Philemon: The Gospel Changes Everything

Sermon Outline

Today, we are going to cover the book of Philemon – short letter

How many people have ever heard a sermon from Philemon?

Themes: forgiveness, unity, church as family

I can understand why preachers may choose to avoid this letter

Explosive letter because it deals with the issue of slavery
What does the Bible say about slavery?
This is not the main point of the message, but I thought I should just mention a bit about this topic
In history, some have used the Bible to defend the use of slaves
FBC – SBC – public apology in 1995

In the past, those who wanted to defend slavery quoted verses like Eph 6:5 – “Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ.”

But here Paul is talking to Philemon, a slave owner, regarding his runaway slave Onesimus who was just converted to the faith
And Paul is basically asking Philemon to treat this runaway slave as his brother in Christ
It goes even deeper than that
Paul challenges whether it’s even conceivable for a Christian master to call someone a brother in Christ while continuing to treat him like a slave

To say, you are my brother in Christ, let’s serve one another, and the very next moment, commanding him, now, go fetch me some water

Can you do this?
Can you say, we are one in Christ, there is no slave or free, no male or female, we are all one in Christ, can you say this and then in the next moment, go do the dishes and take out the garbage?
This is the deeper issue that Paul is getting at

The Bible clearly doesn’t condone slavery, nor does it argue for an abolition of slavery in its first century context, where slavery was a part of life

Nowhere in the Bible do you read about taking up arms and revolting against the rulers and authorities
Christianity certainly does challenge the status quo, but not in the way you think, not by raising up an army of revolutionaries
The way of Christ and His followers is quite different

Slavery in first century Rome was unrelated to race

It probably began as military generals chose to enslave conquered enemies rather than kill them
Slavery was also a form of punishment for crimes or a means of dealing with debtors who were unable to repay loans
Some voluntarily became slaves for religious reasons or in situations where living under the roof of a master meant food on the table instead of starving on the streets

But as you can imagine, slaves didn’t have the same rights and protection as others

They were at the mercy of their masters
Essentially they were property
Abuse, harshness, and brutality were frequent
We don’t know why Onesimus fled
But somehow, by divine providence, Onesimus found himself in the same prison as Paul and was converted
This is the background for this letter

Thesis

The gospel changes how you relate with others because you yourself have been radically changed
For the believer, by the power of the Holy Spirit, your self-identity has been radically changed and so you are able to view others differently

The gospel changes

Our view of society
Our view of our relationships, how we relate with one another, it used to be a certain way
And this paradigm shift has occurred in how we view others because there has been a radical shift in our own heart

2 Cor 5:16-17

Let’s work in reverse
v17 – Salvation – new creation
v16 – one fruit of salvation is a change of how we view others
We used to know or consider or see others in a purely human way
What does it mean to look at someone in a human way?
It means literally to evaluate someone in a fleshly way
Appearance, height, weight, body shape, skin color
If you broaden this a bit, this verse is talking about seeing the other person for what they can offer
Their talents, their abilities, their earning potential
This is how we used to view people, past tense
But as a Christian, we have a new lens
Our eyes have changed

A quick test of how deeply the gospel has penetrated into your heart is asking yourself, now that I’m a Christian, do I view others differently?

Not as a chunk of meat
Not judging based on ethnicity
Not based on social standing
Not what I can gain from this person
But seeing the other person as God would see him

Paul wrote this in the first century

2000 years later, how much have we progressed as a society?
As a human race?
Not easy to answer, is it?
Have we progressed? Yes and no

Your answer may be Yes

No slavery in this country
First black president
IBM, Facebook, Kraft, Yahoo, Pepsi, Xerox, HP, Time – what do they have in common?
They are led by women CEOs
More equality for women than ever before
It’s conceivable that we can have a female president
We’ve made some progress as a human race in some regards in this country

But when we look at the world as a whole, the answer to the question–have we progressed as a human race–is not so clear

Globally, slavery is still a problem
Surprising stat: there are more slaves around the world today than ever before in history
Though slavery has been banned across the globe, more than 29 million people are still living in slavery, the greatest number in history

For example, the sex trade

This is another form of modern day slavery
It’s a $32 billion business [REPEAT]
Some 15,000 people are being trafficked each year right here in the U.S. for purposes of forced labor or sexual exploitation

There are 700,000 people currently in slavery in Nigeria

The chocolate industry is worth an estimated $110 billion a year, and yet its key commodity is grown by some of the poorest people on the planet, in plantations that can hide the worst forms of child labor
Ironic, isn’t it?
We are stuffing our faces with chocolate in the rich countries while the workers are starving in theirs
There’s a good chance that a number of slaves have contributed to making the food we eat, the liquids we drink, the clothes you wear, the electronics we buy

Even in this country, slavery may not be legal in this country, but you still have the Donald Sterling’s of the world

How we view one another has not changed much, has it?
You have to wonder

Have we changed the way we view others?

What about when it comes to gender?
China’s One Child Policy has encouraged the mass slaughters of human beings, mostly girls, and some boys born with physical or mental or genetic defects
Because if you can only have 1 child, it better be a boy and he better be perfect
Since 1971, China has carried out the largest single slaughter of human beings in the history of the world–an estimated 336 million deaths

To put the numbers in perspective, the 336 million deaths in China are

Equal to the entire combined populations of the United States and Australia
More than all the people killed in the 10 ten deadliest wars in human history
More than all the children that will be born in the world over the next ten years
And that’s in a single country

Have we changed how we view each other as a human race?

Yes and no
We’ve made some progress in some pockets of the world, but the vast evidence of human history suggests otherwise
The Bible is true when it says, no one is righteous, not even one
If human history could go on for another 10,000 years or another million years, would we become any more righteous?
On our own, would we be kinder and more compassionate and more embracing of others?
I highly doubt it

Because you can change laws, you can ban racism or sexism or punish those who break such laws, issue fines, but laws cannot reach deep enough to change the human heart

You can change laws but laws cannot reach far enough, deep enough to change the human heart
Only the gospel can reach the human heart
Only God through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit can change the human heart
And when the heart changes, our lens changes, how we view others changes

Philemon 1:1-3

Paul wrote this letter to his friend, Philemon, and Paul is basically issuing him a challenge regarding how he is to treat Onesimus, his runaway slave who is returning to him, not as a slave but as a brother in Christ
Scholars believe that Apphia is Philemon’s wife and Archippus is their son
This letter was written to a family
Back then, believers didn’t gather in nice buildings like this
They gathered in each other’s homes
Philemon was wealthy enough to have a slave, which cost several years wages, and his home was large enough to be a gathering place for believers for worship

Philemon 1: 4-7

Philemon is an overseer, an elder, a pastor of a house church
He is leading this flock of believers who are gathering in his home
And Paul commends Philemon for his faith (internal) toward the Lord Jesus and his love (external) for all the saints
Paul had heard about this house church and Philemon has gained a reputation for his faith in Jesus and his love for the other brothers and sisters
v7 – Paul is greatly overjoyed and encouraged by Philemon’s love, a love that is so impactful that the hearts of the saints at this house church in Colossae have been refreshed

But into this loving, stable, secure, safe situation, a bomb is about to go off

Philemon receives a letter telling him that Onesimus is coming back
Put yourself into Philemon’s shoes
You’re the pastor
You have a community whom you love and who love you in return
That reputation is about to be tested because of Onesimus
Philemon 1:18
This verse suggests that not only did Onesimus run away and shirk his responsibilities as a slave, but he stole some money

Prior to him running away, I imagine Philemon ordering Onesimus to get the food ready for the guests, the believers, early Sunday morning

While Philemon was preparing his sermon to feed God’s people spiritually, Onesimus was alone preparing to feed the same people physically
Odd picture
I wonder if Onesimus was invited to join the service
I wonder if he’d feel weird worshiping next to his master
I mean, one minute, his master is telling him what to do and the next minute he’s preaching about the servant heart of Christ–that would be awkward, wouldn’t it?
Wouldn’t it be odd for Onesimus to hear Philemon preaching about Christ, the Lord of the universe, stooping down to wash the smelly feet of his disciples when the roles were reversed and Onesimus was the one who washed Philemon’s feet?
Since Onesimus wasn’t a believer, it’s highly likely that he wasn’t interested in joining in the Sunday worship that occurred in his home

Suppose that one day, Onesimus was in the kitchen but he overheard the gospel message preached by his master

And in that moment, he was converted by the power of the Holy Spirit
And with tears streaming from his eyes he barged into the family room where the believers were gathered and he said, God saved me!
I think that might be a bit easier to swallow for Philemon
It would still take a miracle for Philemon to have a paradigm shift and view Onesimus, not as a slave, but as a brother in Christ

Isn’t it hard to change your perception of someone once you come to some kind of conclusion?

When you conclude that someone is selfish, it doesn’t matter how many selfless acts they do, you’ll only remember the selfish acts and say, see, there it is, I told you
When we get locked into a certain mindset regarding someone else, it’s really hard to change that

In my working career, I somehow realized early on that first impressions are so important in business

If your boss has a good impression of you, you’re set, you can do no wrong
But if your boss has a bad impression, it’s going to be an uphill battle
My first job–Network Performance group–of Bank of America
I was at the Technology HQ in the Bay Area
My group was in charge of monitoring the servers that run bankofamerica.com so that you can login and conduct your online transactions
I forget what it was, but something wasn’t working
It was during the first few weeks of my first job out of college
I wanted to make a good impression
So I ended up staying overnight
And my boss came in at 8am and saw me passed out on my cubicle floor
I scored huge brownie points that night
After that, I could do no wrong
I could take extra long lunches or come in late
Because I had made a lasting impression and my boss trusted that I would get the job done

Think how hard it would be for Philemon to have a paradigm shift toward Onesimus

On top of that, Onesimus was not converted in his home, but instead, he was converted in a prison cell as a runaway slave who stole money
Think how angry Philemon must have felt when he woke up to find Onesimus missing along with some of his household items or money
So betrayed
He could be thinking, I was not like other masters
I treated him well
I treated him like family
And this is how he repays me
Think of the anger and unforgiveness in his heart

I want you to do a little inventory of your heart

Are there people in your life whom you haven’t forgiven?
A family member, or a former friend, a pastor, or church leader?
Many people have grudges that they have been nursing for years, decades?
So many families are ripped apart because of everything from serious abuse to stupid things
Or friendships destroyed over betrayal or some minor misunderstanding
Or church leaders, whom we trusted, wronged us and so carry around bitterness in our hearts
Why is it that the people you have difficulty forgiving were at one point close to you, like family members and friends?
Because your hearts were knit together, you loved them, you trusted them
If your boss wrongs you, no big deal, you can let it go because it’s only work
Or if it is too difficult to handle, just switch jobs
But you can’t switch family members, you know what I mean?

Philemon is a pastor

He has a reputation of strong faith and love to the point that others see him and their hearts are refreshed
But we all have a limit
If we narrowly define our sphere of influence, it’s me and my immediate family and my children and spouse think I am a loving person, then we might be tempted to pat ourselves on the back
For Philemon, his sphere was wider–it included other brothers and sisters who gathered at his home
Outside the sphere was Onesimus, slaves and those who wrong me – I don’t have love for such people
I’ll stay in my little sphere where everyone thinks I am great

Philemon might have thought he was a good, decent, loving person

But you don’t really know what you are made of until you are pushed into a corner
That’s when the claws come out
Ferry in Korea that sunk – terrible tragedy
It’s easy for us to judge
But if you were on the ferry and there was one life jacket and two people remaining, can you be so confident that you would have given it to the other person or would you have fought for your life?
We don’t know what we are made of until we are pushed to our limits

Some of the nicest people I know, you make one mistake and you see a side of the person that you never saw before

Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
It’s like 2 people in one
Where did this venom come from?
One mistake and they will harbor unforgiveness against you until the day they die and blame you for their misery while they were living

Religion will make you a nice person

You can go to church every Sunday and be a good, responsible person
You can be loving toward those who love you
But the true test of whether or not you understand the gospel is the ability to love the enemy
To forgive the runaway slave who has wronged you
More than that, to repent and have a change of perspective and to view this person, not as a slave but as a brother

If that paradigm shift happens, it’s a given that Philemon could no longer be the master and Onesimus the slave

Because we are all children of God
Black, white, yellow, purple
Rich CEO and homeless person
Young and old, rich and poor – we’re all children of God

We’ve all been leveled at the foot of the cross

Who among us can raise our heads in pride for anything when we come face to face with Jesus dying on a cross for our sins?

Phil 1:18-19

Paul fully expects Philemon to accept Onesimus
He is confident in his ability to forgive
Yet, Paul is showing true Christian character in this moment because he gives room that Philemon may not want to forgive and in fact demand full payment
Onesimus is a runaway slave – he has no money to pay back whatever he stole
And Paul was not a rich man himself
He was a self-supported, tentmaking missionary
He made tents on the side to support himself as he went around preaching the gospel free of charge
Paul is in prison so I’m not even sure how he could make tents and sell them
But that’s the kind of generous person Paul is
He will pay through his own labor the debt that Onesimus owes if Philemon is not willing to forgive the debt
Paul says, charge it to my account

Jesus does the same thing to us

All the sins that we commit, past, present and future, Jesus says, charge it to me
I’ve paid for it all
My grace and forgiveness and love for you is limitless
As soon as you ask for forgiveness, the sin is forgiven and forgotten
I paid for it all on the cross
Look at how generous I am toward you
Now be generous toward others
Forgive, let it go, be free to love

The gospel radically changes how you relate with others because you yourself have been radically changed

Without the radical heart transformation accomplished by the Holy Spirit, this truth will remain in our head
The distance from our head to our heart is rather short–2.0-2.5 feet, yet because the move from our head to the heart is a work of the Spirit, it can seem like an unbridgeable chasm
So much of what we hear remains in our heads and never transforms our hearts
We have to pray for Holy Spirit to take this gospel that we know in our heads and move it to our hearts, where the real work begins
If the gospel changes you on the inside and you are a new creation, then our view of people will change naturally
We will no longer look at others through human, fleshly eyes, but through spiritual eyes, as God would see them

God was using this situation to burst Philemon’s bubble

To expand the limits of his love
If you love those who are good to you, that’s within human ability
That’s seeing others in a human or fleshly way
You scratch my back, I’ll scratch your back
This is human nature
This is not Christianity
Christianity is a supernatural work
You are given a new heart by the Spirit and within yourself, you find a Spirit-generated ability to forgive enemies and love those you never thought you could love

A few years ago, God convicted me to deal with unforgiveness in my heart

I got burned by my previous church and I felt bitter toward some church leaders
So I felt compelled to write a letter asking for forgiveness because I had to deal with my bitterness
Objectively, I think I was wronged more than I wronged the other parties involved
But it was an important lesson for me to learn to ask for forgiveness and let things go
I didn’t need to force the other side to understand my perspective and see eye to eye on every little point of who did wrong, when and how much
I simply took responsibility, full blame for the falling out
In an ideal world, there would be mutual asking for forgiveness and maybe even reconciliation
But I just en email and the person accepted my apology and that was that
Even though the other parties didn’t ask for forgiveness, I felt free
My heart grew a little bit through this experience

It’s like Paul saying to Philemon, if you can’t let it go because your heart is small, charge it to my account

I’ll take full responsibility
Paul was showing Philemon the heart of Christ

Jesus is telling you this morning, charge it to me

All the sins that you walked in with, charge it to me
I will take full responsibility
In fact, I already paid for it all
Isn’t that great news?

When God looks at us, he didn’t look at us the way we look at one another, thank goodness

He doesn’t evaluate us on our ability or performance or how much we wronged him and how sorry we feel for wronging him
Because of the blood of Jesus, our sins have been cleansed, wiped away, we’ve been given a clean slate
God looks at us through the blood of Jesus through eyes of mercy and grace

Put yourself into Onesimus’ shoes

Back then, runaway slaves who were caught were normally executed
And Paul is telling him to go back to Philemon
It’s a crazy request
Onesimus must have begged Paul to let him stay with him
He’d rather be in a prison next to Paul than in Philemon’s home
That’s says a lot
That communicates the fear and apprehension he felt about having to return home to face his master

We are all like Onesimus

We’re all runaway slaves
But our God is much more generous and forgiving than Philemon
We don’t have to be afraid to approach the throne of grace
If you repent of your sins and place your face in Jesus, you can approach his throne with confidence because you are a forgiven child of God
This gospel is such great news!
Sinners like you and me are not punished although our sins warrant punishment
Instead, we can be called sons and daughters

One final word

Philemon 1:8-14
Paul could have exercised his apostolic authority and commanded Philemon to accept Onesimus back
But he doesn’t
He doesn’t twist Philemon’s arm
Or pressure him, or guilt him into doing something out of obligation
Just because it’s the right thing to do
Instead, Paul appeals on the basis of love
He wants Philemon to accept Onesimus gladly, on his own accord

If Paul ordered Philemon to accept Onesimus and Philemon did it grudgingly, would that work?

That would be a miserable existence for Onesimus – you know, when you’re not wanted but someone higher up told you to make it work
It would be a terrible situation

God’s way is always to appeal to us on the basis of love

God doesn’t twist any arms
God doesn’t barge into our lives, even though he has the right and the power to do so
God could appear right now in a mighty display of power–blazing white robe and surrounded by angels–for our own eyes to behold his glory
He could remove all shadow of doubt and in some ways force our hand so that we would have no choice but to believe
But he doesn’t

He waits, he waits, he shows grace, he forgives, he shows us signs that He is with us

So that we would love him on our own free will, not because He blew us away with supernatural evidence

One day, Jesus will return on a cloud of fire

One day, we will see him in full glory
Either when our life ends or when the universe ends at His Second Coming
One way or another, we will see him in radiant, awesome, bright white glory someday

All of the injustices and racism and inequalities of this life will be a distant memory

Sometimes, I wonder, why did God create this kind of universe?
It would be simpler if God just created clones
Less chance for conflict if we were all genderless cyborgs or something
One gender, one culture, we all love kimchi, life would be simple

But God has more than one color in his palette

God is the Creator God and he is a creative God
Think how boring life would be if everything were the same color – everything is gray
Life would be simpler perhaps, but lacking pizzazz

Soon enough, we’ll all be gathered around a throne and we’ll be standing alongside brothers and sisters from every tribe and nation and tongue

…in a multi-ethnic sea of interesting colors and cultures and we will be singing praises to our God for billions and billions of years

I pray that our church can be a testimony to the world of what this future kingdom will be like

By the way we treat each other, by the way we welcome people from all kinds of backgrounds without judgment or distance or suspicion but with open arms
By speaking out when necessary against the wrongs of this world
But most of all, checking our hearts to see if the gospel is radically changing us from within so that we can have a radical shift in how we view others

Until then, we are in a season of grace

God is whispering His love to you
Won’t you come and receive him for the first time
Won’t you come and recommit your heart to him
He is waiting for you and me
He is appealing to you on the basis of love
He loves you
Will you love Him in return?