Set Free From Death; Set Free to Love

Philemon 1:1,8-21

Philemon is, if not the most unique book in the Bible, it’s in the top two or three of unique books. And here’s why. Philemon is addressed to one person. Now, there are other books in the Bible that are addressed to one person, Timothy, Titus, for example, but the content of those books is so clearly pastoral, so clearly for pastors and ministry in the whole New Testament age, that even though those books are individual, they kind of become unindividual, if that’s a word. I don’t know if that’s a word, but we’ll go with it. Then, of course, there are books that are basically about individuals like Job or Esther, but again, the content matter of those books is so clearly meant for all believers that they too become unindividual, not Philemon. Philemon is addressed to one man about one issue, and yet God also wanted it to be Word of God because of what I hope will get communicated over the course of the sermon. So I’ll wait until I tell you what I think that is. I think you’ll catch it as we go through. We don’t know much about Philemon. Everything we know about Philemon is what we can glean from the book itself, which is about 21 or 22—that’s maybe 25—versus Lon. So it’s a short book. We know Philemon was a slave owner because Paul’s going to be writing to him about a man named Onesimus, who is a runaway slave. We know that Philemon lived in the area of Colossae because Onesimus is going to carry the letter to the Colossians, along with this letter to Philemon, as well as the letter to Ephesians, along with him, when he goes back. More on that in just a moment. But we don’t know exactly how he came in contact with Jesus in the Gospel. It seems likely that Paul was the one who told him about Jesus. And that’s a big deal, and Paul’s going to play on that here in our Gospel reading. Here’s—or not our Gospel reading, our Philemon reading, our sermon reading. We also know that Onesimus, his slave, had run away. And he had somehow connected with Paul when Paul was in prison, probably in Rome, maybe in Caesarea. Rome seems more likely for a couple of reasons. And Paul had told Onesimus about Jesus, and God did his wonderful thing, and Onesimus came to faith in Jesus, which is awesome. But now we’ve got a problem. Onesimus is Philemon’s slave and rightly needs to go back to Philemon. Are you kidding? How hard would that be? And so Paul is going to pen this letter to Philemon, and let’s hear what Paul has to say. “Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our dear friend and fellow worker. Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold in order you to do what you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. I then, as Paul, an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus, 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.” Little unpacking of that. The word Onesimus, the name Onesimus, basically means useful. And so when Paul says he was useless, he’d run away. What good is a runaway? And he wasn’t really of any value to Paul because he wasn’t a believer yet, but now he’s a believer. And so, man, and he’d apparently become very, very useful to Paul when he was there in bondage. While he was doing, we don’t know, but he was doing something. “I am sending him, who is my very heart, back to you.” Obviously, Paul and Onesimus became very close. “I would have liked to keep him with me, said he could take your place in helping me while I’m in chains for the gospel, but I don’t want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced. Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was so that you might have him back for good, 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 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. Not real subtle there, huh? Yeah. I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. Instead of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask. Think about what’s happening here. He is asking Onesimus to go back to slavery, and he’s asking the slave owner to welcome the slave back without repercussion, and in fact, not only without repercussion, but to welcome him back the way he would welcome Paul himself and to welcome him back as a dear brother, not an underling, as a dear brother in Christ and equal to him. What Paul is asking both Onesimus and Philemon to do is breathtaking in its scope. It just is. To understand it a little more, we need to understand a little bit more about slavery in those days. Slavery in those days was almost always brought on either by being captured in war or by extreme poverty, where the person had to sell themselves because otherwise they couldn’t live. More often, it was people who were captured in war, and slaves didn’t always do manual labor. In fact, you would buy very intelligent, talented people to help run your household. So if a doctor was captured, he might be bought by a rich family to be their family physician. If a well-heeled businessman was captured, he might be bought to run the whole business for the family. And so it was a little different than what we think of, but it was still slavery, and it was awful. Roman law treated slaves as stuff. One writer says that the slave is on the same level as farm animals, like oxen, or farm equipment, like a wagon. Slaves were not allowed to marry. If they had children, the children became the owners to do with whatever he wanted. It was awful. It was never God-pleasing. It was never God’s will. God never wanted it. But it was reality. And in the Roman Empire at the time of Paul, there was likely more slaves than there were free people. So this was a constant reality that people had to deal with. And again, what Paul is here asking is breathtaking. Why in the world can he make this request? It’s because Jesus changes everything. Jesus changes our entire approach to life. Jesus changes our entire approach to death. Jesus changes our entire approach to how we look at and deal with other human beings. Onesimus and Philemon were no longer merely in a slave-slave owner—I think I flipped that—in a slave-owner-slave relationship. No. Now in Christ, they are equals. And so Paul firmly expects that Philemon is going back. And not only is he going to go back, but can you imagine Philemon the slave—I’m getting this mixed up. Onesimus, he firmly expects that Onesimus will go back. And can you believe it? He trusts Onesimus so much that he trusts words of God to Onesimus to take with him. That’s how firmly convinced Paul was that Onesimus is going back. He’s going to carry the Word of God, the books of Ephesians and Colossians, and the book of Philemon itself. And he totally expects that Philemon will do the right thing. Paul doesn’t spell it out exactly for him, but he did remind him none too subtly. Remember what you owe me. You owe me your eternal life, humanly speaking, because I taught you about Jesus. And it’s that message of Jesus that freed you. And it’s the message of Jesus that has freed you and freed me, too. That picture of slavery, as awful as it is, is also one of the pictures that God uses to picture us by nature. That by nature we have no real value. Because by nature we deserve to be sent to hell forever. And then Jesus came. And it changes everything. If the Son sets you free, Jesus says, you will be free indeed. And you’re free. You are free from guilt when the devil tries to point his finger at you. You are free of that because Jesus paid for your sins, and he paid for them 100% on the cross. If you have any doubt about it, you look to Easter Sunday and you see that glorious tomb stands wide open. You are free from guilt. You are free from fear because Jesus, the Almighty God, has promised to be with you always to the very end of the age. You are free to love one another in Christ, no matter how young or old, rich or poor, whatever color, culture, race we happen to be. It doesn’t matter because in Christ we are united, equally sinful, equally slaves in the eyes of God; whoever sins is a slave to sin, Jesus says. So that’s all of us, but equally set free. And perhaps most beautifully, my brothers and sisters, Jesus sets you free from the fear of death. You do not have to be terrified of death. Nor do I ever want us here. I hope I go to heaven. What I want to hear us say, I know I’m going to heaven because Jesus died for you, Jesus rose for you, and Jesus promised to come back and take you to be with him. So it’s not an I hope I’m going to heaven, it’s an I know I am going to heaven. And that sets you free from the worst fear that there is, the fear of death. Jesus changes everything. So what happened? You know the Bible doesn’t tell us. Thankfully, however, church history gives us some hints. We learn from church history that Anesimus became one of the leaders in the church at Colossae and, in fact, seems to have eventually become the bishop of the area around Berea. Oh my! Did Philemon completely set him free? Maybe. Or did he, quote unquote, remain Philemon’s slave, but his job now is to be a full-time worker in the gospel? Maybe. What we do know is that Anesimus became incredibly useful. See what I did there? Come on, that was kind of funny. He became incredibly useful in the early New Testament Christian church because God had set him free. God had worked faith in his heart and set him free to share Jesus with the people of that age. My brothers and sisters, God has set you free, too. May you and I be as useful as Anesimus as we bask in the freedom that God has given to us and as we show humble love to those who are around us. Amen? And Amen.