full
Brotherhood and Restoration: Insights from the Book of Philemon
In the Wednesday Evening Service at Middletown Baptist Church on February 5, 2025, Pastor Josh Massaro delivered an insightful message centered on the epistle of Philemon. This particular scripture, though brief, encapsulates profound themes of forgiveness, restoration, and the transformative nature of Christian relationships. Pastor Massaro elucidated the narrative of Philemon and his bondservant, Onesimus, whose journey from estrangement to reconciliation serves as a poignant illustration of the Gospel's power to change lives. Onesimus, having fled from Philemon, encounters Paul, who leads him to faith, thereby altering the trajectory of both their lives. The pastor emphasized that this letter is not merely a request for Onesimus's acceptance back into Philemon's household but signifies a deeper call to recognize the inherent dignity and worth of every individual as a brother or sister in Christ.
Throughout the sermon, Pastor Massaro skillfully drew parallels between the historical context of Philemon and modern Christian interactions, urging the congregation to reflect on their own relationships. He highlighted the necessity of extending grace to those who have wronged us, challenging attendees to cultivate an attitude of forgiveness that mirrors the love of Christ. This theme of restoration underscores the broader Christian imperative to seek reconciliation and to foster an environment where mutual respect and love flourish. The pastor's discourse invites congregants to transcend societal norms that often dictate value based on status or past actions, reminding them that in Christ, all are equal and deserving of compassion.
In an innovative twist, Pastor Massaro also introduced an interactive element to the service, encouraging congregants to submit questions about the Bible and Christian living. This initiative not only fosters engagement but also empowers church members to take an active role in their spiritual education. The pastor expressed his commitment to addressing these queries in future sermons, reinforcing his dedication to creating a vibrant and inclusive church community. As the service drew to a close, attendees were left with a renewed understanding of their identity in Christ and a compelling call to live out the principles of love, mercy, and forgiveness, thereby enriching the collective spiritual journey at Middletown Baptist Church.
Takeaways:
- Onesimus's return to Philemon illustrates the profound theme of reconciliation and forgiveness.
- Paul's appeal to Philemon emphasizes the importance of restoring relationships within the Christian community.
- The concept of brotherhood in Christ transcends social status, highlighting the equality of all believers.
- Paul's willingness to bear Onesimus's debt serves as a powerful metaphor for Christ's sacrificial love for humanity.
Thank you for joining our podcast. Visit our website at https://middletownbaptistchurch.org/
Subscribe to our YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@middletownbaptistchurchde5091
Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MBCDelaware
This podcast is produced by Ralph Estep, Jr., host of the Ask Ralph Podcast, a daily podcast on Christian Finance you can find it at https://www.askralphpodcast.com/
Transcript
All right, very good, very good.
Speaker A:Well, we're going to go ahead and get our Bibles open to the book of Fine Lehman.
Speaker A:Fine Lehman.
Speaker A:If you're just joining us for the first time in here, if you don't know where Fine Lehman is, it's this little small book of the Bible.
Speaker A:It's right before the book of Hebrews, right after the book of Titus there towards the end of the New Testament.
Speaker A:It's only one chapter, one book, one chapter, and it's only 25 verses, a small book of the Bible.
Speaker A:But there's a big message here and, and we're going to actually conclude it here this evening.
Speaker A:I'll do my best to summarize what we've gone over so far and conclude the main thought here that the Lord wants us to, to learn, I think, and grow in.
Speaker A:But before I do that, I know I teased you a little bit at the very beginning saying we've got something really exciting coming up.
Speaker A:And I know that sometimes when I'm sitting in a scenario where I'm thinking about that, I can't think about anything else.
Speaker A:So I'm going to go ahead and just share with you what I was going to share at the end.
Speaker A:We're concluding the study in the book of Philemon, which is, is good thing cuz we're done.
Speaker A:But it's also a bad thing cuz, you know, what are we gonna do next?
Speaker A:Um, and so there's always that, that struggle, what we're gonna do next.
Speaker A:And of course I do most of the sermon prepping.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And that's how it should be.
Speaker A:I, I look and I pray and I say, okay, Lord, where do you want us to go next?
Speaker A:But Lord really pressed upon my heart to take kind of a, A, a time of transition between our two book studies.
Speaker A:And I want to extend to you an opportunity to be part of the sermon planning process.
Speaker A:You would say, how do I do that?
Speaker A:Well, for the next however many weeks, how long, however long this takes, I would like to open up to you to ask questions about the Bible and about the Christian life.
Speaker A:Not about just random stuff, because I might not be able to answer those and I might not even be able to answer all the questions that you might have about God or the Bible or about our Christian faith.
Speaker A:Um, but I would like to extend an opportunity for you to take tonight with you.
Speaker A:Or you can ask the question tonight and turn it in.
Speaker A:But one of these cards, I'll leave them out so they can be anonymous tonight after the service.
Speaker A:And if you would like to write down a question or more than one question.
Speaker A:I will try to do my best to formalize a sermon through that or a lesson through that.
Speaker A:Uh, maybe it might not be one question, one sermon.
Speaker A:It might be three questions, one sermon.
Speaker A:Uh, but I would like to try to address some things that maybe you've been thinking about.
Speaker A:Maybe you've said, you know, I've always heard this, but I don't understand this, or why did this have to happen?
Speaker A:Um, and what it might be is that I.
Speaker A:I might tell you.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker A:That's ultimately God's plan.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And we.
Speaker A:We don't have the thoughts of God.
Speaker A:And so I might not be able to answer all of your questions, but if it's something to do with scripture, I will do my best to try to bring together an answer for you via sermon, via lesson.
Speaker A:So I hope that maybe you can participate with that, and I will do my best.
Speaker A:You don't have to write your name down.
Speaker A:If you'd like to write your name down so that I can follow up with you, maybe for some clarifying questions, that would be totally appropriate.
Speaker A:But if you say, you know, I don't want anyone to know that that's me asking that question, that's totally fine.
Speaker A:Uh, please don't be offended if you write a question down and I don't speak on it.
Speaker A:Um, especially if you leave it where you don't have a name.
Speaker A:Uh.
Speaker A:Cause it might just be that I don't feel like that is, you know, maybe a clear question.
Speaker A:Um, I might even get up and say, hey, this question was asked.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And I'll give you a different thought process on that.
Speaker A:So I never.
Speaker A:I don't think I've ever done this before since I've been here, or at least in a setting like this.
Speaker A:And so this is extended to you.
Speaker A:If you want to think about that, that's totally fine, too.
Speaker A:If you want to share the word on Sunday morning, you can, but this is specifically for, like, the Wednesday night study.
Speaker A:So, anyway, I'm gonna put these up here, and after the service, after our prayer time, I'll just put it on the front pew up here and you can grab one.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:With that being said, now you know what the big question mark was.
Speaker A:We can get into the book of Fine Leman.
Speaker A:All right, so we are going to pick up in fine Lehman, actually in verse number 15.
Speaker A:We looked at verses 15 and 16 last week, and that's where we ended.
Speaker A:But I want to pick up where we left off, because there's.
Speaker A:There's just an amazing message here.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's really a picture of restoration between a guy named Philemon and Onesimus.
Speaker A:Paul is kind of the one that's working as the middleman, the one who is exhorting a Philemon to receive Onesimus back.
Speaker A:But really, too, I think that there is a picture of salvation inside of this story with Onesimus and Philemon.
Speaker A:If you don't know what's going on, there's.
Speaker A:There's a guy named Philemon who had a man named Onesimus as one of his bond servants.
Speaker A:Onesimus fled Philemon's authority.
Speaker A:And what we're going to actually understand through context is that Onesimus probably stole something from Philemon, fled to Rome.
Speaker A:And in the process of fleeing to Rome and getting to Rome and trying to hide out in Rome, he comes across Paul.
Speaker A:Paul leads Onesimus to Christ and begins to disciple Onesimus there in Rome.
Speaker A:Now, the irony of all this is that Paul led Philemon, the.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker A:The master of Onesimus, to the Lord.
Speaker A:And so there's a connection here.
Speaker A:And so now Paul is trying to lead Onesimus to go back and make things right with Philemon.
Speaker A:And he's writing this letter to Philemon to challenge Philemon to receive Onesimus back, not as a servant, but as we're gonna see here in a few moments, but as a brother.
Speaker A:And there's a big difference in that.
Speaker A:You know, I think that so many times within our world today, and even in our individual's lives, we.
Speaker A:We think about people being more important or less important because of their status or because of their, you know, socioeconomic status or maybe even their looks.
Speaker A:But what we can see here tonight is that Paul says, hey, Onesimus, now that he is your brother in Christ, he is equal to you.
Speaker A:He is your brother.
Speaker A:And so look at it here with me in verse 15, it says he.
Speaker A:He.
Speaker A:He's talking to Philemon about receiving Onesimus.
Speaker A:And he says, for perhaps he therefore departed for a season, meaning he left you.
Speaker A:He did you wrong, okay?
Speaker A:That thou shouldest receive him forever.
Speaker A:So now he's saying, hey, he left you for a time, and he did you wrong in a time.
Speaker A:But now when he comes back in this restoration, you now have an eternal brotherhood.
Speaker A:This new relationship that you have with Onesimus is not just a temporary one when it comes to servant and master.
Speaker A:It's now an internal relationship as brothers.
Speaker A:And even if you go back to verse 14, he says, but without thy mind, would I do nothing that thy benefits should not be, as it were, of necessity, but willingly.
Speaker A:Meaning this.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker A:The benefit of receiving Onesimus back is not something that I want to force you to do as an apostle.
Speaker A:I want to force you to do this.
Speaker A:I could force you to do this, but I don't want to do that.
Speaker A:I want you to do this willingly.
Speaker A:And so that is the wonderful story that the restoration is happening in the Life of Onesimus and Philemon, verse 16.
Speaker A:He says, not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother, beloved specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord?
Speaker A:And so he says, receive Onesimus as a brother.
Speaker A:And I think that that's an important message to see because now he's explaining to him that Onesimus is no longer underneath you, he is now equal to you.
Speaker A:And that made me think about a passage of Scripture in the book of Galatians.
Speaker A:If you have your Bibles, keep your finger there in Philemon and turn over to Galatians chapter three with me, because I think that this is a passage of Scripture that explains to us God's economy when it comes to worth as, as a human being.
Speaker A:We could look at someone and we could say, well, because they have more money, they're more important, or because of the status that they have in their power, they're more important, or the way that they look, they're more important.
Speaker A:You know, whatever you, you could come up with a bunch of reasons why someone is more important than the other.
Speaker A:But what we can see here in Galatians chapter three is that we are one in Christ when, when we are saved and when we are adopted into the family of God.
Speaker A:The Bible speaks of our salvation as many different things.
Speaker A:There's a lot of analogies that God uses for our salvation, but one of the really cool analogies that God uses is adoption.
Speaker A:Romans chapter 8 speaks of the adoption.
Speaker A:And, and the beauty of the adoption is this.
Speaker A:In, in the Jewish culture, when someone was adopted as a child, they were in the family of God, or they were in the family of their, their father in this case, but they did not receive all the benefits of that relationship until they became an adult.
Speaker A:And so the Bible speaks of us being adopted with all the benefits.
Speaker A:We're, we're adopted into the benefits of God.
Speaker A:There's no waiting period for us to receive the benefits of God being our Father.
Speaker A:So we are adopted into the family of God.
Speaker A:And as we're adopted into the family of God, we are adopted with others, right?
Speaker A:There's obviously other people that are saved.
Speaker A:And so he talks about this In Galatians, chapter three, says verse 26, for ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Speaker A:So, so think about that picture of God adopting someone into his family as a child.
Speaker A:And as he adopts them in, it says that he adopts them by what?
Speaker A:By faith in Christ Jesus.
Speaker A:And so the thing that makes Onesimus's relationship different with Philemon now is because they both have faith in Christ.
Speaker A:It's not that they both are a part of a church.
Speaker A:It's not that they are both good people.
Speaker A:It's not that they are both, you know, at the same status when it comes to their power.
Speaker A:Because obviously at this point, Philemon still holds the power of master, and Philemon holds the power of master, and Onesimus is still the servant.
Speaker A:But we see here that everyone is one because it says in verse 27, for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ, meaning you're, you're baptized in the Spirit.
Speaker A:And this isn't specifically talking about baptism as is the water.
Speaker A:That is a picture of what happens, but it's speaking of the baptism that we have in Christ when the Holy Spirit indwells us.
Speaker A:And so he says, you've been baptized into Christ, you've put on Christ, meaning that's your identity.
Speaker A:Now, verse 28, there is neither Jew nor Greek.
Speaker A:Now, what is he saying here?
Speaker A:He's not saying that, you know, you're not a Jew anymore.
Speaker A:And he's not saying, oh, this person's not a Greek anymore.
Speaker A:He, he's saying, it doesn't matter if you're a Greek or a Jew, you're equal in the eyes of God.
Speaker A:Go goes on further.
Speaker A:There is neither bond nor free.
Speaker A:He's not saying that there, there, there are no more servants, there are no more masters.
Speaker A:He says, no, if you're a master or a servant, you're, you're equal in the eyes of God.
Speaker A:There is neither male nor female.
Speaker A:Now the reason why we know in context that he's not talking about their identity is because we know that God is very clearly says there's males and females, right?
Speaker A:There's, there's a distinction between that there's roles in, in the male and female relationships.
Speaker A:And, and so he's not talking about, hey, there's no more gender anymore because that's, that's what our culture would want us to take.
Speaker A:They would take this verse out of context, and it has been taken out of context, but that's not what he's talking about.
Speaker A:He's saying that whether you're a man or a woman, it doesn't matter in the eyes of God when it comes to your salvation.
Speaker A:Men are not more saved than women.
Speaker A:Now, there are distinct roles, and I believe that there are distinct roles for men and distinct roles for women.
Speaker A:But that doesn't mean that anyone is less special or more special.
Speaker A:So he says, neither bond nor free.
Speaker A:There's neither male nor female.
Speaker A:For ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Speaker A:And if ye be Christ, then ye are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise, Meaning we are now beneficiaries of the Abrahamic covenant.
Speaker A:You guys remember what the Abrahamic Covenant was?
Speaker A:Some of you that have stayed with me for a long time here in Wednesday Nights, you know that Genesis series?
Speaker A:I talked about Abraham's covenant for, like, every single week for, like, two years.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:We are the beneficiaries of the Abrahamic covenant because remember, one of the parts of the Abrahamic covenant was that all the nations of the world would be blessed by the seed of Abraham, seed of Abraham, Jesus.
Speaker A:We're all blessed, and we are all now part of the family of God.
Speaker A:And so that is, I believe, a theological truth in the book of Galatians that we see mirrored in the book of Philemon.
Speaker A:Now, Onesimus and Philemon, though they have different roles in their culture, are now equal standing in the eyes of God.
Speaker A:And so therefore, they are brothers.
Speaker A:And so ultimately, when we look at our relationships that we have, you know, I could say, well, I'm your pastor, and I am.
Speaker A:But first and foremost, I'm.
Speaker A:I'm your brother Christ.
Speaker A:I could look at someone that's working for me, and I could say, they're my employee.
Speaker A:But if they're another believer, they're a brother in Christ before they are my employee.
Speaker A:And so there's a relationship that's higher than our relationship here on this earth.
Speaker A:There's a relationship that's an eternal relationship.
Speaker A:And that's what Paul is trying to explain to Philemon here in this case.
Speaker A:And so that's the interesting aspect of what this book is talking about.
Speaker A:And so let's go a little bit further here.
Speaker A:This is where it gets really interesting.
Speaker A:Verse 17.
Speaker A:He says, if thou count me, therefore, a partner.
Speaker A:Paul is saying, hey, Philemon, if you think that I'm a partner in Christ, hear what I'm about to say.
Speaker A:And we know by way of Paul's introduction that Paul and Philemon are very close.
Speaker A:They're partners.
Speaker A:They're Partners in the ministry for Christ.
Speaker A:And so it would be like me coming up to you and say, hey, haven't I proven to you that I care about you?
Speaker A:Haven't.
Speaker A:Haven't we shared blood, sweat and tears in this work?
Speaker A:And that's what Paul is saying to Philemon.
Speaker A:If, if I'm your partner, then, then what?
Speaker A:Receive him as myself, he says.
Speaker A:Receive Onesimus, not as a servant, but as you would receive me, as you would receive your partner, the one who has had experience with you.
Speaker A:You know, there, there's, there is something to be said about a shared experience.
Speaker A:I don't know if any of you have gone through like a life or death situation with somebody, but for whatever reason, it kind of ties you together, kind of puts a bond there.
Speaker A:I remember back, I was six, I think I was 16 years old, 15 years old, I can't remember.
Speaker A:But my mom and my dad took me to a place in North Carolina.
Speaker A:I think it was North Carolina.
Speaker A:My memory doesn't serve me well, but it's either North Carolina or Tennessee.
Speaker A:Down, down in that area.
Speaker A:And we went whitewater rafting.
Speaker A:And my mom was always like, I want to go whitewater rafting.
Speaker A:I remember from a baby, as far as I could remember back, my mom was like, my dream is to go whitewater rafting.
Speaker A:I just want to do that.
Speaker A:And my dad's like, finally we're going to go.
Speaker A:And we went with some family, friends and so there was, you know, my parents friends and, and, and their child.
Speaker A:We, we went, and so we, we went whitewater rafting and we were going down the river and I, I, I think I told the story before.
Speaker A:I won't go into all the details, but basically our tour guide, our, our white water rafting guide was a little crazy and he ended up trying to do this trick where he would spin us and kind of like dump us over this little waterfall.
Speaker A:And when he did that, the water went into the boat and I was thinking we were totally safe.
Speaker A:I'm like, we're not going to go into the water.
Speaker A:Sure enough, the whole raft like goes under and like all of us come out, except I think my dad was that my dad and the guide were the only two that stayed in the raft.
Speaker A:And we're rushing down the river and all of us are trying to get saved and we're all pulling each other up and we all lifted up in, into that raft.
Speaker A:We finally got in there right before we died.
Speaker A:There was a Class 5 rapids on the, on the way and they're like, we Got to get in.
Speaker A:So we all got in.
Speaker A:But I remember that night we all just kind of sat around at the dinner table and we were like, man, we, we, we made it.
Speaker A:And we were like, you know, together.
Speaker A:We were bonded together because we went through that life or death experience.
Speaker A:That's kind of how it is sometimes with ministry, like when we're serving together and, and we go through our bumps and we go through our struggles and we pray for each other and we see answered prayer.
Speaker A:There's a bond there.
Speaker A:And what Paul is saying here is this, hey, Philemon, we have a bond together.
Speaker A:You trust me, I trust you.
Speaker A:You love me, I love you.
Speaker A:You give me the benefit of the doubt.
Speaker A:I give you the benefit of the doubt.
Speaker A:He says, I want you to receive Onesimus the same way.
Speaker A:And that's really how we should receive all believers, all brothers and sisters in Christ.
Speaker A:We should receive them as we would someone that we trust, someone that we love.
Speaker A:And that's what exactly he is saying.
Speaker A:So, so Paul stands beside Onesimus here.
Speaker A:And what is Paul doing?
Speaker A:He's requesting mercy.
Speaker A:He, he wants Philemon to extend mercy to Onesimus.
Speaker A:Now what is mercy, Biblically speaking?
Speaker A:Mercy is God in, in the case of God, withholding punishment from us that we deserve.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:So look at it from the perspective of Philemon and Onesimus.
Speaker A:What did Onesimus deserve from Philemon?
Speaker A:Well, Philemon had every right in his culture.
Speaker A:He had every right within the Roman law to punish Onesimus for leaving and from stealing from him.
Speaker A:It's actually was a capital crime, meaning he could have put him to death, Philemon could have put Onesimus to death, and there would have been no one that would have batted an eye.
Speaker A:And so what is Paul doing?
Speaker A:He says, hey, now that he's a brother in Christ, give him some mercy.
Speaker A:And I think that's all of us really, in our life.
Speaker A:We, when we, when we think about what God does for us and the great mercy that he extended us in salvation, all the more reason why we should extend mercy to others.
Speaker A:One of the things that I think all Christians need to grow in, including myself, is extending mercy and grace in situations that, that sometimes can be difficult.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Someone wrongs you, the immediate response is wrong them back.
Speaker A:The biblical response, the Christlike response, is grace and mercy, forgiveness, patience.
Speaker A:The word is really in, in the King James, long suffering.
Speaker A:And, and so what does he say here?
Speaker A:He says mercy, grace, extend that.
Speaker A:And so Paul's appeal is, is a powerful appeal because he, Paul is standing beside a guilty man.
Speaker A:He's Standing beside Onesimus, who is guilty, he has committed the crime.
Speaker A:And, and if you think about it from the perspective of yourself standing next to Jesus, that's exactly what he does for us, right?
Speaker A:In faith, when we come to him in faith, the Bible says that we have an advocate with the Father, meaning this Jesus, who is perfect, he stands next to us who are guilty and says, hey, look, have mercy, God.
Speaker A:I'm, I'm gonna pay the price.
Speaker A:And that's exactly what Paul says here.
Speaker A:He says this.
Speaker A:If he hath wrong thee, and he has, or O, with thee ought put that on mine account.
Speaker A:So Paul is saying, Paul is saying this.
Speaker A:If he took anything from you, if he owes you a debt, I will pay that debt.
Speaker A:I will take care of that.
Speaker A:And, and so what is he doing?
Speaker A:He's vouching for Onesimus.
Speaker A:He says, if Onesimus owes you money, if he owes you property.
Speaker A:And so we can understand through context that when he left, he probably stole something from, from Philemon.
Speaker A:And so Paul is saying, I will pay the price.
Speaker A:That's exactly what Jesus does for us.
Speaker A:He stands next to us, he's an advocate for us.
Speaker A:And he says, hey, if this person has sinned, and we know we all have, he says, I will pay the price.
Speaker A:And Jesus did pay the price.
Speaker A:And so we see here, in this picture of restoration with Onesimus and Philemon is the picture of restoration between the, the sinner and God, right?
Speaker A:And Jesus the advocate.
Speaker A:And so Paul in that case is playing the role of Jesus.
Speaker A:Now we know that Paul can't forgive Onesimus of his sin.
Speaker A:Okay, so it's not a, an apples to apples situation, but we do understand that this is a picture of that.
Speaker A:And so Paul's appeal here, here is, is really powerful because he's saying, on behalf of this guilty person, I will take the punishment.
Speaker A:This servant of yours is my friend.
Speaker A:He is my brother.
Speaker A:So if you punish him, punish me.
Speaker A:I will stand beside him.
Speaker A:I will take the punishment.
Speaker A:And, and I think that that is a, a beautiful picture of what Jesus does for us before the Lord, before our master, God the Father.
Speaker A:And so I, I read verses 15, really verses 14 through 18 and, and 19 for that matter.
Speaker A:And, and I see a picture of salvation.
Speaker A:He says, I, Paul, have written it with mine own hand.
Speaker A:Paul says, I'm writing this letter to you.
Speaker A:I'm vouching for Onesimus.
Speaker A:I am the one who is putting my name to this.
Speaker A:I, I don't know about you guys, but when I put my name to something I like, I'M it, it matters.
Speaker A:I don't want to just put my name to anything.
Speaker A:Very cautious about things.
Speaker A:Like when someone gives me a contract, I sit there and I want to read everything.
Speaker A:I want to make sure when I'm signing, because I'm putting my name to this.
Speaker A:Paul says, I am putting my name to this situation.
Speaker A:And, and so when Onesimus escaped, he stole from Philemon.
Speaker A:He owed Philemon.
Speaker A:But Paul is willing to say, I will put it on my account.
Speaker A:I will do this.
Speaker A:And so he's saying, here, here's an iou.
Speaker A:I will pay the price.
Speaker A:And so I think that that's an, an amazing picture of what Christ has done for us.
Speaker A:And, and if you think about it from that perspective, it's a lot more.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I would say it's a lot more of a.
Speaker A:Of a struggle to get to that place of pride that, hey, I've earned this, I've done this, I've worked my way back.
Speaker A:You know, I.
Speaker A:I think the more we think about the Gospel, at least for me, the more I think about what Christ has done for me, the more I realize how helpless I am without him.
Speaker A:And, and Onesimus is helpless unless Philemon receives him back.
Speaker A:Unless Paul does this for me.
Speaker A:If Onesimus, it just like, tried to do this on his own, he probably would have ended in destruction.
Speaker A:He probably would have ended in brokenness.
Speaker A:But because he has an advocate, and because Philemon loves the Lord, I believe that this all comes back to a place of restoration.
Speaker A:And so Paul says in verse 19, I will repay it.
Speaker A:Albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me, even thine own self.
Speaker A:Besides, now, I don't know if you caught that there, but Paul says, I have written this letter with my own hand.
Speaker A:I will repay what he owes you.
Speaker A:Albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me, even thine own self.
Speaker A:Besides, meaning he's what.
Speaker A:What is he saying in everyday English?
Speaker A:He's like, you owe me.
Speaker A:I've done a lot for you.
Speaker A:And if you go back, what did Paul do for Philemon?
Speaker A:He led them to the Lord.
Speaker A:So he says, look, I, give me some grace.
Speaker A:Give.
Speaker A:Give me the benefit of the doubt.
Speaker A:Like I, I've come before you and I've done things for you and I've sacrificed for you.
Speaker A:And so that's what we see here in this case.
Speaker A:It's a given, given, giving relationship.
Speaker A:So while Paul accounts the history of their relationship, I think that Paul, even though he probably could afford to pay Onesimus his expenses, he's appealing to Philemon, to the fact that, hey, look, I gave you grace, I gave you patience, and so you should do the same.
Speaker A:And I think that's another lesson that we can learn in this passage of Scripture, is that if we gave people.
Speaker A:And I know that this isn't something that's smiled upon in our society today because of so many wrongdoings, but if we give people the benefit of the doubt, specifically other brothers and sisters in Christ, there would be a lot more grace, love and mercy within the church, within.
Speaker A:Within the fellowship of believers.
Speaker A:Um, if you look at.
Speaker A:Let's.
Speaker A:Let's look at this together, I think this is important to see.
Speaker A:Look at First Corinthians, chapter 13 with me.
Speaker A:Most of you know this passage deals with love.
Speaker A:This is the passage of love.
Speaker A:This is the passage that is many times read at weddings, which understandably so.
Speaker A:But it means so much more than just the relationship between husbands and wives.
Speaker A:It's talking about biblical Christlike love.
Speaker A:And, and when we think about it from the perspective of what Christ has done for us, it makes a lot more sense.
Speaker A:But if you look at what it's talking about here in the King James, it uses the word charity, which is another word for love.
Speaker A:It's the agape that, you know, love.
Speaker A:So, so he talks about the, the uselessness of all of these great things if we don't have love.
Speaker A:He says, you know, you could do all of these works of God, but if you don't have love.
Speaker A:At the end of verse two, he says, I am nothing.
Speaker A:At the end of verse three, it profited me nothing.
Speaker A:And then he starts to describe this type of love.
Speaker A:Verse four, charity suffereth long.
Speaker A:Love is patient, okay?
Speaker A:And is kind.
Speaker A:Charity envieth not.
Speaker A:Charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, meaning it doesn't lift itself up, does not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil.
Speaker A:And I want you to think about what that means there.
Speaker A:At the end of verse five, it says, thinketh no evil.
Speaker A:And in the original language, it's basically saying this, don't assume evil in a fellow brother and sister in Christ.
Speaker A:And I think that's a lot of times what we do because of whatever has happened in our own life and maybe because of our own struggles, we assume the worst in another brother or another sister.
Speaker A:And I've said this before to people, they might be having malicious thoughts, but what the Bible says is that our first reaction should not go there.
Speaker A:It should give them the benefit of the doubt to say, maybe they don't mean it that way.
Speaker A:Maybe they're having a bad day.
Speaker A:Maybe I can extend grace.
Speaker A:And when you think about Christ's love, one of my favorite verses, it was Romans 5:8.
Speaker A:But God commendeth or demonstrated his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners.
Speaker A:Christ died for us.
Speaker A:God didn't wait till we got right and then died for us.
Speaker A:He died for us in the midst of our brokenness.
Speaker A:Someone described it to me this way, and I don't know the dynamic of what was in our Lord's mind at the moment he's being nailed to the cross.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:I, I, we do know a few things about what was going on in his mind and what he was saying.
Speaker A:But someone painted the picture to me like this.
Speaker A:Like, if Jesus was about to go to the cross, he was about to be nailed to the cross.
Speaker A:And if you came to his mind, which I believe that's a complete possibility, that he thought about all of us and he realized that we were going to sin, he still went forward and did that.
Speaker A:And, and I mean, if you think about it, we're the ones that nailed him to the cross in our sin, but he still went forward and did that.
Speaker A:And so I think about that type of love that we see in first Corinthians, chapter 13.
Speaker A:And then I see Paul petitioning Philemon to have that same type of love to Onesimus.
Speaker A:And, and that's, that's a challenge for me.
Speaker A:How many of us?
Speaker A:And, and I'm gonna try to challenge you tonight, but just, I'm challenging myself just to be honest.
Speaker A:I'm struggling through this right now in my own heart to, to tell you this.
Speaker A:I don't know, I'll give you a little peep peek behind the curtain.
Speaker A:Sometimes as a pastor, I'm about to say something and like, the burden of, like, fear of like telling people this is like, hey, you know what?
Speaker A:Don't say it.
Speaker A:You know, they have that, that flesh.
Speaker A:But I'm just going to say it to you.
Speaker A:How many of us have had someone wrong us and we are not willing to like, restore with them.
Speaker A:Like, no way, not going to happen again.
Speaker A:That's off the table.
Speaker A:And, and what the Bible says is that's, that's not the way that we should be living as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Speaker A:We should be happy and ready to get back.
Speaker A:That's, that's, that's biblical forbearance.
Speaker A:If, if you look at, look at Galatians, chapter six with me.
Speaker A:Galatians, chapter six, verse one.
Speaker A:I don't, didn't plan to go here, but, but I think this is important to see because, because that's, because the thing about Philemon, I, I, I try to put my, myself in the shoes of the individuals that we read about in scripture.
Speaker A:And I'm Philemon Onesimus.
Speaker A:And this isn't right.
Speaker A:I don't believe, okay?
Speaker A:I don't believe in this, okay?
Speaker A:But in Philemon's mind, Onesimus was his property.
Speaker A:It was, it was a commodity for him.
Speaker A:He used it for his financial gain.
Speaker A:And Onesimus left, broke his contract because he was a bond servant.
Speaker A:So Onesimus willingly went into a bond servant relationship with Philemon, then he broke that.
Speaker A:So he wronged Philemon, culturally speaking, and then he stole from him.
Speaker A:So if I'm Philemon, I'm like, man, this guy got off the chain.
Speaker A:He, he, he, we, we let him go.
Speaker A:He should get everything.
Speaker A:We should, we should punish him to the fullest extent of the law.
Speaker A:And when he gets back, I'm gonna remind him every single day what he did.
Speaker A:That's what we do sometimes, right?
Speaker A:Because we say we forgive somebody, but it's this, I forget what it's called, but it's like you bring up something by not bringing it up.
Speaker A:So, for example, like let's, let's say there's a situation.
Speaker A:I'm not saying that we do this in our house, but let's say, for example, there's a husband and wife and I, maybe the, the, the husband did something wrong and the wife goes, well, I'm not even going to bring up what you did last Friday, okay?
Speaker A:By her not bringing up, like saying that she's not going to bring it up.
Speaker A:She brought it up, right?
Speaker A:So that's sometimes what we do.
Speaker A:Sometimes passively we bring up issues that don't need to be brought up.
Speaker A:And so Philemon could have been like that.
Speaker A:He could have held it over his head.
Speaker A:But what does Paul say to do?
Speaker A:He says, restore a brother.
Speaker A:Galatians, chapter 6, verse 1.
Speaker A:He says, Brethren, he's talking to Christians here.
Speaker A:By the way, if a man be overtaken in a fault or a sin, ye which are spiritual, ye which are walking in the spirit, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted, meaning receive them back, restore them back in meekness.
Speaker A:Meekness is gentleness.
Speaker A:Meekness is strength under control.
Speaker A:Meekness is not weakness.
Speaker A:Restore them back, meaning you, you could, you could beat them down for what they've done wrong, but having the strength not to do that, having the restraint not to do that.
Speaker A:And so what does he say?
Speaker A:He says, do that.
Speaker A:Why?
Speaker A:Lest you be tempted.
Speaker A:Meaning you could fall into the same trap that they have fallen into.
Speaker A:Because you're not willing to restore, you're not willing to forgive.
Speaker A:Then he goes on to say, bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Speaker A:So we go back to Philemon and Onesimus.
Speaker A:Let's.
Speaker A:Let's wrap this up.
Speaker A:I know that we've kind of talked about this point for a long time, but Paul has confidence that Philemon will restore onesimus properly.
Speaker A:Verse 20.
Speaker A:Yay, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord.
Speaker A:Meaning what you are going to do is going to bring me joy, refresh my bowels in the Lord.
Speaker A:We don't usually talk that way.
Speaker A:Okay, okay.
Speaker A:I don't come up to you in church and go, you've really refreshed my bowels today.
Speaker A:What is he talking about here?
Speaker A:The word bowels in the Greek was the seat of their emotions.
Speaker A:It was where they felt their feelings, so to speak.
Speaker A:So Paul says, do this for me so that I can receive joy in my feelings.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I want to feel joy towards you.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I want to be happy.
Speaker A:I want to have this type of excitement in knowing that you're having restoration.
Speaker A:And so what does this mean?
Speaker A:I believe this means that as Christians, we should be happy when people that aren't even related to us are restored.
Speaker A:Like, like when restoration happens between two other people, we don't go, oh, that's not my problem.
Speaker A:No, we should rejoice when they're rejoicing.
Speaker A:And that's what Paul says.
Speaker A:I will rejoice when you have this restoration.
Speaker A:The word here, joy.
Speaker A:Where, where he says, yea, brother, let me have joy of the word joy literally means prophetic.
Speaker A:Like.
Speaker A:Like profit.
Speaker A:Not profit as like foretelling the future, but profit meaning gain.
Speaker A:Like, you know, you make a profit.
Speaker A:So he says, let me.
Speaker A:Let me understand this prophet.
Speaker A:Let me have this prophet.
Speaker A:And if you remember, Onesimus meant.
Speaker A:What does Onesimus's name mean?
Speaker A:It means profitable.
Speaker A:So, so Paul plays off of Onesimus's name throughout this whole book.
Speaker A:And so he says, let me have Onesimus of so.
Speaker A:So it would be like someone's name being profitable.
Speaker A:And, and so he's essentially saying he's using Onesimus.
Speaker A:It's a double meaning, so to speak.
Speaker A:So he's.
Speaker A:He's plugging in Onesimus's name, basically saying, you restoring Onesimus brings me Onesimus.
Speaker A:That's what he's saying.
Speaker A:You restoring the, the.
Speaker A:The prophet Onesimus is bringing me profit in my life.
Speaker A:And so, so Paul is, is very crafty in how, how he does that.
Speaker A:Verse 21, Having confidence in thy obedience, he has confidence in Philemon to restore.
Speaker A:I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say.
Speaker A:He says, I believe you're gonna do more.
Speaker A:You're gonna have better restoration than I've ever imagined.
Speaker A:And so he, he's basically saying, this is gonna refresh my heart in the Lord for you to do this.
Speaker A:Earlier on in this letter, Paul said that Philemon was a man who refreshed him before in the past, and he has confidence that he will do again.
Speaker A:So, so Paul's letter was an appeal to full restoration, full hope.
Speaker A:Paul had every reason to expect that Philemon would do what God would want him to do.
Speaker A:Then he says in verse 22, but with all, prepare me also a lodging.
Speaker A:So he says, hey, make a place for me too.
Speaker A:After you have Onesimus make a place for me.
Speaker A:For I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.
Speaker A:And so this showed their close relationship.
Speaker A:Paul wanted to have the hospitality of Philemon's home again.
Speaker A:And he knew that he was praying for him.
Speaker A:Paul wanted Philemon to pray, and he didn't think that the prayers were just like a formality.
Speaker A:He believed in the power of prayer.
Speaker A:And so he says, you know what?
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I pray that I can be back.
Speaker A:And so you pray for that same thing.
Speaker A:Then we see him do a normal thing that he does at the end of many of his letters.
Speaker A:He does a conclusion where he greets other people.
Speaker A:There, verse 23.
Speaker A:There salute the Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ, Marcus Aristocracy, Demas Lucas, my fellow laborers, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Speaker A:Be with your spirit.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:And so he.
Speaker A:He talks about these other individuals that, that he's thankful for.
Speaker A:And then he ends it with his normal grace message.
Speaker A:There we see some, some.
Speaker A:Some enduring principles that I think that we can take with us from, from this letter.
Speaker A:One, it would be for the importance of restoration.
Speaker A:Number two, the importance of brotherly love.
Speaker A:I think number three, it's the understanding of our equal nature before God and our salvation.
Speaker A:And then ultimately we see the beautiful picture of God's mercy and grace in salvation through Onesimus and Philemon.
Speaker A:And so, you know, you could look at Philemon as just a letter from Paul to another guy.
Speaker A:Named Philemon just trying to receive Onesimus back.
Speaker A:Or you could look at it as a bigger picture of the grace of God and a picture of salvation.
Speaker A:And there's so much you can learn just from 25 verses.
Speaker A:I've heard a lot of people say.
Speaker A:I just, I never even heard about Philemon.
Speaker A:It just gets lost in the shuffle there.
Speaker A:It shouldn't.
Speaker A:It's a, it's an awesome, awesome book of the Bible that I believe has a lot of theology in it, even though it isn't explicit necessarily.
Speaker A:We see kind of theology put to practice, practical theology because, because like we're going to re.
Speaker A:We're going to go through a study in a, in a while on Sunday mornings in the book of Romans.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:Just kind of giving you guys a glimpse in the fear.
Speaker A:After Second Corinthians, we're going to go to Romans and Romans is packed with theology, which is good.
Speaker A:We need theology.
Speaker A:Theology is just the study of God.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:What we believe about the things of God.
Speaker A:But theology in our brains that don't, that, that, that it, that it doesn't connect to our actions is empty.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:There's, there's people that sit in, in college classrooms that are professors that know everything about the theology of the Bible but yet don't understand that it's a practical thing that we're supposed to apply.
Speaker A:And so there is the theology that we must know to apply these things to action, but many times we don't connect it to the action.
Speaker A:I think Philemon is an awesome story of a challenge to Philemon to practice what he believes about the love of God.
Speaker A:Because if we understand God's salvation, we will be able to forgive.
Speaker A:If we understand God's salvation, we can be patient.
Speaker A:If we understand God's forgiveness, we can endure in mercy and love like a First Corinthians type of Christian.
Speaker A:And so it's always, I hope you'll see a theme for as long as I have breath.
Speaker A:The theme will always be the gospel, right?
Speaker A:It always, always, always goes back to the gospel.
Speaker A:And that's what we see in the book of Philemon.
Speaker A:The gospel message exalted, lifted up.
Speaker A:Well, we could talk more, but I think that's enough for us here this evening.
Speaker A:That's the study of Philemon.
Speaker A:So we've, we've gone through Jude and Philemon and like I said, we, we are gonna go into a longer study in the Old Testament in the future.
Speaker A:But I don't know exactly when.
Speaker A:It just depends on how many questions you guys ask.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:It could be a question about a book of the Bible.
Speaker A:It could be a question about a person in the Bible.
Speaker A:It could be a practical question of today, like what do we do if this happens?
Speaker A:As a Christian?
Speaker A:Is it right to fill in the blank?
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And, and I think that there can be some hot button issues.
Speaker A:I will tell you that I don't want to get into a lot of my preferences and opinions.
Speaker A:I can tell you my opinions and preferences, but I'm going to speak predominantly to Scripture.
Speaker A:What does scripture have to say about something if it's an issue of, well, Pastor, what's your preference on this matter that's not talked about in Scripture?
Speaker A:The best I can do is try to find a biblical principle that might apply to that.
Speaker A:But what I would say is that we want to really try to stick to things that we can go back and look at in Scripture.
Speaker A:If you want to know my preference or my opinion on certain things, I would love to have a cup of coffee with you.
Speaker A:Or we could sit around and talk about that.
Speaker A:But that's.
Speaker A:I, I try to save my pulpit for biblical things that we can point to Scripture because I only have so much time to do so.
Speaker A:So if you want, if you want me to tell you what's going on in world politics and economy, I can't do that for you right now.
Speaker A:I just not.
Speaker A:That's not my expertise.
Speaker A:But what I can tell you is how we can respond to those things within Scripture.
