I want to speak to you on one of the shortest books of the New Testament, the little book of Philemon. I'm going to ask your attention particularly to verses 8 through 18. Wherefore, though I might be bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient for the sinners, yet for love's sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the atheist, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ, I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bosom. which in time past was to be unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me, whom I have sent again. Thou therefore receive him, that is mine own balance, whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel. But without thy mind would I do nothing, that thy benefit should not be as it were necessarily, but willingly. For perhaps he therefore departed for a season that thou shouldst pursue for ever, not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother, beloved, especially to me, for how much more unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord? If thou count me therefore a partner, or, or, or, put that on mine account. I remember someone wrote concerning this little book years ago, that it's the finest specimen of early personal Christian correspondence textiles. And yet, you know, it would seem at first glance to have such a poor theme. But it's all about a wretched, runaway, thieving slave. But there is a bright side to it, for this runaway slave had been converted, and this thief had, through grace, been changed to become an honest man. The letter was written to a Christian householder by the name of Philemon, residing apparently in the city of Colossae. and it was written by the Apostle Paul. Some years before, Philemon had been brought to a saving knowledge of Christ through coming in contact with the Apostle Paul. Like a great many Christians, like a great many householders in his day, he had bondsmen in his family. Christianity did not immediately drive slavery out of the world. It did not call upon Christian masters everywhere to set free their slaves. But as conditions were in the Roman Empire at the time when the New Testament was written, many of these slaves, if set free, would have been in far, far worse and unhappy conditions than if they remained as servants in Christian homes. And so in the household of Philemon there was a servant, a bondman, by the name of Onesimus. Onesimus is said to mean helpful, but this man was anything but helpful. He had a good name, but he didn't live up to his name. There's lots of folks like that, you know. A lot of people that are called Christians, but they don't really live up to the name, many of them because they do not know the Christ. of whom the word Christian means. And so Onesimus, though so well named, proved to be an idle, titular, thieving servant. And eventually he ran away from his master, and apparently before leaving Colossae, he appropriated some of his master's treasure, whether it was a matter of goods and money, we don't know, but at any rate he stole from his master. How long he was free, we're not told, nor how he got from Colossae to where Paul happened to be at this time. Paul was a prisoner in all probability at Rome, though some scholars think that he was still at Caetaria. But at any rate, the day came when Onesimus and Paul were brought face to face. You know, God knows so well how to bring a needy sinner and the messenger of his grace together. And here was Onesimus, with his burden of guilt, with an uneasy conscience, knowing that he had done wrong, brought face-to-face with Paul the Apostle, the man who had been used of God to bring the answers by Reman to a stationing knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Whether Onesimus was up to some radicality, it was himself cast into prison or not, we can't tell. Or whether he learned that Paul was there, and knowing something of it, decided to call on him, we do not know. But at any rate, the result of their coming together was this, that a measurement, too, was brought to know Christ as his Savior. One can imagine that sometime after he had done his best, right, he went to see Paul and unburdened his heart something like this, Paul, you know I've got a great load resting upon my conscience. I know that God has saved me. I know that he has forgiven me. And I rejoice in the salvation that I found in Christ. But you know, Paul, I was a servant in the household of Philemon. And after all, according to law, I owed him my service and my time. But I decided to run away. And when I ran away, I took with me some of my master's goods. Now I feel so convicted about that that I'd like to straighten things up, but I don't know how I can do it. I've wasted all in my godless life. I've nothing wherewith to repay my master, and yet I feel that I ought to go back to it. I ought to confess my wrongdoing, and I ought to put things right. But I don't know how to do it. Well, you know, Paul might have been a mess, but I know your master so well that I'm sure if I just write a letter asking him to treat you leniently, and give you a chance to work out the debt you owe that you'll be willing to do it. But the truth of righteousness is so risked all souls that he wasn't intent to do that. He saw in this a beautiful opportunity to illustrate the gospel of the grace of God. And so he said, as it were, to an estimate, yes, you should go home. You should give yourself up to your master. You have nothing to pay. You can't put things right. But Anesimus, I'm going to become your surety. I'll undertake to settle your debt. And I'm going to write the letter to Philemon, and I want you to take it to him. Don't plead anything for yourself. Just hand him the letter, in which he will learn that I'm willing to settle everything in a righteous way. And so I can imagine, you know, the gratitude of Anesimus Tarth, and how the day came when with Paul's letter in his bag, He started back to the city of Colossae. I've often tried to visualize the meeting between Onesimus and Philemon. I've imagined, perhaps, that Philemon might have been looking out the door of his house, maybe, one day, and looking down the road, and he would suddenly say to himself, why, I wonder who that is coming up the road. He walked just like that, rashly, Scoundrel Onesimus, who robbed me and ran away from me. But I fancy it can't be he. He wouldn't be returning home. And yet, it looks very much like him. And he would keep on watching and looking, and finally, sure enough, Onesimus turned in at the gate. And I can imagine him stepping right up to him and saying, Saliman, master! Saliman saying, well, Onesimus, you're back, are you? What have you got to say to yourself? And I fancy a Massimus would simply hand to his master the letter which he has brought from the Apostle Paul. I think I see Pauline who's taking the letter eagerly and looking up with wonder as he noticed the first word. Paul! Paul! Why, oh Massimus, have you seen Paul? Yes, Master, I've just come from him. He's in prison, you know. Ah, yes, dear old Paul, the man who led me to Christ. What does he say here? Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy, our brother. Oh, that fine young fellow, Timothy, who is out preaching with him. On to Philemon, our dearly beloved and fellow laborer. My, how nicely he speaks to me. far better than I deserve, and to our beloved Apphia, Apphia, that was Mrs. Philemon, Apphia, come here, here's a letter from Paul, and I fancy Mrs. Philemon would come running, and may the Archippus, the young preacher who is staying in their house, behind her, as Philemon went on reading, and to Archippus, our fellow soldier, and to the church in thy house. Why, Appiah would say, have you really? Oh, there's that miserable runaway slave of ours. Don't say a word. Let's see what Paul has to say about it, Appiah. And so they would go on reading together. I thank my God, making mention of the always in the prayer. Hearing of thy love and faith, my heart, how delightfully you write, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus and toward all faiths, I wish I loved them better, and that the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus, with great joy and consolation. And then what does he say here? Either seeks thee for my son, or Nesimith. You know, actually I fancy a Nesimith has been playing a religious game with him in order to get his sympathy. I wonder if he ever told him how he's robbed him, the bad way he behaved before he ran away. Let's read on. Which in time past was to be unprofitable, I'd just say he was. But now profitable, hmm, I'm not so sure. Whom I sent again, might just as well have kept him. Thou therefore receive him, that is mine own thou, my, he must have learned to take a lot of, a lot of an influence. Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel. If he didn't work better for him than he did for me, it wouldn't amount to much. But without thine mind would I do nothing. He would have been perfectly welcome to have kept him. for perhaps he therefore departed for a season without his receiving forever. Not now as a servant, though, no, he's become too high tone to be a servant, has he? Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother, beloved, well, I should have to be assured that there was some real evidence of repentance before I would accept him as a brother, a brother beloved. If I thought that he had owned up to his crime, confessed his robbery, I'd feel different about it. What, oh wait, what is he saying here? If he has wronged thee. for all of the off uh... then he has told all about the way he wronged me if you get the wrong deal or three off but that's on my back out i'd follow britain and with my own hand uh... he will for a fag i fancy for lehman's attitude underwent a complete day i don't think it's hard for an effort to play on that You'll confess then the wrong you did in robbing us and running away, behaving in such a rascally manner. Yes, Master, I'm awfully ashamed of it. I'd like to pay everything back. I'd like to settle up everything to the last penny, but I'm unable to do so. But you see what Paul says. Aye, I do see what he says. He says that he'll be your cure, dear Lesterman. because he'll pay everything for you. Well then, on the strength of Paul's pleading, I shall have to forgive you, and I do forgive you, and forgive you freely. Isn't it a wonderful picture of the gospel? You know, it seems to me that this is the way the Lord Jesus Christ Takes every poor penitent sinner into the presence of the Father, and he says, My Father, he has wronged thee. He owes me much, more than he could ever pay. But all has been put to my account, and I've settled for everything on Calvary. I'm sure you know that Philemon never sent the bill to Paul. I think rather he inquired particularly concerning his circumstances, and probably mailed him a check for fifty dollars or something, I don't really know whether they had dollars or not in those days, but anyway, some equivalent. I'm sure he would do that rather than measure the bills. You know, dear friends, when the Lord Jesus Christ became my duty, he had to pay the uttermost part. When he went to Calvary's cross, and all my guilt was cast against him, he settled for everything. And then he cried, it is finished. And on the basis of that finished work, God can freely forgive. and justify completely every poor sinner who trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so Onesimus here becomes a picture then of the forgiven sinner. Luther was right when he said, we are all God's Onesimi. But now having been forgiven, It would have been a wonderful thing if my Lehman had said, well, now, Edson, if you go on down there to the servants' quarters, take off your travelling socks and get into your work clothes and get busy. You've been away long enough. But instead of that, I fancy you return to Amsterdam and say, Amsterdam, where do we bring up? And perhaps a bit surprised, he would say, put him up? Well, you know his room, he belongs out there with the rest of the Barns. Ah, but look, see what Paul said. He says, if thou count me there for a partner, receive him as myself. You see, actually if Paul had put it up to us to show what we think of him by the way we treat Ornesto, if Paul came, we wouldn't send him down to the servants' quarters, would we? Oh, no. Surely not, Sir Leland. And we'd give him that best corner room up there with the sunshine and all the conveniences. We wouldn't think of putting him out among the servants. But don't you think we'd better put a Maximus up there then? We're to manifest our love for Paul the way we preach him. I don't know how all the details worked out, but I do know this, that when the Lord Jesus presents a received soul to the Father, He says to him, my father, if thou count me therefore thy partner, receive him as myself. And scripture says, he hath made us to be accepted in the beloved. And the Lord Jesus himself in his prayer to the father, as recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John, uses these wonderful words, that the world may know that thou hast loved them even as thou hast loved me." That's the measure of the acceptance that the Father gives to the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, as he is souls are we in this world. It's no longer a question of what we deserve, but it's a question of what Christ deserves. We stand before God complete in Him. There is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus. Or am I addressing any poor, needy sinner today? And is your conscience mopping because of wrong committed in days gone by and sins for which you can never make amends? Let me point you to Calvary's cross. Let me remind you afresh that there, upon that tree, the Lord Jesus was wounded for your transgression, was bruised for your iniquity. The chastisement of your peace was upon Him, and with His stripes you may be perfectly healed. Trusting Him, all His works were down to your account, and the Father bestows upon you the same love that He bestows upon His beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. And so you see in this lovely little letter, a beautiful picture then, of substitution and acceptance. The gospel of the grace of God acted up to show us just how God deals with a sinner who comes to Him in the name of His blessed Son. Have you come? Have you put in your claim? Have you trusted? If not, oh, I plead with you, come now, as many as receive Him. For them gave He power to become the children of God, even to them that believe in His name.