Forgiveness

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Forgiveness

Philemon was a prominent member of the Colossian church. The church met in his house, so he was probably wealthy. This letter was for him, his family and the church. Paul writes about forgiveness even though the word is never actually used.

So what is the story here. Well, we don’t know all of the details for sure, but we can piece some things together. First, we know that Philemon received Christ through Paul’s ministry. We know that Philemon was wealthy enough to have the church meet in his house, meaning it was probably a larger house than most people had.

We also know that Philemon had a least one slave named Onesimus. Onesimus was apparently not a believer because he stole from Philemon, probably money, and ran away to hide out in Rome.

At the time, there were many slaves in the Roman Empire. Some estimates claim maybe about 1/3 of the population were slaves. Slaves in Rome were an accepted part of daily life. There were so many slaves around that nobody really knew who the slaves were because they all blended into society.

These slaves could be doctors, musicians, teachers, artists, librarians, accountants or pretty much any job they could do. Slaves were not considered people, but were tools of their masters. They could still be bought, sold, or whatever. Of course, their masters had control and power over the slaves and no doubt there were severe abuses that took place.

However, the Romans began to realize that a contented slave worked harder and was more productive, so many masters treated their slaves decently. When accused of a crime, slaves were even given the right to a trial. Being a slave in Rome could in some ways be better than a freeman living in poverty.

Anyways, back to our story of Onesimus, Philemon’s slave. He fled to Rome to blend in with the population. While in Rome though, he somehow ran in to Paul and also received Christ into his life.

Paul grew to love Onesimus and wanted to keep him for use in the ministry, but he knew the right thing to do was to send the slave back to his master. Remember, James 4:17 says, “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” That’s a tough portion of scripture for me and it was tough for Paul too.

Even though Onesimus was of great use to Paul in his ministry he knew what he had to do. By stealing and running away from Philemon, Onesimus had broken the law and defrauded his master. Paul knew those issues had to be dealt with, so he sent Onesimus back to Philemon with this letter.

As a side note, the New Testament never directly attacks slavery. Rather it simply recognizes it as a fact of life. Christianity does, however, undermine the evils that can occur with slavery by changing the hearts of both slave and master.

Had Paul or any other writer of the New Testament attacked slavery then the Gospel message, the Good News of Jesus Christ, the idea of repentance and a changed heart, would be hopelessly lost and confused with a message of social reform. Unfortunately, that is what many people are trying to do today.

So Paul writes this letter to his friend, his brother in Christ, Philemon, to accept his slave back and to treat him as a brother in Christ. Paul starts by appealing to the strong love and faith that Philemon has.

Paul knows that Philemon loves God, loves others, and loves himself. So if that is true, then here is your slave back. Yes, he did wrong and he realizes it but he has come to Christ and repented of his sin. Please accept him back not just as your slave, but as your brother.

Paul also says, hey you know I am an authority figure over you, I can simply command you to take back your slave, but I know I don’t need to do that because of who you are. I know that you too will do the right thing.

Paul also realizes that there was a physical or probably a monetary loss for Philemon, so Paul says send me the bill. I will repay it. Of course, Paul throws that little reminder in there that Philemon literally owes Paul his life because Paul is the one who brought him to Christ.

That is a debt that none of us can repay. The person that brings us to Christ should have a special place in our lives and Paul knew that. How can we repay that? We cannot. All we can do is to do the same for someone else and introduce them to Christ.

How this story ends we don’t know. But I like to believe that Onesimus returned to Philemon and was welcomed with open arms, not as a slave, but as a brother in Christ. Someone who received the full forgiveness of their sins.

Today we live in a world where people are so focused on themselves and are not concerned with others or forgiveness. For a Christian, unwillingness to forgive is unthinkable. We are to forgive others as God has forgiven us. Failure to forgive others has its consequences.

It keeps that pain alive. It robs us of the joy of living, the joy of our salvation. It also produces bitterness. The longer you dwell on that pain the more bitter you become. Bitterness is sin and it can infect your entire body. Your speech becomes negative, your thoughts are turned toward revenge and you shut out any type of kindness or love toward others.

When this happens, of course, the door is open for Satan to jump into the situation. Once this happens, look out. Our fellowship with other Christians and even God will be hindered.

Forgiveness restores the believer to the place of maximum blessing from God. It restores the purity and joy of fellowship with God. Forgiveness is an important theme throughout Scripture, but here we see it in action in the lives of a slave and his master. What a wonderful lesson for us all to learn.

Is this a lesson that you need to implement in your life. If so, why not today? Is there someone that you need to forgive? Do you still hold a grudge about something?

Let the pain go. Bring back the joy of living and the joy of your salvation. Forgive them as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Closing Prayer:

Lord, we thank you for this lesson in your word this morning. We thank you for the forgiveness that you have given to us. Help us to forgive others so that the pain will be healed and our bitterness is replaced with love, joy, and peace.

We ask this in your son’s name, AMEN