“Emancipating Gospel” (Philemon 1-21)

Philemon 1-21

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“Emancipating Gospel,” Philemon 1-21
Pastor Tom Johnson, September 8, 2019

The purpose of Paul’s letter is to set the slave Onesimus free. Onesimus ran away from his master Philemon. This runaway slave runs into the Apostle Paul. Paul baptizes Onesimus. Onesimus tells Paul his story. Under Roman law, slaves are property that must be returned to their owners. Paul does not want to send Onesimus back to a life of forced labor. He sees great potential in Onesimus in the work of the Gospel. He sees him as an equal—a brother in Christ. Paul uses Onesimus’ name which means “useful” to do a word play. Before Onesimus was useless to you, Philemon. Now is useful to you and to me. And more importantly useful to the work of holy ministry. There is likely a word play on the name Philemon which means beloved. Paul knows that Philemon loves Jesus and all of God’s people. Philemon has an opportunity to love his runaway slave in the fullness of the Gospel by freeing him.

Roman collared slaves — Marble relief from Smyrna 200 AD

Let’s just say that slavery in the Bible is complicated. God reminds his people over and over again that they were once slaves in a foreign land. He reminds them so that they would treat others as they would want to be treated. Both the Old Testament and New Testament were written in a time when slavery was a sad and messy reality. Even today, Chicago tops the list of human trafficking cases in the United States. And so today we read this letter from Paul to a Christian man and prominent church leader who owned slaves.

I believe that we are at a huge disadvantage today. We are so polarized that it seems one side only wants to talk about social justice and the other side does not want to talk about it at all—in fact see it as a threat to the message of salvation. It seems that one side preaches a message that is so heavenly minded that it is no earthly good. It seems that the other preaches a message so grounded in current events that there is no spiritual relevance.

The great commandment is to love God with our whole being and the second is like it—to love our neighbor as ourselves—or as Christ loved us. How can we love our neighbor when we do not care about their physical and social well-being? The Gospel calls us to look beyond our differences as human beings. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, slave nor free. We are all one in Jesus Christ.

Just in this one letter, Paul commends those of Jewish ancestry and gentiles. He commends Apphia—a female. He is calling both a slave owner and a runaway slave brothers in Christ. So the Gospel challenges you and me to view people around us. Everyone bears the image of God. The differences you and I see are not obstacles to the love of God that has been so richly poured out through Jesus. “For God so loved the world—he gave his only begotten son”—the world—not just those like you and me. The Gospel breaks down the walls of hostility between people. In Christ our differences should not divide us—skin color, gender, or social status. God calls us to love those near and far—those similar and those different. As the Good Samaritan would not pass by another human being who was suffering even though they were from different tribes and nations, so God calls us to look around our neighborhood, city, state, nation, and world and care.

When Jesus welcomes those who love him into his Kingdom, he says, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me” (Matt 25:35,36). Not that we will solve the world’s suffering but that we would discover how God uses us as individuals and as Christ’s Church to show the love of God—the love he has so beautifully revealed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

One of the most loved hymns of the Christian faith is Amazing Grace which we will sing later in the service. The writer, John Newton, was captain of a slave ship. When he came to faith in Jesus, he saw the evil he had done. He became a pastor—a preacher of the Gospel but also a prominent voice for the abolition of slavery. So the Apostle Paul is both a preacher of the Gospel and an agent for social change. Paul appeals to the greater reality of the Gospel. He talks about our identity as children of God and brothers and sisters in Christ. I love that Paul tells Philemon, “You owe me big time.” Indeed, we are indebted to love all people. There is a higher law than the laws of the state and rules of human institutions—even our constitutions and bylaws—including those of the church. Our ultimate authority is the Law of Christ—the Love of God for all nations, tribes, tongues, and peoples.

Jesus died and rose again to bring forgiveness and eternal life. The power of the Gospel is so awesome it not only changes individual lives spiritually, it can transform nations socially. We should not be ashamed of a Gospel that has both spiritual and practical relevance to our lives and the lives around us. In fact, thanks be to God that it is so relevant! It should be celebrated!

And now for the rest of the story! Philemon will grant Onesimus his freedom. Onesimus will be mentored by Paul. Onesimus will not only become a pastor—he will become bishop of Ephesus. And so in Christ we all discover the love of God, our worth, and our usefulness.