Lesson 1

An Introduction To Philemon

The Theme

The Book of Philemon is unique in many respects. It is the shortest of Paul's inspired writings. It is not of doctrinal content but does deal with a vitally important practical issue. In Philemon, Paul take the truth that Christians are to forgive each other and applies it to a specific situation.

The Bible clearly teaches the wonderful truth that God is a forgiving God. In Exodus 34:6-7, God described Himself to Moses as "The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin..."

That theme runs through the scripture. Psalm 85:2-3 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger. Psa 130:3-4 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. Isa 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Jer. 33:8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. Eph. 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. Col. 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 2:12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus illustrated God as a Father who forgives his wayward son, eagerly, totally, lavishly.

God is never more like Himself than when He forgives! To err is human, to forgive, divine, right? Well, God is never more like Himself than when He forgives. That means two things for us.

First, Man is never more like God than when he forgives. Prov. 19:11 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression. Eph. 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Col. 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Our willingness to forgive, makes us like God, like Christ who forgave us.

The second thing that comes from this is that God's forgiveness of us is based on our forgiveness of others. James 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy. Mat 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Mat 6:12, 14-15 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. The forgiveness being spoken of here is not the comprehensive forgiveness of salvation but the continual forgiveness of sanctification. There is a paradox concerning forgiveness. It is this, Christians have already been fully forgiven (Eph. 1:7), but at the same time still need ongoing forgiveness (I John 1:9). It is a sobering truth that if we fail to forgive others, we forfeit the fullness of God's blessings upon our lives and invite the chastening rod of God's correction.

That Christians are to forgive each other as God has forgiven them, is the underlying theme of Philemon.

The Background

Philemon was written at the same time as Colossians, from Rome during Paul's first imprisonment. Compare the greeting section of Philemon (also v. 10) with the farewell section of Colossians (4:7-9;17).

Philemon had been led to saving faith in Jesus Christ several years earlier by Paul (v. 19). He had become a prominent member of the church at Colossae. Philemon was apparently a wealthy man. He owned a house large enough for the church to meet in (v. 2) and was rich enough to own slaves (vs. 10,16). He also was active in the cause of Christ, a "fellow laborer" (v. 1), a "partner" (v. 17), notice also verse 7. His wife's name was "Apphia" and his adult son "Archippus" was the pastor of the church that assembled in their house (Colossians 4:17).

Onesimus (v. 10) is the subject of Paul's letter. He had been the unsaved slave to Philemon and had run away to Rome. Perhaps he had hoped to disappear amidst the multitudes that thronged the imperial city. While in Rome, through circumstances unknown to us, he met the apostle Paul and his life was forever changed, for through that great preacher, Onesimus had also met Jesus Christ, v. 10.

The salvation of Onesimus had a way of endearing the relationship between the apostle and the runaway slave, vs. 12, 16. He began living up to the meaning of his name, Onesimus, which mean "useful" a common name for a slave, by assisting Paul (vs. 11, 13). Paul would have gladly kept him at his side to continue to minister to him.

There was, however, a matter that needed to be settled. As a runaway slave, Onesimus was a criminal. In running away he had defrauded his master, Philemon, by depriving him of his services. He may have even stolen money from Philemon when he fled (v. 18). Paul knew that the relationship between Philemon and Onesimus needed to be restored. Onesimus had to return to his master and seek forgiveness and restoration.

To send Onesimus back alone would have exposed him to the danger of being caught by the ever-vigilant slave catchers. The opportunity to send him back with someone came when Paul finished his letters to the Colossians and to the Ephesians. Because Tychicus would be delivering those letters, Onesimus could return to Colossae with him in relative safety.

If returning Onesimus was a sacrifice for Paul, it was a grave risk for Onesimus. As one writer puts it, "Roman law practically imposed no limits to the power of the master over his slave. The life or death of Onesimus rested solely with Philemon, and slaves were constantly crucified for far lighter offenses than this. A thief and a runaway, Onesimus had no claim to forgiveness" (J. B. Lightfoot's Commentary on Philemon, 1879). Runaway slaves could be crucified, branded with the letter "F" on their forehead (the Latin word for "fugitive" or they could be beaten severely.

A large percentage of the Roman Empire's population was slaves and the Romans lived in constant fear of a slave uprising. (There had been one more than a hundred years earlier led by Spartacus) and so they took no chances, dealing harshly with runaway slaves. That Onesimus was willing to risk such punishment in order to do what was right speaks of the genuineness of his faith.

Accompanying Tychicus, who is carrying the letters to the Colossians and to the Ephesians, Onesimus goes back to Philemon carrying this letter from Paul which urges Philemon to forgive Onesimus and to receive him as a brother in Christ. Philemon is to put into practice toward Onesimus the principles which Paul had written to the Ephesians (4:32) and the Colossians (3:13). Philemon is to treat Onesimus as Christ has treated him.

Christianity And Slavery

Since slavery forms the backdrop to the book of Philemon, it is necessary to have some understanding of the subject of slavery, in the Bible, in the Roman Empire and in our nation.

There are people today who want to justify the kind of slavery that we had in America of Africans on the basis of the laws that regulated slavery in the Old Testament and on the basis that the New Testament does not condemn slavery in the Roman Empire in books like Philemon. In fact, even the New Testament, on several occasions, tells slave to be good slave and masters to be good masters. First, there is a difference between both the circumstances and the kinds of slavery that are spoken about in the Old Testament. We must remember that before the industrial revolution, the possibilities for employment were very limited. There were no factories or offices. Slavery kept many people from starving to death - providing food, clothing and shelter. When you look at all the Old Testament laws regulating slavery you will discover that it was voluntary, temporary and could not be abusive. As such, it was more a form of employment in the Jewish culture than the kind of images that we conjure up from slavery. When preaching through Ephesians, I addressed this subject very thoroughly and would recommend the tape from that series if you want to study it more.

That was not true in the more pagan, more heathen, more sadistic Roman world. Early in the Roman Empire, slaves were prisoners of war from conquested land. As time past, and by the time of the New Testament, most slaves were born into slavery.

According to Roman law, slaves were considered property not persons. They could be sold, exchanged, given away or seized to pay for a master's debt. They had no right to a legal marriage and so common law marriages were typical with slaves - the cohabitation of a man and woman regulated by the slave owner. Masters had unlimited power to punish their slaves. In my research for this message, I read about a wealthy Roman woman who ordered the crucifixion of a slave and offered no reason except her own pleasure.

By the time of the New Testament, slavery was changing. Treatment of slaves was improving because slave owners came to realize that contented slaves worked better. Slave owners were permitted to grant freedom to their slaves both while they were living and at the time of their death.

Since slavery was abusive under the Roman Empire, why didn't Jesus and the apostles and the early churches verbally and vehemently oppose it? I think that they were wise, understanding that the gospel would have been smothered beneath a movement of social reform. If the church had tried to overthrow slavery, any slaves who participated in an insurrection would have been brutally crushed massacred. Furthermore, right relationships between masters and slaves were possible, making slavery, though not an ideal institution, at least workable. Christianity did not attempt to overthrow the institution of slavery.

Christianity did, however, sow the seeds of the destruction of slavery. Slavery in the Roman Empire would not be destroyed by social upheaval but by changed hearts. The Book of Philemon illustrates that principle. Paul does not order Philemon to free Onesimus or teach that slavery is evil. Instead, he teaches Philemon to treat Onesimus like a brother (v. 16; see also Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 4:1). In one significant phrase, Paul transforms the character of the master/slave relationship.

"Onesimus is returning, no longer as a slave but as a brother beloved. It is clearly inconsistent for a Christian master to "own" a brother in Christ and although the existing order of society could not be immediately changed by Christianity without a political revolution, the Christian master/slave relationship was so transformed from within that it was bound to lead ultimately to the abolition of the system" from New Testament Introduction by Donald Guthrie.

Although a short little "postcard" of an epistle, we're going to spend a few (2 or 3 more weeks) on the twenty-five verses that constitute Philemon. We're going to learn some practical lessons about forgiveness - the character of one who forgives, the action of one who forgives and the motivation of one who forgives.