PHILEMON: LIFE IN JESUS KINGDOM A Messy Situation Layne Lebo September 3, 2017 Over the course of this year I ve been thinking a lot about preaching. That s not particularly surprising since I am a preacher, but recently I ve been asking myself the question, What s my goal in preaching? As a pastor, I spend a day each week writing my sermon and then I go over it throughout the week. You come each week to hear me or someone else preach and in many ways the sermon is the focal point of a church. What s the goal of preaching? is an important question. As I ve wrestled with that question I ve settled on two goals. My first goal in preaching is to represent God well. I want to give people an accurate picture of God, who is revealed in the Scriptures as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And my 2 nd goal in preaching is to challenge and inspire people to align their hearts and lives with the truth of God s Word. In a world where God is often ignored or dismissed as irrelevant, I want to help people understand we were designed for relationship with God as it s revealed in his Word. If I can accomplish those goals, my preaching will have been a success. This morning we re starting a 3-week sermon series on the Book of Philemon. Be honest with me. How many of you know where Philemon is in the Bible and what it s about? I ve asked some people what they knew about Philemon over the past couple weeks and their answers confirmed my suspicion that Philemon is pretty obscure. When I mentioned I was preaching on Philemon, a friend of mine said, It s one of the Minor Prophets, right? And even people who regularly read and know the Bible well couldn t tell me what Philemon was about. Philemon is found near the back of the New Testament. It s located between Titus and Hebrews. It only takes up 1 page (# 1093 in my Bible) and it s just 25 verses long. This New Testament book is a letter Paul wrote to a fellow believer, named Philemon. And while other letters like Titus and Timothy are addressed to individuals, this is the only New Testament letter written specifically for an individual. 1
I invite you to follow along as I read this letter and then when I m done I ve asked 3 people to help us enter into the nitty gritty of this letter by sharing what a messy situation this letter from the Apostle Paul addresses Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your home: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord s people. Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me. I am sending him who is my very heart back to you. I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord. So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back not to mention that you owe me your very self. I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask. And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers. Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. 2
Drama Hello, I m your host. Welcome to Looking Back. We have an exciting show for you today as we once again take a look back through the millennia to a short, rather obscure account recorded in the back pages of the New Testament. Our story flows out of a 1 st Century letter written by the Apostle Paul to a believer in the city of Colossae, located in the Phrygia modern day Turkey. I want to welcome Philemon and Onesimus to our show. And as you re about to see, they find themselves enmeshed in a messy situation. Philemon and Onesimus, please share your story with us, you are right. This is truly a very messy situation. Yeah, very messy. Onesimus here is my slave. My family and I live in the town of Colossae in the region of Phrygia modern day Turkey. We live in a nice home in town and have a handful of slaves that help us around the house nothing like the slavery you think of when you hear the word., well, that s a relief. Slavery is indeed a volatile subject in our culture and has been since our nation was founded. Onesimus and his wife Apphia always treated me and the other slaves well. I mean no one would choose to be a slave, but they weren t by any means oppressive. It s not a terrible life. Well, Onesimus is fortunate that he s my slave and not someone else s, because a lot of masters wouldn t put up with his bad behavior. Onesimus was definitely not what you would call a hard worker. Let s just say he wasn t living up to his name. My name, Onesimus, means useful. He s right I was more useless than useful. The Apostle Paul got it right when he making a play on my name said, Formerly, he was useless to you. I wasn t what you d call a productive slave by any stretch of the imagination. I guess it all came to a head when I stole some money from Onesimus and Apphia and ran away to Ephesus., Hmmm Philemon, you couldn t have been too happy about that. To be honest, I was extremely frustrated when I realized that Onesimus had taken our money and run away. I felt betrayed, because I really had tried to treat him well, in spite of his lack of focus. Ok, let s call it what it is. Onesimus was lazy and he wasn t productive unless I was constantly watching him and yelling at him. And how did he pay me back for my leniency? He stole from me and ran away. That was hard to accept. 3
I ran away to Ephesus, and that s when I ran into the Apostle Paul in prison. It wasn t by chance. I knew Paul was in captivity there and I had heard him preach in our town at Philemon s house. As a run-away slave I was in a very precarious position and I didn t know where to turn. So, I sought out Paul. Paul loved me and cared for me. He talked with me more about Jesus and under his tutelage I took the step of repenting of my sins and giving my life to Jesus. That was the easy part. I am really glad that my slave is now a follower of Jesus, but it didn t make my life easier. You see as a run-away slave who had stolen from me I had the right to do whatever I wanted to Onesimus. That was the law. I wouldn t have exercised my right to the extent of the law and had Onesimus killed, but I also just couldn t ignore what he had done., Yes, I see your conundrum, Onesimus. That s a tough one. But he was going to get some serious punishment in the hope that his waywardness might be curbed and that he might actually begin to live up to his name as one who is useful. But as a follower of Jesus a Christian he was now my brother in Christ. How was I supposed to treat him now? And then Paul, as only he can do, put not too subtle pressure on me to treat Onesimus well, if not release him possibly to Paul s care as a fellow missionary on his next trip. It s quite a dilemma. My choice to follow Jesus did complicate things for Philemon. What was I supposed to do? I couldn t just ignore Onesimus thievery and escape. If I did that none of my slaves would respect me and you can be sure they wouldn t treat Onesimus well. I could release him to Paul s care, but how would that look to my other slaves run away and steal from me and I ll set you free not really sound business principles. And you can bet my peers wouldn t be happy with me. Word gets around. And when other master s slaves find out what Onesimus got away with, why it could set off city wide rebellion. This is so complicated. Isn t my life as a Christian supposed to be easier than this?, Onesimus and Philemon, thanks so much for being with us today and for sharing your hearts with us. I m sure that wasn t easy. I m, signing off. I hope you ll join us next week for another edition of Looking Back. 4
Life, which is filled with relationships, is messy. And while God s Word, the Bible, is full of wise and practical insights that are designed to help us live life well, sometimes our faith and the beliefs we hold, actually complicate, rather than simplify, how we respond to relational challenges. Let me give you a few examples Parents, how many of you have wrestled with how to counsel your kids when they re being picked on at school or in the neighborhood? Our natural urge is to defend ourselves, but how do Jesus words about turning the other cheek apply? Turning the other cheek, speaking kind words in response or ignoring those who are unkind can make the situation worse. Teens and college students, how do you respond when you feel you ve been mistreated or even betrayed by a good friend? Do you lash out? Give the silent treatment? Ditch that relationship and move on to others? What do you do with the Apostle Paul s words in Romans to, live at peace with everyone as far as it depends on you? Increasing numbers of families these days have been touched by divorce. What does it look like to remain true to God s Word and righteously interact with ex-spouses, ex-sons and daughters-in-law and ex-brothers and sisters-in-law? Exhibiting the Fruit of the Spirit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control in the midst of the shrapnel surrounding divorce isn t easy. Employees, as followers of Jesus how do you deal with bosses who don t lead well and whom you have trouble respecting? And what about annoying co-workers or co-workers who treat you well to your face but gossip about you and tear you down behind your back? And I haven t even mentioned our daily family relationships with spouses, children, parents, friends, etc. Relationships are inherently messy and sometimes being a follower of Jesus and trying to live in accordance with the truth of God s Word makes things more, not less, complicated. When faced with relational messiness we have a choice: respond out of our natural instincts or seek to respond with Jesus love and grace. That s why I think we re going to enjoy exploring Philemon, because in this letter Paul addresses an extremely messy situation the relationship between a master and slave, when both are followers of Christ and the Apostle Paul challenges Philemon and Onesimus to live as followers of Jesus. 5
There is good evidence that this small letter, Philemon, was written by the Apostle Paul from a prison in either Ephesus or Rome around 60 A.D. to a Christian leader named, Philemon. From Paul s greeting, it appears that Apphia was Philemon s wife and Archippus his son. Onesimus Philemon s slave apparently came to faith in Christ as he visited Paul in prison. Perhaps, the slave had become acquainted with the apostle on a visit Paul made to his master s house church. And later, when Onesimus ran away from his master, after stealing money or property, he turned to Paul because he didn t know where else to go. If that s the scenario that played out, then in all likelihood, Paul would have been imprisoned in Ephesus, which was nearer to Colossae and it would have been difficult for Onesimus to locate Paul in a city the size of Rome. Paul wrote the letter to Philemon, who lived in the town of Colossae in the region of Phrygia what we know today as Turkey. At times, Paul and other New Testament authors, including Jesus, have been critiqued for not denouncing 1 st Century societal evils like war, slavery and the subjugation of women. The fact is that the teachings of Jesus and the writings of Paul and others in the New Testament were very revolutionary, but typically they addressed wrongs on an individual/personal level, not on a societal level. The teachings of Jesus and the writings of the New Testament did bring about monumental change in the world, but the change came through transformation of the human heart and then fanned out across society. I m not making an excuse for passivity. People like William Wilberforce and MLK Jr. were used by God to address societal evil and we still see the positive effect of their work today, but societal change doesn t typically start with laws and structures and then filter its way down. Laws and structures are addressed as human 6
hearts are transformed. Look for example at verses 15 & 16: Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord. Paul s point is that their relationship as believers in Christ, now supersedes their master/slave relationship and Philemon should treat Onesimus accordingly. That is a revolutionary concept! Paul is walking a tightrope here. He s stepping into the dangerous territory of master/slave relationships, which was very much a part of 1 st Century Roman culture. He s also trying to balance his authority to tell Philemon what he needs to do, with making suggestions that Philemon will accept and then act on of his own accord. Paul s words can be interpreted as kind of heavy handed to our ears, but throughout history, Bible scholars have lauded Paul for his graciousness. J.B. Lighfoot wrote, As an expression of simple dignity, of refined courtesy, of large sympathy, and of warm personal affection, the Epistle to Philemon stands unrivaled. And John Knox called it, One of the most charming letters ever written. Philemon is a beautifully written communication, but I think many of us identify with David Garland who wrote, Reading Philemon is like coming into the middle of a movie and having to catch up on who the characters are and what has already happened in the plot, and then having to leave before the end. And that s our challenge, to try and piece together from Paul s short letter the details surrounding this messy situation so that we can better understand what s going on here. Over the next two weeks I want us to look more closely at Philemon, first, and then at Onesimus. Paul has words to speak to each of them. But as we close our time together today I want to encourage each of us to quiet our hearts and ask the Holy Spirit to identify a messy situation in our lives. As that situation comes to mind, I want to encourage you to submit that situation or that relationship to Christ. In doing that we re agreeing to seek God s direction through his Word and through the leading of his Spirit, rather than addressing it out of our own emotions or thinking. My hope is that today and over the next two weeks, we ll be able to submit this relationship to Christ and follow his direction. Are you aware that in almost every letter Paul wrote, he would deal with theological 7
issues in the first part of the letter, and then toward the end of the letter, he would write very practically about what life in Christ means for our relationships? As we prepare our hearts to respond to the Holy Spirit today, I d like to have us read Romans chapter 12 verses 9-21 responsively. These are words Paul wrote to followers of Jesus with advice about handling the challenges of relationships in a godly way. As we read these words, think about the relationship you ve identified and how these truths apply there. Romans 12:9-21 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God s wrath. On the contrary: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. All: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 8