"Philemon"
A sermon by Dr. Michael H. Browder
February 1, 2009

In keeping with my project, to talk about some of the smaller and less-known books of the Bible, today I am looking at Philemon. The Book of Philemon is in the New Testament, where it is one of the letters, or Epistles of Paul. Paul is writing in his later years, while he is a prisoner in Rome.

The letter of Philemon is about a man named Onesimus. Onesimus had met Paul in Rome. Paul had led him to become a follower of Jesus Christ. Onesimus had become active in the Christian community, (the early church at Rome,) and he was an invaluable assistant to the Apostle Paul.

But Onesimus had a deep, dark secret. He was an escaped slave. He was successfully hiding in the large, diverse capital city of Rome. But, I imagine that, because of his faith, his conscience weighed heavy on him. Finally, he couldn’t take it any more. He told Paul his secret.

So Paul sent him back to his master, Philemon, with this letter. Philemon was also a Christian. He was probably a wealthy man, because he had a big enough house for the church to meet in. This letter urges Philemon to forgive Onesimus. It asks him to treat Onesimus no longer as a slave, but as a brother in Christ. In other words, it asks Philemon to set him free.

It might be good to say a word about slavery in the Roman Empire. It was a wide-spread practice. Perhaps as much as a third of the entire population were slaves. Some slaves were well-educated tutors. Others were captives of war. Still others were criminals forced to work in the mines. A work by the Latin author Juvenal tells about the harsh punishment for runaway slaves. They could be forced to row galleons or sent to the arena to die from wild animals as entertainment. Some of you remember Spartacus or Ben Hur.

I have sometimes heard people say, “The life of a slave wasn’t so bad.” This is a ridiculous statement. To refute it, all you have to do is ask: Would I be willing to be a slave? The answer is: No! No one wants to be a slave. It is not a good life.

I have always wondered if I would have spoken out against slavery during the Civil War. There were actually some Southerners who took a stand against slavery. I hope I would have been one of them, but I don’t know. My great-great grandfathers fought on different sides. There is still slavery in the world today, in places like Darfur. We must rid the world of this evil.

Some people have tried to use the Book of Philemon to justify slavery. They say that Paul must have supported slavery if he sent Onesimus back to his master. This approach is so mistaken. Paul sent Onesimus back to his master, precisely so that Philemon could set him free. He could not be set free if he did not return. Paul says to Philemon: “Don’t treat Onesimus as a slave anymore. From now on, treat him as your brother [your brother!] in Jesus Christ.” Remember that elsewhere Paul says, “In Christ there is neither slave nor free. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal. 3:28)

So the Book of Philemon is the letter that Paul sent with Onesimus. It has the usual outline of a Roman letter:

First, the Sender, the name of person sending the letter. (Unlike us, they put their name at the beginning. It makes a lot more sense.) Paul usually calls himself an apostle, but here he identifies himself by his situation as a prisoner, to show his sympathy for Onesimus.

Item 2: Recipient. Then the person that the letter is sent to. Here is mentioned Philemon, as well as his wife Aphia, and their church leader Archippus.

3. The salutation: “Grace and Peace to you.” Paul always combines the Hebrew greeting Shalom (Peace) with the Greek greeting Grace (Charis).

4. Then Paul always has a word of thanksgiving to God and on behalf of the recipient.

5. Finally he gets on to the purpose or body of the letter. Usually it involves asking the reader to do something. In this case, to forgive Onesimus and set him free.

Then Paul mentions the people who are with him at the time as sending shared greetings. We recognize the name of his friend, Dr. Luke (24), and Mark who wrote gospels. Paul is usually dictating the letter for someone else to write. (The fancy Greek word for this type of secretary is an amanuensis.) If the letter is really important, Paul will grab the pen and write a personal word, as he does here in v. 19.

6. At the very end, Paul usually includes a benediction.

Back to our story: Paul could have kept Onesimus with him in Rome where this slave, turned companion had been a huge help during Paul’s imprisonment. But he chose to do the right thing and send him home.

As the leader of the Gentile church, Paul could have ordered Philemon to let Onesimus go. Instead, he uses a gentle and heartfelt appeal. Students of rhetoric still point to this letter as one of the finest examples of personal persuasion. It has been compared to a similar letter by the Roman writer Pliny the Younger. (IB 11, 556)

Philemon is a book about love. Even the name Philemon means “kind and full of brotherly love.” Several times the word “heart” is used. Paul talks about how Philemon has refreshed the hearts of the Christians, including Paul’s. At the same time, Paul loves Onesimus so much that he calls the slave his very own heart.

By the way, the word which we translate “heart” is the Greek word for gut. We say that our emotions come from the heart. But the heart is really just an organ that pumps blood. It has no emotions. In the ancient Greek language, the emotions were said to come from the gut. For them, love was literally a “gut feeling.” (I guess that means I have an awfully big “heart”.)

Another image in the Book of Philemon is the image of credit, debt and loss. By running away, Onesimus was stealing from Philemon. By keeping his Christian brother as a slave, Philemon was stealing Onesimus’ equality in Christ. By reuniting them, Paul was saying, “Forgive us our debts.” In fact, Paul says, “If he owes you anything, put it on my account. This is instant credit.

The name Onesimus means “useful.” It is a typical slave name. So Paul makes a pun. He says, “Onesimus has been Mr. Useful to me, and now he will be Mr. Useful to you once more.”

“All this is nice,” you may say, “But what is this letter doing in the Bible?”

To answer that, I will have to tell you the rest of the story. A letter from one of the later Church Fathers, Ignatius, mentions the Bishop of Ephesus named Onesimus. We believe that this runaway slave, who was sent home, not only was set free, but he went on to become the Bishop of one of the most important regions of the world. In fact, it was in this region where the canon, the official list of the books in the New Testament was first put together.

I think that Philemon is in the New Testament, because Bishop Onesimus wanted his story to be told. He wanted people to know that he was a runaway slave, saved by the grace of God. He had been set free from slavery, in this world and the next. And he wanted all Christians to hear his testimony. He oversaw the process of choosing the books for the Bible, and by including this obscure letter in the canon, he made it immortal.

There are so many lessons for us in this little book. One is to do the right thing. Onesimus could have stayed in hiding for the rest of his life. But he confessed, and went back to face the music, and asked for forgiveness. He did the right thing, even when it cost him. And that is a great example for us. It may cost you something at the time, but God will always bless you for doing the right thing.

Also, the Bible tells us that, when you come under the authority of someone else, you should respect them. This could be your boss, or your teacher, or your parent, or the president of the United States. My generation came along saying, “Power corrupts, so don’t trust anyone in authority.” This is the way of the world, but it is not the way of the Bible. The Bible says to respect your boss and your leaders, and anyone who has authority over you.

We ought to start looking at people in a new way. No longer you are this and I am that. You are slave and I am master. You are a Democrat and I am a republican. I have a job and you don’t. You are a different race than me. You have tattoos and I don’t. No! That’s not the right approach. We should be able to say that we are brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.

The Bible tells us to forgive people who hurt you. Forgive and don’t hurt them back. Give them another chance. Try to rebuild your relationship, even after you have been alienated for a time. Philemon forgave Onesimus. And look what a blessing he gave the world by doing so. If Philemon had never forgiven him and given him a second chance, Onesimus would never have done such great things for God and for others.

In the next place, we must remember that we are all slaves to something. If you are not a slave to Christ, you are a slave to yourself and a slave to sin. Bob Dylan once sang a song that said, “You’ve got to serve someone. It could be the Devil or it could be the Lord, but you’ve got to serve someone.” The Bible says that, through repentant faith, Christ has set us free from sin and death. John 8:36 says that, “When the Son has set you free, you are free indeed.” Gal. 5:1

So we might say that Philemon is a metaphor for the work of Christ. Just as Paul interceded for Onesimus to be set free, so Jesus Christ intercedes for us, who are slaves to sin and death, so that God will set us free and give us the salvation of eternal life.

What are you a slave to? What is it that holds you captive? Is it wanting to have your own way? Is it fear of trusting the Lord? Is it the need for forgive-ness? Have you hurt others? Have you disobeyed God? Are you caught up in the world? Are your friends leading you in the wrong direction? Have you forgotten about Christ? Is your work taking you away from the God?

Now is the time to come back to the Lord, just as Onesimus came back. Christ will welcome you. God will forgive you. He will give you a fresh start.

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for the Book of Philemon, and for the inspiring story of Onesimus, the slave who repented and was set free. Dear Savior, let us repent of the things that enslave us, so that we might be set free by you. Amen.