PHILEMON (READ VARIOUS TRANSLATIONS) SEPTEMBER 6, 2017

Transcription

1 BEHIND THE BOOK Connecting to the Bible (Observation) PHILEMON (READ VARIOUS TRANSLATIONS) SEPTEMBER 6, 2017 Philemon is a unique letter in the Bible. It is the shortest of Paul s NT writings and it is the only one of his prison epistles written to an individual. In Philemon, Paul applies the doctrine of forgiveness first taught by Jesus (Matt 5:23-24; 6:14-15; 18:21-22) and himself (Eph 4:32; Col 3:13). We are going to invest two weeks studying forgiveness from the book of Philemon. First: The Nature of God s Forgiveness Exodus 34:6-7 - So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. 5 The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation. It s important to note that God defines himself as forgiving in the context of forgiving Israel for the golden calf episode. Exodus 34: And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. 9 And he said, If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance. 1

2 God s forgiveness is a constant theme throughout Scripture Daniel 9:9 - To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him Micah 7:18 - Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Colossians 1: He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. but perhaps nowhere better illustrated than the relationship of the Father to his youngest prodigal in Luke 15. The story illustrates how God forgives: Eagerly - He ran to embrace him v 20 Immediately He did not let his son complete his speech v 21 Completely He covered his son s sin v 22 Lavishly He restored his son s position v 22 Joyfully He held a party in his son s honor v 23 Finally v 24 God is himself to forgive and, we are like God when we forgive Second: The Basis of God s Forgiveness Ephesians 1:7 - In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, a) We are forgiven b) We are forgiven because of Jesus cross c) We are forgiven by God s grace God is Just because He is the Justifier Romans 3: But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. 2

3 This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. God is Just Sin has been atoned for in Jesus God is the Justifier He justifies all who repent of sin and place faith in Jesus Third: Forgiveness in Philemon Forgiveness is free to you and me But it is not free to God Philemon was written at the same time as Colossians. It was written from Rome during Paul s first two-year, house arrest. It may be that Philemon became a Christian when Epaphras founded the church in Colossae or Philemon may have been in Ephesus (Onesimus too) when Paul preached there and Epaphras became a Christian. Remember that Paul had never been to Colossae. Colossians 1:7-9 - Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. 9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, The church in Colossae met in Philemon s house Philemon 1:1-2 - Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house Paul refers to him as a fellow worker. He was wealthy enough to house the church and to own at least one slave, Onesimus. Onesimus ran away from Philemon. He may have stolen from his master and fled, perhaps to Rome for the anonymity of a large city. V 18 - If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. But he somehow met Paul, perhaps through Ephaphras. (I have previously said that Onesimus was captured and placed in prison where he met Paul but this could have happened only if they met in court because Paul was not in the normal Roman jail but under house arrest. It could also be that Onesimus met someone from Colossae, perhaps Epaphras, and through that person, met Paul). 3

4 Onesimus life change must have clearly demonstrated the life change Paul had experienced. V 12 - I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. He must have also endeared himself to Paul V 16 - no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. As such, he lived up to his name (useful) by assisting Paul in ministry V 13 - I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel Nevertheless, as a runaway slave, Onesimus was a criminal and would forever be on the run. He had no future apart from reconciliation with Philemon. Getting Onesimus back to Philemon with Tychicus who carried the Colossian, Ephesian and Laodecian letters in addition to Paul s personal letter to Philemon, helped ensure Onesimus safety as he returned to Colossae. Roman law practically imposed o limits to the power of the master over his slave. The alternative of life or death rested solely with Philemon, and slaves Were constantly crucified for far lighter offences than his. A thief and a runaway, he had no claim to forgiveness. - J.B. Lightfoot Only a century earlier, the Roman runaway slave Spartacus had led a rebellion against Rome. The Romans had no mercy for runaways. NOTE: Paul intimates that he could have kept Onesimus and commanded Philemon to forgive him as the Scripture warrants. But Paul wanted Philemon to have the real opportunity to forgive Onesimus and to do so personally and publicly. V 8 & 14 - Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, 9 yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus 10 I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. In Philemon, Paul encourages his friend to a) Forgive Onesimus 8-14 b) Restore Onesimus as a brother c) Do so as Philemon would receive Paul 17 d) Forgive any debt Onesimus might have incurred 18 e) Consider his own debt to the gospel 19 f) Bring joy to Paul s heart in doing so 20 4

5 g) Exhibit abundant grace 21 Conclusion: Philemon s central point is forgiveness. In it, Christians learn the obedience of forgiveness that is from the heart; real and practical. What s at stake? If Philemon, in whose house the church meets, doesn t forgive Onesimus, the gospel will lack truthfulness with the church and influence in the city. Next week we will discuss the how to of forgiveness, an equally challenging aspect of our Christianity. Small Groups: 1 Summarize the letter to Philemon 2 Who was Philemon? 3 Who was Onesimus? 4 How might Paul and Philemon met? 5 How might Paul and Onesimus met? 6 Why did Paul send Onesimus back to Philemon? 8 What are the various reasons Paul wants Philemon to forgive Onesimus? 8 On what basis should Philemon forgive Onesimus? 9 What biblical evidence do you have that God forgives sin? 10 On what basis does God forgive our sin? 11 Have you accepted the forgiveness that is offered in Jesus? Behind the Book is only one aspect of Heritage s teaching ministry which seeks to employ our church s mission statement: Connecting to God, Growing with Others and Impacting the world. On Wednesday evenings we connect to Sunday morning s Bible passage and discover what it says through in-depth Bible study. Sunday morning in corporate worship (9:30am) we grow from the passage by learning what it means for our daily living. In Community Groups (10:45am) we practically apply the text, being impacted by it and learning to impact the world with it. CGI provides a balanced approach to life and Bible study; an upward look (Connect), an 5

6 inward look (Grow) and an outward look (Impact) ensuring that our mission fulfils our vision to be a God-centered, Great Commission congregation. It s a well-known and beneficial way to approach the Bible Connect/Observation, Grow/Interpretation, Impact/Application. It s also a Trinitarian approach to Scripture: Connecting to the Father, Growing in Christ and Impacting the world by the Spirit, so that the way we study the Bible daily reminds us about who our God is and how he is unique among all religions of the world. 6