The Beauty of Forgiveness

 

 

"¹ Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, 

To Philemon our beloved brother and fellow worker, ² and to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: ³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, ⁵ because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints; ⁶ and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake. ⁷ For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

⁸ Therefore, though I have enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is proper, ⁹ yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—since I am such a person as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus—

¹⁰ I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment, ¹¹ who formerly was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me. ¹² I have sent him back to you in person, that is, sending my very heart, ¹³ whom I wished to keep with me, so that on your behalf he might minister to me in my imprisonment for the gospel; ¹⁴ but without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion but of your own free will. ¹⁵ For perhaps he was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, ¹⁶ no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

¹⁷ If then you regard me a partner, accept him as you would me. ¹⁸ But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account; ¹⁹ I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand, I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well). ²⁰ Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.

²¹ Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, since I know that you will do even more than what I say.

²² At the same time also prepare me a lodging, for I hope that through your prayers I will be given to you.

²³ Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, ²⁴ as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow workers.

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

Philemon 1-25

 

 

Good Morning My Beloved,

Welcome to worship this Lord's Day!

We are so very grateful for our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, we are so thankful that you are all with us today. We continue to lift all of you up in prayer, and ask that you would also pray for us.

 

Today, letter writing is essentially become a lost art. With the development of technology, we would rather pick up the phone and text or fire off an e-mail, however, I am thankful that the Apostle Paul and for the many inspired men and women who penned the Scriptures. The Apostle Paul, being a man of letters and overflowing with ways to the spread of the gospel, must have written many personal letters to the scores of people he had encountered in the course of his travels. Sadly, of all his correspondence, only a few have survived, of which Philemon is one, and that, no doubt, was because it was selected for inclusion in the Canon of Scripture. Though it consists of only 300 words however, what a magnificent gem it is! 

 

It was written about A.D. 64 from Rome, when Paul was imprisoned but because of his age, and possibly on account of his good behavior, he was allowed to live in his own lodgings, chained to a soldier.  Here, under house arrest, his friends were allowed to visit him.  Paul's letter to Philemon is situated in between Titus and Hebrews, and again, it is one of a small group of personal letters that Paul wrote.

 

All of Paul’s teaching letters were sent to churches, in specific cities or various provinces, however of these letters, four are directed to specific individuals. I believe that they may give us a more personal view of the man, Apostle Paul and his everyday life. I am compelled to note, that because a book in the Bible is small in length, it does not mean it is small in its meaning. I believe that Philemon is certainly one of those books.

 

Let us bow our heads in prayer.

 

Heavenly Father, 

 

Father, thank You for Your Word, for ministering to our needs with such profound truth. Thank You for helping us see that the whole of humanity under a curse, eternal condemnation, understanding that Christ removed us from that curse. Father, we so grateful for Your precious gift, Your own Son. May we be marked by faith, love, and fellowship, and service to one another, and doing everything we do for the sake of Christ. Lord, I pray that we would be a source of comfort and of joy to others, that it may always be said of us, that our brothers and sisters are refreshed by you. May our hearts always be filled with compassion and forgiveness. May it all be for Your glory and for Christ's sake

Amen

Today's Message: The Beauty of Forgiveness

Each book in the New Testament has an important purpose behind its writing, a story that prompted the author to take up his pen. This is certainly the the case in Paul's letter to Philemon. He was a wealthy Christian who lived in Colossi and who had been converted through Paul’s preaching. Philemon had a wife named Apphia and a son named Archippus, and they had many slaves in their household, among whom was a man named Onesimus. It seems apparent from this letter that Onesimus stole from his master, Philemon, and having been discovered, may have had to flee for his life. 

 

Colossae was not a particularly large town, a fugitive from justice would not likely remain undetected. Where better to hide out and disappear from official view than in the capital city of Rome, which would have large numbers of foreigners within its walls. Yet, through the providence of God, he came into contact with Paul, the very man who had led his master to Christ, and as a result of his encounter, Onesimus became a believer in Christ.

 

We are uncertain as to how the truth came out that Onesimus had stolen from Philemon. It is believed that Epaphras, one of Paul’s small band of close friends in Rome recognized Onesimus as a slave he had seen at Colossae. Perhaps that was how the wretched story came to Paul's attention. Or perhaps, it a Onesimus' conscience which moved him to make a confession, and he asked Paul’s help to bring about a reconciliation with his former master. Whatever the exact details, we do know that Paul offered his help by writing this marvelous letter to Philemon, in which he asks him to forgive Onesimus and to receive him back.

 

I believe that Paul's letter is an example of tact, charm as well as an illustration of the transforming power of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. In this letter, we discover how exposure to the gospel makes a difference at every point where it touches life. After all, what is the point of the Christian life if it does not work? So, here we receive a tremendous insight in the ways that we can expect to change when the grace of God and rule of Jesus Christ begins to take effect in our human affairs. 

 

Open with me your Bibles to the book of Philemon. At first, Philemon, may seem to be an inconsequential book, however, I believe that the book of Philemon is a very, very  important book. Almighty God invites each of us to become involved in His work. Obviously, God had invited the Apostle Paul to become involved, Paul’s call from God was to become involved in the work of teaching and encouragement. Paul had to confront Onesimus with his misdeeds. Paul had to confront Philemon about his anger. Thankfully, Paul answered God’s invitation to become involved in the work of encouraging others to do the right thing, even when it costs them.

 

I would like to encourage you to follow along with me as I read, to set the text in our minds, as we prepare our hearts, for what the Spirit of God is saying to each of us. Philemon 1-25. 

 "Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, 

To Philemon our beloved brother and fellow worker,  and to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

  

I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints; and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake. For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

Therefore, though I have enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is proper, yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—since I am such a person as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus—

I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment, who formerly was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me. I have sent him back to you in person, that is, sending my very heart, whom I wished to keep with me, so that on your behalf he might minister to me in my imprisonment for the gospel; but without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion but of your own free will.  For perhaps he was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

If then you regard me a partner, accept him as you would me. But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account;  I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand, I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well). Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.

Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, since I know that you will do even more than what I say.

At the same time also prepare me a lodging, for I hope that through your prayers I will be given to you.

Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow workers.

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

 

Paul begins his letter to Philemon, as he often does, by sketching a revealing portrait of himself, "Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus," This once self-righteous Pharisee, a Jew who was so proud of his heritage and spiritual pedigree going back to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, after his transforming encounter with Christ, experienced a radical change in his attitudes. There is little doubt, that is was this encounter with Christ, that allowed him to speak of Onesimus in a way in which he would have once never have dreamed of. This is certainly no empty formula words, but a fact, which enables him to speak of a Gentile, and a slave at that, taken from the dregs of Roman society, and refer to him as a son. God changes every person whom He saves through the gospel.

 

Christianity is nothing if it does not reveal itself in our relationships. The hallmark of our relationships, is that we become a family through Christ. Therefore, we are to care for, and involve ourselves in each other’s joys and concerns. If one suffers, we all suffer, this is the way of Christ. It is for this reason, for centuries, as Christians, we have been at the forefront in caring for the sick and the under privileged. 

 

I believe that it is more than obvious, that the Apostle Paul’s consuming passion was to win people for Christ, to make men whole, rescuing them from sin and restoring them to a right relationship with God and society. It so happens that the name Onesimus means "useful", and Paul seizes this opportunity of contrasting his former life, as "useless" in comparison to what he has now become. Onesimus, the run-away slave, is now "useful" both in name and in nature. As with all of us today, his usefulness is due to his new found faith. 

 

Paul was instrumental in bringing Onesimus to Christ, a right relation with God. There is a Jewish saying that if one teaches the son of his neighbors the law; the Scripture reckons this the same as though he had begotten him. Paul knew personally, that there is no greater joy than to be the spiritual father  of those who were coming to Christ. Paul’s reward, as he himself tells us, was a heart refreshed. For Paul to know that he had brought about reconciliation, even though he found himself in a prison cell in Rome, was reward enough. God had invited Paul to become involved in His work, and Paul heard and answered, he had received his reward.

 

God invited Onesimus to climb out of his lowly circumstances, to go far beyond his his past, to go beyond his complaining, and grumbling about his lot in life. God invited Onesimus to do the greatest work of all, the work of becoming somebody who, despite every disadvantage, to become useful for the Kingdom of God.

 

God also invited Philemon to become involved in His work. Philemon had already become deeply involved in work in the church, however, God was inviting him now, to become involved in even greater in the work of the church. God was inviting Philemon to lift up the fallen, to suffer with those who suffer, to set the captives go free, and to comfort those who are oppressed. Beloved, God was inviting Philemon, as He does us all, to become involved in the work of ministering to others at their point of need.

Philemon’s reward was a brand new brother. A fellow laborer in Christ, rather than a slave. A partner in  Christ, in the things that matter, one who would be even more useful, more productive than ever before imagined. Philemon found that by accepting God’s invitation to become involved in His work, you gain far more than it will you ever give up. I believe this is an extremely valuable lesson for all of us today!

Today, God invites each of us to become involved in His work, in reconciliation, in ministry, and in building lives. I can assure you, that the results, the rewards of that work, are beyond measure.

 

When Paul learned of the truth about Onesimus, though he had grown very dear to him, becoming as  his son during these months in prison, Paul knew that he do what is right, that he must send him back to his master. Christianity is not an escape from the past, enabling us to run away from it; it is rather enables us to face our past and rise above it. Onesimus had run away, though he was a changed person and should act accordingly, therefore, he must go back, face the consequences of his actions, accept them and rise above them. Even though the consequences might be painful. 

 

I believe that this is something that we are all called to do. We should constantly be reminding ourselves who we are in Christ,and by the grace of God I shall live accordingly. The Christian life is never about escape; however, it is always conquest. 

In verse 16, Paul says to Philemon, the slave-owner, that he would be receiving back Onesimus "no longer as a slave but more than a slave, " but as a beloved brother." This was radical thinking for the first century; it completely overturned the traditional values of that society. The system of slavery was embedded deeply into the Roman Empire. It was a large part of the roman culture, that certain men were to be slaves, to perform the menial tasks, to serve the higher orders. There were roughly 60 million slaves that a danger of revolt was constantly to be guarded against, and any sign of revolt, that even a minor infraction would often, result in harsh punishment.

 

Onesimus went away a heathen slave; however, he comes back to Philemon, as a brother in Christ. However, the Apostle Paul does not deny that Onesimus is still a slave. He says, however, he is returning  now "as" more than a slave. Though Paul acknowledges that he still a slave; he instructs Philemon that he is no longer to be treated as one, for the old relationship of master and slave is absorbed into a new relationship, one of brother in Christ. Though, I am sure, this must have been difficult for Philemon to regard, as is often the case for many of us today, when we have been wronged by someone, however, that is exactly what Paul commands. Onesimus, a runaway slave, is now to be received as a brother in Christ.

In the early days of the church, if Christianity had given slaves any encouragement to leave their masters, certainly tragedy would have resulted. Any encouragement would have been seen as revolt and would have been savagely crushed; any slave who took his freedom would have been mercilessly punished; any Christianity would have been branded as revolutionary and undermining the state.

 

 For many, Paul's silence has been a source of puzzlement, as to why Paul did not condemn slavery outright. However, I tend to believe that Paul’s silence was an act in accordance with the strategic plans of God. I believe Paul's approach, was all the more radical for not trying to defy or disrupt the current corrupt society of his time and urging slaves to cast off their shackles in a glorious revolt For, if they had Jesus would have then been reduced to nothing more than a political revolutionary. 

 

Paul chose to instead to ignore the boundaries between slaves and masters completely, to respond to them as if they didn’t even exist. Christianity had since the beginning, sowed the seeds of slavery’s distraction, as how could two men, standing together before God, as sinners forgiven by His grace, who were once divided by man-made barriers, could now be brothers in Christ. Already, through Christ, this distinction had been destroyed. Allow me to remind you, that Paul, in writing to the church in Galatia, said "there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ."

 

In Closing...

 

Given our Christian faith, emancipation was bound to come, as it indeed has, when under the guiding Hand of God, godly men pricked the conscience of those in the world. At the time of Paul's writing to Philemon, the  was not the right time. Beloved, I believe the lesson here for us today, is that there are things, which are best left to God’s divine timing. I often wonder if in God's plan, He allows certain things to ruin itself,  so that all might see the corruption of an atheistic society and godless culture. It’s thrilling to witness the change of heart that has taken place in South Africa with the pillars of apartheid being demolished. God is working His purposes out. It’s our duty to unceasingly pray and to be actively working for the coming of His Kingdom.

 

Paul's letter to Philemon demonstrates to all of us today, that the gospel was at work in the life of the Apostle Paul , revealing that the love of Christ constrained him, even while in prison to proclaim the gospel to the end that an outcast of society, a slave, became a Christian, and to him a son. It also demonstrates, how in Christ, a slave can be embraced as a brother, and that in the presence of the Lord, Jesus Christ, a Christian who has rights as a creditor, can humbly accept the position of a debtor. These are the incredible transformations that occur in a saving relationship with Christ, of which the world knows nothing, because this can only come by an the outworking of the love of Christ. 

 

Paul set Onesimus before us today, as an example of putting others first and so he was in a position to remind Philemon of the far greater debt that Philemon owes Christ. This is not something that can be measured in monetary terms for it is measured by Philemon’s own spiritual life, and there is the implication, very gently put, that Onesimus' debt, which Paul has taken over, is more than cancelled. 

 

I believe that this thought must lead us to the conclusion that we are all debtors to the grace of God shown through the Lord Jesus Christ in giving His life to be our Saviour. This should put everything into perspective for all of us. We owe everything to Christ, therefore, we have no right, to make a claim on a debt that is owed to us, because of what we have been forgiven.

 

May that love be the rules and reigns in of our lives. 

 

May it be so..

 

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen

 

 

 

 

 

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