemon as a brother to do so from his own free will (Phlm. 8-9) -
• their relationship with each other would now be different -
• Paul had every confidence that Philemon would act accordingly (Phlm. 21) -
• we have all sorts of social injustices that plague us, run contrary to the gospel (abortion, euthanasia, child abuse, corruption, etc.) -
• the injustice of Onesimus' situation was resolved by appealing to the Scripture -
• the Lord's church is not a social-activist organization -
• it is a soul-saving organization utilizing 1 weapon=> the word of God -
• the early church did not resist social order by breaking law, marching, or demonstrating in protest -
• the only way injustices should be resolved is by transforming the people involved in the injustice itself (Rom. 12:1-2) -
• we do our part by living & teaching truth (1 Tim. 4:16)

The Lesson:

Christians need to be a quiet, steady leaven when faced with social injustice

C) WE LEARN HOW TO RECEIVE SELFISH RUNAWAYS -

• the most beautiful lesson we learn is in how to deal with others who have made mistakes -
• too many times people are very unforgiving of others who have in fact sinned -
• these same offenders change, but many times that is minimized, goes unnoticed -
• people's past is held against them=> this is deplorable -
• Onesimus had, in fact, sinned (Phlm. 18), but he also had changed (Phlm. 11, 13) -
• Paul uses a play on words - "Onesimus"=useful, helpful, profitable - he was not previously useful to Philemon, but was now useful to Paul -
• clear sign of repentance -
• Paul attributed this to the providence of God (Phlm. 12-16) -
• God's providence=> His ability to use us in our own choices for the working out of His will in our lives -
• used Onesimus' choice of theft & flight to Rome to introduce him to Paul, the gospel -
• compare Paul's statement in Phlm. 15 to Mordecai's question in Esth. 4:14 - since we never know how God providentially works, will we by our refusal to accept brethren who return from sin be guilty of opposing God's providence? -
• Paul reminds Philemon that Onesimus has changed, and that he himself owes Paul in a greater way (Phlm. 17-19) -
• possible reference to how Paul had taught Philemon out of sin, and into Christ -
• Philemon had changed; why can't Onesimus change also? -
• this is why it is so sad to see Christians refuse to receive again brethren who sinned -
• are we that much better than them?

The Lesson:

The gospel is a message of second chances, and doesn't hold past sins against people who have repented

Conclusion

The greatest lesson to learn from Philemon is the parallel between Onesimus and ourselves -

• like Onesimus, we are all runaways=> we have run away from God -
• we stand guilty of this "crime" and must face its consequences -
• Onesimus found refuge in his advocate, Paul -
• we find refuge in our advocate, Jesus (1 Jn. 2:1) -
• Paul took Onesimus' debt upon himself -
• Jesus took our debt upon Himself (2 Cor. 5:21) -

Onesimus no longer just a slave to Philemon, but now a brother -

now we are "joint heirs" with Christ (Rom. 8:16-17)

In this short, personal letter from Paul, we learn how to -

• face the consequences of sin -
• deal with social injustices -
• receive again a runaway

Do we care for the runaways like God does?

Do we remember that at one time we were runaways ourselves?

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