In Paul S Collection of Letters, Philemon Is Unique

A Sermon on Philemon

In Paul’s collection of letters, Philemon is unique. It is the only letter in which Paul downplays his apostolic authority. In his other letters Paul remains in character, so to speak. He always writes as an authoritative teacher in Christ’s church. But here Paul takes off the hat of an apostle and talks to somebody as a friend. It is evident from the letter that Paul and Philemon were good friends. Philemon was somebody around whom Paul could let down his hair.

What I want you to notice is why Paul lets down his hair. If Paul was willing to suppress his apostolic authority momentarily, then the subject of the letter is either trivial or highly significant. I submit to you that it is of great importance for this letter is about Christian relationships. Christians can be busy serving Jesus, but, if they can’t grant forgiveness, the busyness will come to nothing. Paul takes off his apostolic hat to discuss forgiveness.

Forgiveness is that important for the health of Christ’s church.

Paul begins the letter with unqualified commendation for Philemon. This man was a gem, a trophy of God’s grace. He had a strong faith in Jesus Christ, and he put that faith into action for the benefit of others. Here is a gracious, gentle, generous, and solid Christian. When people had needs, he knew what to say and do, and he delighted in being used of God to help others in any way he could. When we read verses 4-7, we should understand that Paul can’t say enough. I can picture Paul saying, “If you want to see an exemplary Christian, look at

Philemon.”

There are surely some Philemons and Mrs. Philemons in this church. They may not own slaves, but they fit the beautiful description of Philemon in verses 5-7. Filled with God’s Spirit, such folks give joy, encouragement, and refreshment to everyone else. They quietly model faith in God and charity towards others. They show the rest of us how to live the Christian life, not just in word but also in deed.

If we’re not careful, we can get a bad impression of Philemon from this letter. We can get the idea that Philemon can’t wait to get his hands on Onesimus. We should not think anything but positive thoughts about Paul’s friend. Although Paul will ask Philemon to forgive

Onesimus, Philemon hasn’t done anything wrong. It is Onesimus, a slave, who ran away after stealing from his master. Philemon may in fact be ready to grant mercy to Onesimus even without Paul’s intercession. We simply don’t know what Philemon was planning to do about

Onesimus’ crime. The opening verses, however, put Philemon in such a good light. He is the type of person whom we would expect to respond graciously.

Still, there was the possibility that Philemon would not forgive Onesimus. In fact,

Philemon may have been searching for Onesimus to capture and kill him. Killing a runaway slave was legal because slaves had no rights under Roman law. We may think that all humans have inalienable rights, including the right to liberty, i.e., the right not to be enslaved. The Bible, however, does not condemn slavery as such. While it would not approve of the inhumane

African slave trade, it does sanction slavery for paying off one’s debts, and it accepts slavery as part of the real world in which God’s people live. Therefore, we can’t appeal to Philemon for the abolition of slavery. Paul never puts his apostle’s hat back on to tell Philemon to release

Onesimus. Elsewhere, Paul tells slaves to serve their masters wholeheartedly. For the Christian there is something higher than personal liberty. It is freedom from sin and freedom to do God’s will. That freedom comes only from Jesus Christ who redeems us. We can have that freedom regardless of socio-economic factors. As a Christian brother, though, Paul asks Philemon to let his Christianity affect his slave ownership. Onesimus had done wrong and injured Philemon. Presumably he stole some money and fled to the big city to get lost. Somehow, he met Paul and became a Christian. Paul came to love Onesimus, just as he loved Philemon. In fact, he wanted to keep Onesimus as a ministerial associate. The right thing to do, though, was to send Onesimus back to his master. Of course,

Philemon might put his criminal slave to death. So Paul appealed to a higher relationship.

While Onesimus was still Philemon’s social inferior, he was his equal as a brother in Christ.

There was no whitewashing Onesimus’ crime, and Paul doesn’t try. In fact Paul offers to pay damages on behalf of Onesimus. Paul does not overlook or minimize the loss that Philemon has incurred, and neither should we neglect restitution in our conflict resolution. Still, Paul asks

Philemon to consider Onesimus a Christian brother. God had done a work of transforming grace in Onesimus’ heart so that he was a new creature in Christ. Under Paul’s ministry Jesus had done the same thing for Philemon. Now Philemon should show forgiveness even as Jesus had forgiven him. As Paul was willing to absorb Onesimus’ debt to Philemon, Jesus had already absorbed Philemon’s debt to God.

The same is true for you and me. Consider Matthew 6:14-15, verses that immediately follow Matthew’s version of the Lord’s Prayer:

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive

you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

These words may sound harsh, but they actually make good sense. If you appreciate the cost of

God’s forgiveness of your sin—how Jesus bore the penalty on the cross in your place—then the only appropriate response is to treat others just as graciously. In Christ you have entered a new society, the kingdom of redeemed humanity. Such a people are characterized by mercy and forgiveness. I’ll admit that forgiveness isn’t easy. We prefer to hold grudges, especially against our inferiors, and we don’t want to trust people who have betrayed us. Fair enough, but forgiveness is not peace at all costs. It is a grace-based decision not to hold a grudge and live in bitterness. You’ve heard the expression: “Don’t get mad; get even.” God warns us about getting even. Vengeance is his prerogative, not ours. We are to forgive, even as we are forgiven.

Folks, fellow Christians can do some ugly things against you. Nevertheless, what Paul says to Philemon, he says to you. You have to grant forgiveness and regard the person as a brother or sister in the Lord. Like Philemon, many of you refresh the hearts of saints, but you cannot harbor grudges against other saints. You cannot do so much good for so many others and despise a brother or sister in the Lord. At that point your Christian confession is worthless. It denies what Christianity is all about, viz., reconciliation. Who needs a religion that can’t reconcile aggrieved parties? Jesus said that even pagans love those who love them back. When aggrieved parties forgive, then the power of the gospel is on display.

The world can’t explain forgiveness because it doesn’t know God’s forgiveness. It can understand betrayal, resentment, and revenge. It makes movies and writes songs about these topics. There are only two ways that it learns about forgiveness: the preaching of the gospel of

Jesus Christ and observation of forgiveness among Christ’s followers. You’ve just heard the preaching. Now go in the power of Jesus Christ to practice forgiveness. It’s that important.