Route 66: Philemon - Forgiveness, The Key to Freedom

page 1060 in your Bible, page 1060, right after Titus, right before Hebrews, a little tiny book of Philemon Doesn't even take up a full page, alright.

So the previous 12 times we have met in the Route 66 series, we have studied a book by the Apostle Paul and we have reached the 13th and last book that Paul wrote, not in chronological order, okay.

The first book that Paul wrote was Galatians, in 49 AD, and it was an 18-year period where he wrote these 13 books.

And the last one was second Timothy, in 67 AD.

Philemon is known as one of the prison epistles.

Why?

Because he wrote it while he was in prison.

The other books are Philippians.

He was in prison, the other books are Philippians, colossians and Ephesians.

Philemon, by the way, is a person, not a place.

The book of Philemon is linked with the book of Colossians.

Both letters were written at the same time, carried by the same person and delivered to the same Colossian church, a church that met in Philemon's home.

This letter is unique and it's important that we have plenty of background before we read the text.

I'm looking out at some ABF students here.

What does Pastor Doug always say?

What does he always emphasize?

He emphasizes the importance of social setting.

You must understand the social setting of the people to whom the author wrote, and I'm sure Michael would have plenty to say about that.

The reader needs to understand their town before we can correctly interpret and apply a passage in scripture to our town.

In other words, for us to understand the author's intention, we must understand who the author is writing to.

A casual reading of Philemon would lead the reader to believe that this is a simple story of forgiveness leading to reconciliation, in this particular case, a master, philemon, and a slave, onesimus.

But there is more here.

We'll get into this later.

First of all, what does Paul have to do with these two people?

We need to go back in time for our answer.

We go back about six or so years into around 55 AD, and Paul is on his third missionary journey.

He is in Ephesus, a place where he spent three years.

At some point, paul evangelizes a Colossian Gentile named Epaphras.

Epaphras returns to Colossae and plants the Colossian church.

Philemon is also a Colossian Gentile.

How did he come to faith, paul?

Probably in Ephesus, which is 100 miles from Colossae.

Worth noting there is nothing in scripture that says that Paul ever went to Colossae.

We assume that Philemon, a wealthy man was perhaps in Ephesus on business.

At some point he heard the preaching of Paul and accepted Christ.

Philemon would eventually return home and begin hosting a Colossian church in his house.

Let's move forward again, five years up to 60 AD.

Paul is now in Rome under house arrest.

At some point prior, onesimus fled from Philemon and made his way to Rome.

The Romans allowed Paul to have visitors.

Paul was actively evangelizing during this time.

And guess who?

Paul evangelized Onesimus.

Not only does Onesimus become a Christian, but he actively serves Paul in his ministry.

At some point, the two discover that they have someone in common Philemon.

Right around this time period, paul receives a visit from Epaphras.

Remember he was the guy who started the Colossian church.

Epaphras informs Paul that the Colossian church has been infiltrated with false teachers teaching a false gospel Problem.

Paul actually has two problems.

It's now time for him to act.

Priority one he must send Onesimus back to Philemon.

If he doesn't, it undermines the very gospel that he preaches, the gospel of reconciliation through faith in Christ.

Onesimus needs to be reconciled to Philemon.

This can only happen if Philemon forgives Onesimus of his crime.

So now you're caught up.

Paul writes two letters the letter to the Colossians, a deeply doctrinal letter emphasizing the deity of Jesus.

The other is a personal letter to Philemon.

The letter to Philemon reconfigures the existing social relationships among three men Onesimus, Paul and Philemon.

The letter was an extremely delicate letter for Paul to write.

The apostle is explicitly asking forgiveness for a crime that deserved punishment.

Under Roman law, runaway slaves could be crucified, but there's another crime here.

Paul is breaking Roman law.

Runaway slaves could be crucified, but there's another crime here.

Paul is breaking Roman law.

Paul is harboring a runaway slave.

It's important at this point to discuss the sensitive subject of slavery.

Slavery in the Roman Empire was not based on capture and race, as in North America or Europe.

It was based on economics and birth.

It is estimated that slaves comprised one-third of the population back then.

Realizing that contented slaves are more productive, masters tended to treat them more leniently.

It was not uncommon for a master to teach his slave his trade.

It was not uncommon for masters and slaves to be good friends, to have a good relationship Clearly not the case with Philemon and Onesimus.

After all, onesimus ran away.

They didn't have a good relationship.

Their relationship needed to be transformed.

Philemon needed to see Onesimus from a different perspective.

Forgiveness and reconciliation would be possible would be impossible without a transformation.

The letter to Philemon is only 335 Greek words, but it packs a big punch.

It is highly persuasive.

Within this letter, paul provides the biblical definition of forgiveness, and he does it without even mentioning the word.

Forgiveness is the virtue that enables reconciliation.

The primary theme of this letter is reconciliation through forgiveness.

We will read that his appeal for forgiveness and reconciliation is centered on the greatest act of love in history, the cross of Christ.

Structure of the letter Four parts.

First, paul greets Philemon, his family and the Colossian church that meets in Philemon's home, and that's verses one through three.

Part two Paul praises Philemon, verses four through seven.

Part three most important section, the actual appeal, and that's from verses eight through 22.

And then, lastly, part four Paul makes his final greetings in verses 23 through 25.

So we're going to read through the entire letter.

Pay careful attention to the repetition of certain words.

Before we do, let's go to the Lord in prayer.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your word, thank you for this wonderful letter.

Please illuminate your word for us this evening, so that we may have our hearts opened, so that we may correctly interpret and, most importantly, father, apply this wonderful letter to our lives.

It is in your son's name we pray.

Amen.

Verse 1.

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy, our brother, to Philemon, our dear friend and co-worker, to Apphia, our sister, to Archippus, our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets in your home.

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I always thank God when I mention you in my prayers, because I hear of your love for the saints and the faith that you have in the Lord Jesus.

I pray that your participation in the faith may become effective through knowing every good thing that is in us, for the glory of Christ, for I have great joy and encouragement from your love because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

For this reason, although I have great boldness in Christ to command you to do what is right, I appeal to you instead on the basis of love.

I, paul, an elderly man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus, appeal to you for my son Onesimus.

I became his father while I was in chains.

Once he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me.

I am sending him back to you.

I am sending my very own heart.

I wanted to keep him with me so that my imprisonment for the gospel he might serve me in your place.

But I didn't want to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed might not be out of obligation but of your own free will.

For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a brief time, so that you might get him back permanently, no longer as a slave but, more than a slave, as a dearly loved brother.

He is especially so to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would me.

And if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account.

I, paul, write this with my own hand.

I will repay it, not to mention to you that you owe me even your very self.

Yes, brother, may I benefit from you in the Lord.

Refresh my heart in Christ.

Since I am confident in your obedience, I am writing to you knowing that you will do even more than I say Meanwhile.

Also, prepare a guest room for me, since I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.

Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus send you greetings.

So do Mark, aristarchus, demas and Luke, my co-workers.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Another question for you, abf students what are the three steps to studying the Bible?

Observation, interpretation, application.

That is how we are going to interpret the book of Philemon.

Step one, observation First part we observe a repetition of certain words.

Seven words are repeated at least three times Love, heart, prisoner, saints, brother, prayer and send.

All of these words are linked to the gospel.

Two we observe that Paul mentions a lot of people, but the person that is mentioned the most, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 1, verse 3, verse 5, verse 6, verse 8, verse 9, and so on.

God the Father or God the Son are mentioned a total of 12 times.

Christ is central to Paul's appeal.

Three family terms Verse 1, timothy, our brother.

Verse 2, aphia, our sister.

Verse 7 and verse 20, paul refers to Philemon as our brother.

Verse 2, aphia, our sister.

Verse 7 and verse 20, paul refers to Philemon as his brother.

In verse 10, paul portrays a father and son relationship between himself and Onesimus.

Verse 16, he calls Onesimus a dearly loved brother of both he and Philemon.

What's Paul doing here?

Paul is connecting himself with Onesimus and Philemon.

Paul is their bridge to reconciliation, just as God the Son is the bridge who connects sinful mankind with God the Father.

Paul is emphasizing that we are one family in Christ.

Worth noting is the contrast with which Paul refers to those who are in Rome with him Mark, aristarchus, demas and Luke.

They're just co-workers Onesimus and Philemon.

Family Number four we observe how Paul is continually describing himself Verse one a prisoner.

Verse nine an elderly man and a prisoner.

Verse 10, in chains.

Verse 13, my imprisonment.

Verse 23, my fellow prisoner, when speaking of Epaphras.

But every time he calls himself a prisoner, it is for Christ Jesus.

If Philemon is unwilling to forgive Onesimus, he will remain in a prison of bitterness.

Lewis B Smedes wrote to forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.

Step two interpretation.

We've done well with our observations.

Let's use these observations and attempt to correctly interpret Paul's appeal to Philemon.

We mentioned the words love and heart.

In verse 9, paul states that his appeal for Onesimus is based on love.

What kind of love is Paul talking about?

He's talking about sacrificial love.

This is the Greek word agape Agape.

It is only through the spirit of Christ that a selfless love, a sacrificial love for other believers is possible.

Let's look at verse five again.

Verse five, because I hear of your love for all the saints and the faith that you have in the Lord Jesus.

Notice how Paul links love for the saints with faith in Christ.

Acceptance of the gospel is clearly evidenced in Philemon's behavior.

He is no false believer.

Paul's appeal to Philemon has always had its foundation in the sacrificial love shown by Christ on the cross.

When Philemon accepted Christ's sacrificial work on the cross as his only means to salvation, he became united to Christ as well as united to every believer.

This includes Onesimus.

This is true of all Christians who come to faith.

Love becomes the virtue that wraps the community of saints together into a perfect unity and is the touchstone of Christian conduct.

It forms the basis of Paul's appeal.

I'm sure that many of you know 1 Corinthians, chapter 13, the love chapter.

1 Corinthians 13 · chapter mention

In verse 5, paul writes that love is not rude, not self-seeking, not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs.

So we know how Paul feels about forgiveness.

Let's now discuss the family terms that we spoke about earlier.

These were all subtle reminders that all who surrender to the Lordship of Christ are part of the same family, a relationship grounded in faith.

By his conversion, onesimus is Paul's son in the faith.

He is therefore a brother of Philemon, who Paul also brought to faith, is therefore a brother of Philemon, who Paul also brought to faith.

Philemon must accept that Onesimus is not the man he once knew.

Like him, he is a new creation.

Like him, he is an adopted son of the Heavenly Father.

They are brothers in the faith.

Because of the gospel, everything has changed.

The appeal must succeed.

If Philemon can't show the same sacrificial love to Onesimus that he shows to the Colossian saints, everyone loses.

Philemon's decision has massive implications, and not just for Philemon and Onesimus.

If Philemon can't forgive Onesimus, the entire Colossian church is affected.

This would certainly be an end to the church that meets in Philemon's house, but the person that's most affected here is the Apostle Paul.

We mentioned earlier that there was more to this letter than just a simple story about reconciliation and forgiveness between two men.

There's an additional appeal that we read of near the end of the letter.

Let's look at verse 7 again, for I have great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

What does Paul mean by refreshed?

We see that word again in verse 20.

To understand the word, we need to reread verses 17 through 21.

So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would me, and if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account.

I, paul, write this to you with my own hand.

I will repay it, not to mention to you that you owe me even your very self.

Yes, brother, may I benefit from you in the Lord.

Refresh my heart in Christ, since I am confident of your obedience.

I am writing to you knowing that you will do even more than I say.

The Greek word that is translated refresh, is the word that means to have rest, to have rest.

Paul will have rest if Philemon shows him the same kind of love that he showed the Colossian saints.

Paul is looking for even more than what he has asked Philemon to do.

Paul is looking for even more than what he has asked Philemon to do.

Paul doesn't just want Philemon to forgive Onesimus and be reconciled to him.

He wants Philemon to free Onesimus so that Onesimus could return to Paul's ministry.

This is when Paul will be refreshed.

Paul being selfish here?

No, absolutely not Paul wants what is best for Onesimus.

What is best for Onesimus is to learn from Paul, to learn from his father in the faith, to learn from the man who brought him to Christ.

Remember verse 10?

As far as Paul is concerned, they're father and son.

This father and son relationship is 100% based on God's sovereignty and grace.

God, the Father, sent his only begotten Son to die for believers on the cross.

Remember that we observed the word sent as one of the repeated words.

All of the words that Paul chose in this letter have a purpose, and that purpose is to subliminally point Philemon to the cross.

He must see the cross.

It is by God's grace only that Onesimus came to faith and repentance.

It is by God's grace only that Onesimus found Paul in Rome, and it is by God's grace only that Philemon has the ability to forgive.

What is best for Onesimus is to serve Christ by serving in Paul's ministry.

Is there a better teacher?

Why will Philemon cancel Onesimus' debt?

Why will Philemon release Onesimus into Paul's care?

Because what Paul has done for Philemon is priceless.

You owe me even your own self.

Onesimus owes Philemon a material debt.

Philemon owes Paul a spiritual debt.

Onesimus owes Philemon a temporal debt.

Philemon owes Paul an eternal one.

Paul led Philemon to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, a debt that Philemon could never repay.

Let's look at verse 22 again, verse 22.

Meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me.

I love this.

Paul has so much confidence that Philemon's going to do the right thing that he's going to go to Colossae and take Onesimus back himself.

So did the letter work?

Of course it did.

What book are we studying tonight?

We're studying the book of Philemon.

If it didn't work, it wouldn't be in the canon, right?

So, yes, he forgave Onesimus.

Praise the Lord.

But let's not forget about the other letter, the letter to the Colossians church.

Philemon and Onesimus would both be present when these letters were read aloud.

They would both be read to the congregation.

The letter to Philemon would be a public expression of Philemon's acceptance of both Paul's letter and Paul's wishes.

It is also incumbent on the Colossian believers to accept Onesimus as a brother in Christ.

So what became of Onesimus?

Well, about 50 years later, christian tradition has it that someone named Onesimus became the overseer in the church of Ephesus.

Ignatius, a patriarch, wrote this In God's name, therefore, I received your large congregation in the person of Onesimus, your bishop in this world, a man whose love is beyond words.

My prayer is that you should love him in the spirit of Jesus Christ and all be like him.

Wow, we can't be certain that this is the same Onesimus.

I for one, have faith that it is, and after all, he did learn from Paul.

We have come to the last step Application.

So how do we apply this letter to our lives?

Corrie Ten Boom wrote you never so touch the ocean of God's love as when you forgive and love your enemies.

During the Holocaust, the Ten Boom family, who were Christian, helped many Jewish people escape from the Nazis by hiding them in their home.

Corrie and her family were eventually caught and sent to the concentration camps.

Corrie survived, but sadly her father and her sister did not.

Was she bitter?

Perhaps, initially, but we wouldn't read, we wouldn't know of her ministry if she didn't eventually release herself from a prison of bitterness by forgiving with her whole heart.

She forgave her enemies, she forgave the people that killed her family.

Between the 1950s and the 1970s, corrie traveled to 64 countries speaking and teaching about Christ and the necessity for Christians to forgive.

What an amazing example of Christianity in action.

What an amazing example of grace CS Lewis wrote, to be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable.

Because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.

Christ calls on all his followers to initiate forgiveness seeking and forgiveness granting, regardless of whether or not we see ourselves at fault.

Let's go to God's word for an example of forgiveness that directly affected the apostle Paul.

You can turn there if you like.

It's Acts 7, verses 58 through 60.

Acts 7:58–60

Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

He knelt down and cried with a loud voice Lord, do not hold this sin against them.

And after saying this, he fell asleep.

Our Lord prayed a similar prayer while hanging on the cross Father, forgive them, I know not what they're doing.

Stephen, the first Christian martyr, prayed that God would forgive the men who were complicit in his death.

This included a young man named Saul.

Sometime later, god answered Stephen's prayer by forgiving this young man and bringing him to faith on a road to Damascus.

As we know, the young man would become the apostle to the Gentiles and start using his Roman name, paul, who would go on to write 13 books in the New Testament, nearly half.

God uses the prayers of Christians as the means to his eternal end Amen.

1 Thessalonians 5.17 instructs us to pray without ceasing.

As you recall from our observation, the word prayer was also repeated many times, not an accident.

What about forgiveness?

How often are we to forgive?

After all, forgiveness is pretty hard.

Our Lord gives us the answer Matthew 18, verses 21 through 22.

Matthew 18:21–22

Then Peter approached him and asked Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?

As many as seven times, I tell you.

Not as many as seven.

Jesus replied, but 70 times.

Seven, in other words, every time.

Our Lord was teaching his disciples that forgiveness is essential in the kingdom of God.

It is only through forgiveness of sins that mankind is reconciled to a holy God.

God, the Father, cannot look upon sin.

Sin must be punished.

He poured out his wrath on his son 2 Corinthians 5.21.

For our sake, he made him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

We are a forgiven people.

We have a father in heaven who sent his only begotten son to take the punishment and death that we deserve.

We trust God's free gift of grace.

If we shift our focus from our own selfishness to the selfless love that Christ showed us on the cross, we should be able to forgive every time and when we do, just like the love and forgiveness that Philemon showed Onesimus and Stephen showed Paul, amazing things can happen.

Amazing things that only God and his absolute sovereignty can do.

These are the words in a famous hymn by Charles Wesley.

By Charles Wesley Amazing love, how can it be that thou, my God, should die for me?

Let's pray, father.

Thank you for this amazing letter.

Thank you for teaching us about forgiveness.

Thank you for forgiving us.

Thank you for sending your son to the cross.

Take the punishment that we deserve.

Thank you for justifying us.

Father, be with us on our sanctification road as we move forward in life.

Be with us, father.

Help us to be dependent on you, surrendering to your son, yielding to the spirit.

In the son's name we pray, amen.