The Letter to Philemon
Paul – Imprisoned in Rome, Acts 28:30-31
Onesimus – A runaway slave, and probable thief, from Colossae who fled to Rome. There he encountered Paul, and was led to faith in Christ.
Philemon – Onesimus’s wealthy master in Colossae who was saved while Paul preached in Ephesus some 7-10 years before the writing of the letter. He began to serve Christ faithfully including opening his home to the church at Colossae.
I. Jesus transforms lives.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Ephesians 4:28
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
· Verse 11 – “Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful.”
· Onesimus means “useful”, before coming to Christ he was useless to Philemon because he was untrustworthy. Possible thief – verse 18. Now he is useful for God’s kingdom.
· God takes a life that is useless and makes it useful, a life that seems to have no value and makes it valuable, a life that is not worth living and makes it worth living.
· Onesimus was saved. He heard the Gospel and receive Jesus as His Lord and Savior and committed his life to his service.
· Though once bitter at the circumstances of his life, he was now grateful and was willing to risk to make right what he had done wrong. Could there be punishment? Yes. Roman society expected brutal punishment of fugitive slaves. But no matter, his life was no longer about escaping circumstances but honoring Jesus no matter the circumstances. Formerly a bitter servant, Onesimus is now a joyful bond servant of Jesus.
· Has your life been transformed by Jesus? Do you feel useless? Do you feel like your life has no value?
II. Jesus transforms relationships.
“For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” Ephesians 2:14–16
So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5:23–24
And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. . . Malachi 4:6
· Verse 16 – “no longer a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother.”
· A restored and renewed Relationship!
· In Christ, relationships are transformed. Jews and Gentiles are made one. Slaves and free people are of equal worth and value.
· Reconciliation is at the heart of God. Reconciliation to God through Christ. Reconciliation to others.
· Do you need to forgive someone who has harmed you? – Paul told Philemon to charge to his account whatever Onesimus has done wrong. Isn’t that what Jesus tells us?
· Do you need to initiate seeking forgiveness from another? Maybe it will be hard and you do not know how the other person will respond. I’m pretty sure it can’t be any harder than it was for Onesimus.
· Do you need to be God’s instrument in helping those you love come to a point of reconciliation?
III. Jesus transforms societies.
And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” Acts 17:6–7
About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.” Acts 19:23–27
· Paul never demanded that Philemon set Onesimus free. But his words make it clear that Onesimus is no longer your servant, He is the slave of Jesus now and He is your brother! How could anyone expect their brother to be their slave!
· Verse 21 – I write to you knowing that you will do even more than I say
· The New Testament does not demand the instant release of slaves – although it clearly speaks against the evil of slave trading – the gospel is a sword in the heart of slavery. The gospel does not defeat slavery by demanding slaves bitterly rebel against ruthless slave owners. It defeats slavery by calling slaves to joyfully serve Jesus in everything and calling slave owners to recognize that in Christ, we are all equal as creations of God, in Christ we are brothers and sister, and as far as ownership, no human being belongs to another for we all belong to God and God alone.
· Sadly, Christians have used the Bible throughout generations, even in our own country to justify slavery. The Bible does not justify slavery, it recognizes it exist in a fallen world, sets guidelines to limit its evil and then ultimately destroys it through the love and Good News of Jesus Christ.
· That is what the Gospel of Jesus does. It changes in a fallen society. O, how are society needs to experiencing the transformer power of Jesus. Societies throughout the book of Acts experienced.
So what happened in response to this letter? Did Philemon treat Onesimus as a brother in Christ? Did Onesimus continue to serve the Lord faithfully? We could say we don’t know because nothing else was ever written of these 2 men. Then on the other hand, we could say we know exactly what happened. We know for a fact that the letter Paul wrote to Philemon, God supernaturally preserved to be part of His Holy Word. For that to happen it would have to have been shared with the church. For Philemon to have shared it with the church, Philemon would have recognized the truthfulness of the letter and the authority it had on his life and his willingness to obey it. For the church to have held this letter in high regard they would also have had to personally witness the life transformation of the man whom it is written about, Onesimus and to, Philemon.
Closing Illustration – In 1956, 5 missionaries, including Jim Elliot and Nate Saint, were killed by a war party of the Auca Indians of Ecuador, the very people to whom they were attempting to take the gospel. Their name literally meant savages. When news began to spread, it simply seemed like a pointless tragedy. Until you hear the rest of the story to hear how God would transform a society through His Son Jesus. Other missionaries, including Jim’s wife Elisabeth would soon bring the good news of Jesus to the Auca Indians and most of the tribe would be saved. Nate’s son Steve would grow up and return to Ecuador to be a missionary to the very tribe who killed his dad. Recently, Nate brought a member of the Auca tribe back to America with him. The man went by the name Grandfather. Grandfather was a member of the war party who killed Steve’s dad and the others. Grandfather shared how a group of students came to do a story on the savages of Ecuador. They were greeted by a kind & loving people. They would ask what happened to all the savages. Grandfather explained they were the savages but their life had been changed by Jesus. Grandfather was shocked that the students had a hard time understanding how such a transformation was possible. Grandfather thought that since the students should have understood that Jesus changes things! He shared how his tribe was broken when they heard of an American High School massacre where 2 boys killed 15 of their classmates and teachers. We know the story as the Columbine Tragedy. Grandfather tells of how his tribe was broken and began to pray for America. He says “We use to be savages like that too before we came to know Jesus. We too killed each other and had no regard for human life until we came to follow Jesus.”
The story of the Auca Indians, the missionaries who were killed, and their families who would follow them in reaching the Auca Indians for Christ, reminds us, that Jesus has the power to transform lives, the power to transform relationships, and the power to transforms society!
There are some here who need to experience the power of Jesus to transform… you must receive him today.
