Good morning to everyone. Thank you, Mark, again for leading us. It's a beautiful morning, sun's shining. I can hear birds singing, maybe some chickadees, but it was nice on the farm this morning. It's nice weather we're having lately, so we're thankful for that.

We're gonna have a study on the book of Philemon this morning, just one week, and then I think next week I'm gonna go into 1 Peter is my plan. So we've been doing that in Bible study, but I think it will be beneficial, especially that first chapter. I just can't get off my mind in the beauty of how he describes our salvation. So we'll start working through that.

This morning we're to spend our time in this little book of Philemon, and it's a wonderful little letter, a personal letter, written from the Apostle Paul to his friend and brother in Colossae, Philemon. Paul had come to Ephesus, you remember, in the book of Acts, preaching the gospel, and a church developed there. In Acts 19, we read that he spent three years teaching so that the entire region heard the gospel. 

Philemon was saved through this ministry, and he held the church in Colossae in his home. Philemon was apparently a man of means. He had a home large enough to host the church, and he owned slaves, including a man named Onesimus. 

We read in this little letter that the church there was flourishing, and Philemon was a man who was filled with faith and love for the Lord Jesus and for all the brethren. He was a great encourager to those who were in Christ. He was a man through whom God was working and producing much fruit. Paul writes this letter from his first imprisonment in Rome. 

He wrote four epistles during this time: the letters to the Colossians, the Philippians, the Ephesians, and also this letter to Philemon. It was in this time, between 62 AD, that Paul was imprisoned in his own rented house, and he was allowed to have visitors and fellow workers. We see that Epaphras was there with him, as well as Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and the beloved Luke. 

The reason for writing this letter is to appeal to Philemon concerning his runaway slave, Onesimus. Onesimus had apparently fled from Philemon's home and taken some of Philemon's resources with him, as well. He ran to Rome, presumably to disappear in that large populated city. However, in the providence of God, Onesimus ran into the Apostle Paul, and Paul preached the gospel of Christ to him, and Onesimus believed and became a great encouragement and servant to Paul in his ministry. 

But when Paul found out that he was a runaway slave and that he had been in the house of Philemon, he knew that Onesimus must return and make things right. However, this was a very delicate issue. Onesimus could be imprisoned, he could even be executed for his crime. 

So Paul sends him back with this letter in hand to his brother Philemon and appeals to him to forgive Onesimus, to receive him as a brother in Christ, in love so that there might be encouragement and fruit concerning each one of them, as well as the church as a whole. 

It's a beautiful letter about the love of God, the transformation of salvation through faith in Jesus, and forgiveness. This is demonstrated in the cross of Christ and in the lives of believers as a result. It's not a doctrinal epistle; there's really no doctrine taught here and no commands given to the church broadly. But in this very personal, very intimate letter from Paul to Philemon concerning Onesimus, we find some beautiful lessons and encouragement for our lives by their story and example.

Let's look at the text again in Philemon 1. 

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy, our brother, to Philemon, our beloved friend and fellow laborer, to the beloved Apphia, our Kippus, our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

I thank my God making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.

Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, yet for love's sake I rather appeal to you, being such a one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. 

I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is my own heart, whom I wish to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary. 

For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. 

If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay, not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides. Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord, refresh my heart in the Lord. 

Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you knowing that you will do even more than I say. But meanwhile also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you. 

Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Well, I've given you six points this morning on your outline. First, Paul the prisoner. Second, Philemon's fruit. Third, for love's sake. Fourth, total transformation. Fifth, pure providence. And sixth, unfailing forgiveness. 

First, in our text, we see the author, Paul the prisoner. Verse 1: Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer, to the beloved Apphia, our Kippus, our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

As we already mentioned, Paul was in prison in Rome when he wrote this letter because of his testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ. There has perhaps never been a bolder, more effective witness for the gospel of Jesus Christ than the Apostle Paul. And because of his faithfulness, boldness, and perseverance as a minister of the gospel, he suffered much in his lifetime. 

Turn over to 2 Corinthians 11 with me, please. We'll look at his testimony there about what his life was like as a follower of Christ. 2 Corinthians 11, 23. He's dealing with some false teachers in Corinth; this is the context here. He says, "...are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool, I am more. In labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A day and a night I have spent in the deep, in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in peril of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness, in toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 

Besides the other things, what comes upon me daily, my deep concern for all the churches." Paul had suffered a great deal for his faithful testimony for Jesus, and he was now imprisoned in Rome, his first imprisonment there, not in the Mamertine prison ending in martyrdom, which would come later, but now in his own rented house, able to have visitors to minister to and friends to minister to him. 

In the four letters that he wrote in this time, we often see him refer to his imprisonment or his chains in Christ. In Ephesians 6, 19, he wrote, "'Pray for me that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains.'" It's interesting that Paul had to pray for boldness and that he might speak clearly; we certainly need that as well. 

Philippians 1, 6: being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ, just as it is right for me to think this of you all because I have you in my heart, and as much as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partakers with me of grace. He goes on in verse 12, "'But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happen to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ.'" 

Colossians 4, 3: "'Meanwhile, praying also for us that God would open to us a door for the word to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains.'" Philemon 1, 10: "'I appeal to you for my son Onesimus whom I have begotten while in my chains,' and verse 13, "'whom I wish to keep with me that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel.'" 

Paul saw himself not as a prisoner of Rome, but a prisoner of Christ. He was in chains because of Christ and under the providence of God. It's amazing, the statement in Philippians where Paul said that because of his imprisonment, the whole palace guard had heard the gospel and knew that his chains were in Christ. What a ministry he had in Caesar's house. Haddon Robinson said that Paul was chained to those Roman soldiers every day, but those Roman soldiers were also chained to him, and he was faithful to preach the gospel even in chains. 

Later in 2 Timothy 2, 9, in his second imprisonment, he wrote, "'For which I suffer trouble as an evildoer even to the point of chains, but the word of God is not chained.'" 

So we see the author in his circumstance, Paul the prisoner of Jesus Christ, and we see the audience addressed in verse 2, Philemon, his wife Apphia, and son Archippus, who was also in the ministry. 

Next, we see in our text at verse 4, the fruit of Philemon. Paul writes, "'I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.'" 

In John 15, 8, Jesus said, "'By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so you will be my disciples.'" It is God's intention for those who are his to be fruit bearers, to have abundant consistent fruit in their lives for his purpose, for his witness, for his glory, and he intends this to be accomplished as we abide in Christ as a branch abiding in the vine, as he lives his life out through us. 

We are his disciples, so we will bear much fruit. Philemon was this kind of faithful abiding disciple. He had much fruit, fruit of the Spirit, exemplified in agape love. Look at verse 5 again, "'Hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints.'" In verse 7, "'We have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.'" 

Wouldn't you love to have the Apostle Paul say such things about you? Philemon was a faithful giving brother, willing to use his great resources to give sacrificially and extend his love and his life to all the brethren for the furtherance of the gospel. He held the church in his home; his wife was a believer; his son Archippus was serving in the ministry there. Colossians 4, 17 says, "'And I say to Archippus, take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord that you may fulfill it.'" 

Notice what Paul says about this servant who lived in the household of Philemon. In Philemon 1, 10, "'I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me.'" 

The name Onesimus means useful. Paul says here, "'I appeal to you concerning this household servant Onesimus, who once was useless to you, but now is very useful to you and to me as a brother and minister in Jesus Christ.'" 

It's generally accepted that Paul never made it to Colossae, that Philemon knew Paul in his ministry in Ephesus. Regardless of whether Onesimus ever met Paul personally, he must have known him well from the words and testimony of Philemon in his house. 

Philemon went back to Colossae and founded a church there. He hosted it in his home. Others involved there went to Ephesus to sit under Paul's teaching for that long period in which he taught day and night. But certainly, Onesimus would have known the name and testimony of this man Paul. 

We know that the witness in the life of Philemon, the love of God poured out through him, must have been a powerful testimony to this lost slave. Philemon most certainly would have been a loving, gracious, and fair master, and Onesimus must have had a good life in his household. 

But for whatever reason, he decided to steal from Philemon and run away. Paul appeals to the love, the agape love demonstrated so fully in the life of Philemon in his ministry to receive Onesimus, not to exact punishment, not to go to the law, but to show the love of Christ to a lost sinner who has now turned to Jesus in faith and become a brother in the Lord and receive him. 

Paul says, I could, with my apostolic authority, give you a clear command to receive him back. But that's not the best way. Rather, there's a great opportunity here, for love's sake, to receive him back and show the love of Christ in your life as you already do so abundantly, and through this, be a great encouragement to the brethren. 

Verse 12: I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is my own heart, whom I wish to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. But without your consent, I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary. 

For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. 

We see such a beautiful example as well as an opportunity in these words. Think about how Paul's looking at this situation. Think about the culture, the context in which this happened. Slaves everywhere in Rome, not so much slavery as we understand it, but the economic system built on this slave-master relationship where there were indentured servants and household servants and people made their living—a career—out of being a slave in a home. 

But when they ran away, this was a serious issue. What would the perspective of the master be? What would the perspective of Saul of Tarsus have been? The law allowed them to be killed or branded or put in prison, but how are they looking at this? Look at what Paul says. This is a tremendous opportunity to show the love of Christ, to love a brother. 

We see such a beautiful example as well as an opportunity in these words and in these men—these men who were formerly lost in Adam against Christ. We see a total transformation. Think about Paul. He was formerly a blasphemer, an insolent man by his own testimony. He was rounding up believers and persecuting Christ and putting men to death, and now he sits in a prison in Rome, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, giving his very life to the gospel of Christ for the benefit of others in love. 

Philemon must have been some sort of successful businessman. By some way he was a man of means and he owned slaves and was of a high position in this Roman world built on slave labor. But after he heard the gospel of Christ and was transformed and sat under the teaching of Paul, growing, believing—look at his life, look at his family. This is a total transformation. 

And by faith and obedience to the gospel, we see the fruit that comes from the inner transformation that happened in salvation and regeneration, Jesus living in him. And now this lowly runaway slave who could have received the brand on his forehead for his crime—the letter F for fugitive—or could have been cast into prison or put to death for running away, Onesimus, a new creation in Christ, a useless sinner who became very useful, profitable to the great apostle Paul during his imprisonment in Rome, and now a brother to his master, Philemon. 

This is the witness and testimony to the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the providence of God. Look at verse 15: "For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord." 

It was in the providence of God that Onesimus ran into Paul. And Paul was faithful to lead him to faith in Jesus, and God recreated this slave, this rebellious runaway, and made him a new man in Christ through the new birth—union with Jesus in his death, burial, and resurrection—and made him useful to the cause of Christ as a brother, as a minister to Paul, and now to Philemon. 

We who believe Jesus can all look back to how God providentially worked in our lives to bring witnesses to us, to draw us, to bring us to faith in Jesus through the gospel by faith. It is God who works out the details, who by His grace and power brings us to the cross and transforms us into new creations in Christ and releases us from the power of sin and death and hell, the bondage of the law, and comes Himself to live in us and produce fruit through us for His glory. 

This is what we see here in the lives of these men: love, the love of Christ in and through their lives as a witness and testimony to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's for love's sake that they live. It's for the love of Christ, the fruit of the Spirit, that is manifest in their lives. This is because of a total transformation by the pure providence of God in their salvation by faith in Jesus. 

There's such an important lesson for us here. And it made me think of our recent studies in the letter to the Galatians. Paul stated very gently in verse 8 that he has the authority to command Philemon to receive back Onesimus and forgive him. But this is not the right motive. This is not the best way. 

Rather, it is the love of Christ in Philemon, the very forgiveness that Philemon himself received because of the grace of God and through the preaching of Paul, that should motivate him to forgive Onesimus and receive him back into his home and into fellowship as a brother. That's why Paul says, I don't want it to be by compulsion. Because of what he has received by grace through faith, because of the cross of Christ, Philemon, as well as every believer, should be anxious to forgive—especially a brother or sister who has sinned against them. 

Love is the motive. Turn over to 2 Corinthians 5 with me, please. 2 Corinthians 5, this is the passage in verse 17 that talks about anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. The old is gone; the new has come. 

Let's look at verse 13. 2 Corinthians 5, 13. Paul says, "For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. Or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ compels us. Because we judge thus, that if one died for all, then all died. And he died for all that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again."

We see an interesting exchange also in Matthew 18 with Peter and Jesus. Turn over to Matthew 18 as Jesus tells us an instructive story about a man who would not forgive. 

Matthew 18, 21. Then Peter came to him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to 70 times seven." 

Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he began to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him 10,000 talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 

The servant therefore fell down before him saying, "Master, have patience with me and I will pay you all." Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave his debt. 

But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him 100 denarii, and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, "Pay me what you owe." So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him saying, "Have patience with me and I will pay you all." 

And he would not, but went and threw him into prison until he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved and came and told their master all that had been done. 

Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, "You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?" And his master was angry and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. 

So my heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you from his heart does not forgive his brother his trespasses. 

The Jewish rabbis at the time taught that forgiving someone more than three times was unnecessary. I thank God my wife doesn't follow those rabbis. They cited Amos 1, 3 to 13 where God forgave Israel's enemies three times and then He punished them. 

Peter must have thought that he was being very generous in saying that we should forgive seven times. But Jesus tells him there's a higher level, like God forgives us. The amount of money that the servant owed to his master was insurmountable. I've seen it likened to the cost of a warship in the 5th century BC. The Athenians paid two talents for a new warship. This means that this amount would buy 5,000 warships. That's a lot of money. Some say it would equate to over $9 billion today in equivalency. 

But the point is that it's an unpayable debt. That's the point of the story. You can't pay your debt. There's always religious people in our communities that are trying to pay their debt, that are trying to do enough good to outweigh their bad. The point is you can't pay your debt. You owe an insurmountable debt for your sin. 

This man was forgiven an unpayable debt, but then he turned around and threw the man into prison who owed him a comparably insignificant debt, about 100 days' wages. Jesus is teaching Peter about the forgiveness of God, and we see this even more clearly in the New Testament epistles. 

There was an event in Corinth that was quite remarkable where apparently a man had attacked Paul personally and openly and caused a great disturbance in the church. The problem stemmed from a single individual as the primary reason for the disagreement. We see that in 2 Corinthians 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, and chapter 7 at verse 12. All speak of a specific man. 

The problem was serious enough that Paul didn't go to Corinth. He said, "I can't come there right now with all this going on," and he wrote what he called the tearful letter. It's most likely that the man in question was the incestuous man of 1 Corinthians 5, you remember that, who was cast out of the church for discipline. 

And it appears that that man repented and sought forgiveness. But some were not satisfied in the church, and they wanted to punish him further for what he did to Paul. Look at what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 2 at verse 5. He says, "If anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me, but all of you to some extent, not to be too severe. This punishment, which was inflicted by the majority, is sufficient for such a man. 

So that on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. For to this end I also wrote that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. 

Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive, for indeed I have forgiven anything. I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices. Paul says if the man repents, forgive him; receive him back into the fellowship. That was the whole intention of the discipline, to have him be restored. Forgive the man. 

Turn over to Ephesians 4 with me, verse 30. Ephesians 4, verse 30. Paul says, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." 

Forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you. This is the message. We have been forgiven such a great debt, a debt we could not pay. How can we not forgive one another the insignificant offenses that come with the living of life in the body for the sake of Christ? And this is our desire for unity, for fellowship, to forgive and be forgiven because of the love of Christ that has been poured out into our hearts. 

It's because we are new creations. Onesimus is a great example of the thief that Paul mentions back in that Ephesians 4 passage. He talks about how we're not to live like the rest of the Gentiles back in verse 17, that we have not so learned Christ because the truth is in Jesus. 

The truth that we have put off our old man, that we have put on the new man, that we're being renewed in the spirit of our mind. He says, therefore put away lying, let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. And be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your raft, nor give place to the devil. 

Now listen to verse 28: "Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, in order that he may have something to give to him who has need." Paul said in Galatians, in Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything but a new creation. 

It's not about religious ritual; it's not about ceremony or sacrament; it's not about commands or laws, it's about love, it's about agape love, it is about forgiveness, it's about who we are in Christ—a new creation— and the love of God that has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit that was given to us. 

We want to live for Him. Why? Because He died for us. We want men to be saved. We want to glorify God in all that we do. The clear message of the New Testament, the command of the New Testament, the law of Christ, is to believe Jesus and love one another. 

Unfailing forgiveness is not motivated by law, but by love, and love is produced by the Holy Spirit. It is the fruit of the Spirit. We no longer live by the letter but by the Spirit. Our life is one of focusing on Jesus, on His Word, on faith, and on obedience by His life and power in us—obedience to the law of Christ, to love one another. 

This is the lesson of the letter to Philemon, for him and for us. And we must believe that Philemon received Onesimus back and forgave him and welcomed him as a brother. And there must have been amazing fruit as a result and encouragement to all the brethren, as Paul wrote. 

It's likely that he freed him and let him go back to Paul, though we don't know for sure. But according to historical records, there was a man named Onesimus who became the pastor of the church in Ephesus, succeeding Timothy. This man was martyred by Domitian in 95 AD. Could it be the former runaway slave of Philemon? Seems likely to me. 

What a story of the grace of God. Paul says to Philemon, the love that is in you is evident to all. We have great joy in your love because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother. He reminds him of how much he has been forgiven in Christ, even by Paul's preaching of the gospel, so much so that he owes Paul his very life. 

Paul says, take that offense of Onesimus, that harm he has caused you, and put it on my account. There should be such a willingness among brothers and sisters in the body to forgive, to love, even as Christ has loved and forgiven us. 

What a joy and a privilege it is to love one another because Christ has loved and forgiven us. Peter tells us the same thing. He says, having been born again, love one another fervently with a pure heart. This is our privilege, this is our joy, this is our heart, this is what we want in our innermost being. 

And the fruit of the Spirit of Christ's life in us, my brothers and sisters, is love. Love for one another. And it's manifest in forgiveness here in the letter to Philemon. 

Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we thank you. We thank you for this tremendous example to us, this little letter that gives us such insight into Paul and Philemon and Onesimus and your love, your relationship to us, and how you forgive. Thank you that you've forgiven us our great debt of our sin against you, that you've done that in Christ and the cross, that it's finished, that it was accomplished, and that you showed you were satisfied with Jesus' payment by raising Him from the dead. 

Now, through faith in Him alone, we can experience your righteousness, we can come back into a right relationship with you, and we can experience the fullness of salvation and see your love poured out through us to men. Help us to be a witness for you; help us to be who we are; help us to love and forgive one another. In Jesus' name, amen.