Please, if you will, turn your Bibles to the Epistle to Philemon. So it's only one chapter, but I'll say chapter one, verses eight through 20. So Philemon, verses eight through 20, and I'll give you a moment to turn there. Okay. Philemon, verses 8-20. Hear ye then the word of the Lord. Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you. I, Paul, an old man, am now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus. I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me. I am sending him back to you, sending him my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me, and that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, but I prefer to do nothing without your consent, in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion, but of your own accord. For this reason, this is perhaps why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever. No longer as a bondservant, but more than a bondservant as a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. If he has wronged you at all or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it. To say nothing of your owing, even me, even your own self. Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever and ever. Father, we do thank you for your word, we do. Pray, Lord, open our hearts by your Holy Spirit. Help us to hear and to heed, Father. Walk in accordance with your word and your will. Lord, help us to see our own need individually for your Holy Word. We thank you, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen. And of course, one of the worst things that you can say to another human being is not this, like basically, I don't like you. We've all probably heard that at one time or another. It happens to everybody. But it's not, I don't like you. It's not even, I don't care about you, which sounds pretty harsh. But one of the worst things is to call somebody useless. Really useless. That's like calling a person worthless. You have no value. Why are you even alive? Those are really harsh things to say. Yes, in the flesh we do get angry. We do say things we should not say and do things we shouldn't do. Sometimes we say things that are exceptionally cruel. that maybe has been spoken to you and you'll remember those for the next 40 or 50 years or until you just can't remember anymore. And that might be a blessing for you when you don't remember that. But especially we say such things to our own children or to our spouses, which we should not do. And yet Jesus died for useless and worthless sinners. Talk about all sinners, okay, upon this planet. He died for useless and worthless sinners. For all those who have been redeemed by the Lamb need to be changed. They need to be changed. They need to be made useful for Jesus Christ by faith in Him. They must be born again by the Spirit of God. All right, we understand that. And yet, Jesus takes that which is rejected by men, okay, and women, and turns them into the very saints of God. If you are in Christ Jesus, you have faith, you're trusting in him, you are a holy one, you are a saint of almighty God. And so Jesus takes the worthless ones and he makes them worth the greatest of all by laying his own life down, laying his holy life down to save sinners just like all of us. He saves sinners just like all of us. Well, Paul here in our text is still striving for a reconciliation between Onesimus and Philemon. One is a slave, their bond servant. The other is a slave owner. These men are both now born again Christians. They've been born again by the Spirit of God and they have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They've been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and truly and actually they are now brothers in Christ. Very different backgrounds. We don't even know originally where Onesimus was from, but he was a slave here under Philemon. And so Paul now must directly address Philemon in this epistle. I told you he's going to kind of get to the meat and potatoes of it all, and he is. For he is appealing to Philemon in a very gentle way. He doesn't have to, But he wants to, okay? He wants to, to do what? He wants Philemon to do the right thing. And he wants him to do it of his own accord. He doesn't want to tell him, well, I'm an apostle, I command thee to do this. He said, no, I am appealing to you as my brother, okay? But he wants him to do the right thing. So Philemon must come to the point and understanding to change his mind regarding a man whom he would have once considered a useless person. That's why Paul has a play on words here, and even on the name of Onesimus, and I'll get to that in a moment. But he considered Onesimus to be a useless, unworthy slave, who deserved now the punishment of slaves, either being branded upon the forehead for his crime, or punished severely, or even to have him executed. I think branding on the forehead is pretty severe as it is. Well, it was a very real possibility here in the life of Onesimus. But Paul loves both of these brothers and he wants them to see themselves for who they really are now. He said, I know who you were, but I know who you are, and you are brothers in Christ, and you must accept that of each other. Accept who you are, who your brother or sister is. And he wants them to see that and understand who they are because of that. And they need to start living as brothers in Christ. Do so for the glory of God. Do so for the good of the body of Christ. here for Onesimus and Philemon, and yes, for the good of this whole church, written to in Philemon. So now Paul gets to the very nitty-gritty of the letter, for the useless has been made useful. Indeed, he says, okay? We consider our subject under these headings. First, we see an appeal for a child in the faith. Secondly, we see more than a servant. And third, the day of compensation. a day of compensation. And I do pray we'll see the true value of every one of our brothers and sisters that we have, all around the world. Yes, here at Antioch, but all of our brothers and sisters in Christ, even in Goldsboro and all this, all of them scattered throughout this world that we live on. And so having set that up, let's continue on with our first heading, an appeal for a child in the faith. In verses eight and nine, I continue. Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you. I, Paul, an old man, and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus. While Paul certainly had the authority as an apostle of Christ, he doesn't push his authority upon Philemon. He could, if he wanted to, and he had the absolute authority from the Lord to do so, but he could, because as stated in the verses above, they pray for and minister to one another. So he's not pushing his authority upon Philemon, because they love each other as brothers in Christ. They care for each other, and they both know that. Could Paul command him? Absolutely he could, and he would be required to do so if he does. But he appeals to him in a far more gentle way. We've already seen the first parts of the letter here as well, and how he approaches him in a very sweet and unique way. But here, will Paul then exercise his right to command him. He does have the right, make no mistake. But why? Because he cares for him and he strives to appeal to Philemon. He has the right, but he won't do it. Because Philemon knows the right thing to do. He knows the right thing to do, but he needs more than understanding what it is. He needs a proper persuasion to take the step of faith, because that's what it is for him. It is a step of faith that he needs to take. And so he says, for love's sake, I prefer to appeal to you. So Paul is an old man now. He's an old man. When Stephen was stoned, he was young. He was probably in his 30s, early 30s. Sorry, young folks. I was young in those days. A young man was 30. So he's in his younger 30s at that point. And this is much later, so he's a lot older. But he says Paul's an old man now. He's been in prison for Christ and the gospel for a while. Now Philemon knows all about this. He knows all this, he's been a great encourager himself to the Apostle Paul in his imprisonment during his time in jail. And so we know that Paul and Philemon, they do love and care for each other as brothers in Christ. So Paul shows it by his entire approach to this letter to him and this epistle. Well, I think that this is a beautiful expression, really, of how he can learn, how we all can learn to deal with and address various issues within the body of Christ. Appealing to one another, of course. Following Matthew 18, you have an issue with your brother or sister, go to them and talk to them. Talk to that person before you go talking to anybody else. Go and try to work it out. and be ready to forgive one another. But we do what needs to be done, and we do so out of love for one another. We know what the right thing is to do, and we are to do that. Not because we want to assert our rights, not because we want to push our authority. What would happen if all we did was push for our right to chastise another brother or sister in Christ? We would essentially be ostracizing them. We'd be cutting them off. We'd be treating them not as a brother or a sister, but we'd be treating them as an infidel, as an unbeliever, as one who has not been born again by the Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. We'd be treating them as an unbeliever. And we are not to do that with our brothers and sisters. That is not expressing the love of God and Christ for that person at all. And we know what the Lord say, may we must love one another as Christ, just as Christ loved us. And so we seek then to be gentle and humble. And Paul is being that exact way here in this letter. But we are to be gentle and humble and demonstrate our love for one another, even when the task is very difficult. Maybe even especially when the task is exceedingly difficult, we need to do so. So is it hard to do that sometimes? Yeah, it's hard. Hard for everybody to do that sometimes. Some people don't have a hard time. They'll get up in your face and let you know right away. But we need to be aware of these things. It can be difficult. We are human, we are still prone to make mistakes, we are still prone to, how shall we say, go off the deep end, but we must resist the temptation to tear our brothers and sisters apart. We're not to do that, okay? We are to resist that temptation. Will there be times when rebelliousness arises? Will there be times when sin comes up that it must be addressed? Yes, and when it comes up, it must be addressed. So we are to do so with the proper heart attitude, an attitude of repentance, seeking reconciliation, seeking to restore the brother or sister back into the proper fellowship with the Lord and with one another. So Paul is reaching out here to Philemon. He's reaching out to him in a very godly, humble, loving manner. He's his brother. He knows this. He's known him for a long time now. Good while, long time, all this. Look at verse 10. Now Paul says, I appeal to you for my child Onesimus. Now did Paul have a child? No, Paul did not have a baby named Onesimus. But he says, whose father I became in my imprisonment. Now he was converted under the Apostle Paul's ministry, all right? So he appeals to him based on that. Now Philemon values relationships. He does. He cares about all those in the church, just as Paul does. He cares about them very much. He has shown this, by the way, with his church that meets in his house. He's shown that to all of them. They all know that he is a humble man and a godly man. And so Paul appeals to him and says that Onesimus is his child in the faith. He's a child in the faith. How is Paul a father to Onesimus? Like I said, Paul led him to faith in Christ. He led him through the gospel and he sees Onesimus as a spiritual child in Christ. And he's like a spiritual father to him. So when did this occur? It occurred while Paul was still in chains, while he was still in prison. Paul was there to see Onesimus born again by the Spirit of God. Somehow, we aren't told exactly how they met, but Paul was already in prison, but probably because he was sent to serve Paul at some point. But anyway, he knows that Onesimus is a new man in Christ. He knows he is his brother. He knows his profession of faith. He has seen his life in assisting him in the gospel work there at prison. So he was converted on hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he believed with his whole heart. And Paul knows this. He is no longer a runaway slave. He is no longer running away from God either. We have to understand, sometimes we see ourselves in this. He is no longer running away from God because he was before. Every sinner who is not in Christ is still running away from God. We need to understand that. And thus he should no longer run away from Philemon, his brother, either. And so the slave-master relationship between them is forever changed. It's completely different. Now they serve one another as brothers in Christ, and not to be in that slave-master relationship anymore, but they were two who were made one and by brothers as being brothers and sisters in Christ, right? And so they're worshipers now. worshipers together of the Lord, they are part of the one body of Christ. And Philemon must understand that, Onesimus must understand that, and they must be united together as brethren in Christ, part of the one body. So Onesimus is changed, okay? He's a changed man. His life has been changed by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. All of his sins, every one of his sins has been forgiven. But will Philemon also forgive him? And he must. And he must. And Paul knows this, and Philemon knows this. So how? Of course, by faith in Jesus Christ. And now, Philemon must change his own attitude towards this brother, who is a dear brother too. Look at verse 11. Formally, he was useless to you. But now he is indeed useful to you and to me. And by the way, the name Onesimus, the original meaning of the name Onesimus has its roots meaning this, profitable, helpful, or useful. Okay, so his name. technically means useful. And he was being called useless and probably called that on purpose. Paul is making a word play on the name here in our text. He uses the words here useless from the word ekrestos, okay? And the word useful from the word eukrestos, coming from the same root, okay? It's related to the name Onesimus. In other words, the once useless one is not, well, he is now useful, okay? He is no longer useless, but he is now useful for God and Christ, useful to the body of Christ, useful for Paul. He is not useless at all. So Onesimus has been spiritually transformed. His life has been changed. He's different. He's a different man. He has a new will, a new heart, new desires, new nature, and he has been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. knows that now as well Philemon knows it is time then for Philemon to recognize his brother he must recognize him as his brother in Christ just as Paul does and as Philemon recognizes Paul as his brother in Christ, so he must also recognize Onesimus in the same manner. It is time then for Philemon and Onesimus to love his brother, leading to our second heading in verses 12 through 16. Here we see he is now more than a servant More than a servant. Paul now appeals to Philemon in a different way. A very different way, as a sacrificial act on Paul's part. And we'll understand why in a second. Look at verse 12 and 13. He said, I am sending him back to you. Okay, sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I like that expression. I would have been glad to keep him with me in order that he might serve me on your behalf. during my imprisonment for the gospel. So Onesimus has been extremely helpful to Paul during his imprisonment and the work of the gospel. He has assisted him in whatever help that Paul may have needed. It may have been writing, we don't know, we aren't told exactly. It could have been taking food and water to him during the day, whatever it might be. But he was assisting Paul in the work in some manner or another. A very, very beautiful thing. Paul needed some help. And he had it here in Onesimus and he is sending him back. So he's giving up the one who was there, who gladly assisted him in whatever he might ask. And so Paul was giving up his blessed helper, recognizing that he was basically given by Christ as this help that he needed. And so he and Philemon, he sends him back. that he and Philemon might be reconciled and restored. Philemon and Onesimus, brothers in Christ, no longer slave and master, brothers in Christ. Notice Paul said, I am sending my very heart That is a wonderful expression. The word heart here refers to Onesimus, of course. Talk about Onesimus. Paul wanted him to stay, but he does what is needed for their sakes. For Onesimus and for Philemon. Both of them need this reconciliation. Both of them need to be restored. in a very proper, godly way. And so Paul knows that, yes, I would love for him to stay, but you must go back. You must go back. And Philemon, you must receive him, not as a slave, but as your own brother. I send my heart to you. Okay, talking about Onesimus. So Onesimus was not then sent alone, though. He's not going over there by himself to face penalty and beg for mercy. He's not being asked to do that. But he was sent with Tichycus, we saw in Colossians. He was sent with Tichycus, who would speak for him as well. Tichycus would speak on his behalf. Plus the epistle to the Colossians was sent by way of these two as well. Onesimus was with them, in which Paul spoke of love and forgiveness. And so they're all aware of that, okay? The church of Philemon's house would have received that epistle, too, and he would have had opportunity to read that. But would Philemon want to break Paul's heart? He loves Paul. He doesn't want to break his heart now. Does Philemon want to do that which will glorify Christ? Yes, he does. He does, okay, of course he does. William Hendrickson said this, he says, surely never did a runaway return to his master in better company. Onesimus is my very heart, said Paul. So Paul knows that Philemon must be the one who decides, you know, basically on Onesimus. It must come from Philemon. He must choose to do this godly thing, and he must do so willingly, and it must come on his own decision, not himself. Decide on Onesimus, for there would be a great blessing on the one following Christ in this manner. Philemon must consent on this, not Paul. Paul could order it, but he said, no, you need to do this. Philemon is between you and him. You must do that which will bring glory to Christ. Will you do that? And of course we will know that this will be the case. Look at verse 14 through 16. For I prefer to do nothing without your consent, in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion, but of your own accord. For this, perhaps, is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a bond-servant." The word is dulash, meaning slave. slave but more than a slave as a beloved brother especially to me but how much more to you both in the flesh and in the Lord so we see of course a purpose clause there the words in order that you know that's a purpose the purpose was this that Onesimus might serve Paul on Philemon's behalf It would be a goodness brought about by Philemon's consent, by his own decision to do so. If he could have thrown him in jail, all kinds of things, he must do that which would be pleasing to the Lord by loving his brother. It would be a goodness brought about by him, okay, through his effort, not Paul's. It would be his opportunity to do good for his brother in Christ, both to Paul and to Onesimus. This is important, this is for both of their good. And Paul recognized that, yes, he could somehow, you know, order all this to happen and oversee all this. He said, no, you're two godly men, two brothers in Christ, you can work this out. You can. This might be the reason Onesimus was separated from Philemon in the will of God. Separated from him for this time, for Onesimus' conversion and for his service to Paul, and all this was an act of goodness, of course, by God, but it's a goodness here being done by Philemon. Therefore, because it is a good work for the glory of God in Christ, Philemon must consent and he must receive Onesimus back, not as a slave. Just as he would if Paul the Apostle himself received them back as a dear brother in Christ Jesus. So we need to remember that those who are now in Christ, they are your brothers and your sisters in Christ. They're not worthless, they are not useless, but now more than ever, they are useful for you, useful to the body of Christ. They're more than worthy. Made so because of Christ. How? Because of Jesus Christ who changes the hearts and the souls of sinners. He makes them saints. He makes saints out of sinners. He does so. That's what Jesus Christ does by the power of the Holy Ghost. He clothes them in his own righteousness, the righteousness of Christ. They are more than worthy, not of their own, but because of who they belong to, what Jesus did in their life. So treat them well. Treat them well. They are not useless. They're not worthless. These are your brothers and sisters. Treat them well and love them, for we are servants together of Christ, servants to one another. And finally, we come to our last point, the day of compensation. and verses 17 through 20. Talk about compensation. Everybody likes getting paid on payday, right? Everybody likes to get paid and get your, you know, pay your bills and all that kind of stuff. Yeah, everybody likes to do that. So here we have the day of compensation. If you will look at verses 17 through 20. He writes, so if you consider me as your partner, receive him as you would receive me. If he has wronged you at all or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand, I will repay it, to say nothing of your owing me, even your own self. Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. And so Paul says basically this, if we are really partners in the gospel, that's that word that comes from koinonia koinonos, all right? Partnership, okay? If we are really partners in the gospel of Jesus Christ, then you need to receive Onesimus back just as you would receive me. You love me? Love him, okay? He's your brother. You care about me in prison? Care about Onesimus right there at your own house right now, in the house church, there he meets in your home. So you need to receive him. And so if you love me, love him too. He's your brother in Christ. Philemon must come to this conclusion himself, in his own heart and mind. He must be convinced. And so Paul knows that it is possible that Onesimus Now, runaway slaves were not unknown to take things. We're not told flat out here, but there's always a possibility. Paul knows that it's possible that Onesimus may owe something to Philemon. If anything, for the labor that he did not do, or perhaps it was common for slaves to steal things when they were running away as well, perhaps a theft, something happened. But Paul says, if he owes you anything, Whatever that might be, if he owes you anything, or has wronged you in any way. Charge that to me. I'll make it right. I'll pay it on his account, okay? Paul would find some way to pay it back. No, he wasn't suddenly wealthy. He's in prison. He wasn't suddenly wealthy, but he knew that the Lord would provide one way or the other. He would pay it back somehow, some way to Philemon if needed. He was willing to compensate Philemon for any loss that he may have occurred, including his labor. All right, compensate for that. Paul then commits himself, I think we miss this sometimes in the English, that Paul commits himself to do that, saying this, I, Paul, it's kind of funny to see this at the end of this epistle. Sometimes he does a show that says, written by his own hand and authority, okay? He says, I, Paul, write this with my own hand, I will repay it. By these words, one scholar said, he says essentially this, this is my promissory note with my signature attached. I've said it here in this letter, I've signed it. He said, I will compensate you if need be. All right, so it's a promissory note. It acts in that way as well. So he's willing to compensate for any loss and promises to do this if necessary. Usually, Paul would have an omenuensis. It'd be like a secretary who would write for him. He would dictate and the secretary would write for him, called an omenuensis. I'd say it, omenuensis, but he writes this letter with his own hand, and most of the time your wife said with big letters too, by the way. Talk about his eyesight is not all that great. But though he is willing, he also reminds Philemon this. I am, I summarize, I am your spiritual father too. I am Nesimus, I'm his spiritual father, but I'm also your spiritual father. You owe me your own life as a Christian. Okay, we see that in the text where Paul took the gospel to him and he heard and he believed also. And so yes, brother, I want some benefit from you and the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. Refresh me. as well by doing this for another as you refresh Onesimus after the trip and Tychicus and all these. Refresh me, pardon Onesimus, pardon him, forgive him and receive him in Christ Jesus just as you would receive me. Receive Onesimus, yes, your former slave. Receive him back as your brother forever. He's only temporarily been a slave. He'll be your brother forever. And you'll see him in glory with you on that day. So Paul knows that Philemon will do this. Philemon is a godly man, but he wants to put it into his hands, and he does. May we, of course, ourselves, you know, ask him, refresh me as you do this good thing, this good work for Onesimus to the glory of God. Refresh me. And we need to be aware of our need to, in that same idea, of refreshing one another. Build each other up. Don't tear each other down. Build each other up. You know, a yes, speak a word of encouragement, share the word of God, a scripture, something that the Lord has put on your heart. Don't blast them. Paul didn't blast Philemon here. As your brother or sister in Christ, then appeal to them. Okay, appeal to them. And so may we refresh one another and even here as Paul was willing, compensate one another by forgiving one another as we are to do. Loving one another and serving Christ in all that we say and think and do. Compensate each other with these good things. Compensate each other by being a blessing to one another and the very attitude that we have, that we share. Let it be that which is pleasing to our Lord and edifying to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Let's pray. Father, we do thank you, Lord, for thy holy word, and we do thank you, Father, for this epistle written to Philemon and to all those in the church there with him. And Father, we do pray help us to be aware of the unique situations that our brothers and sisters may be in, O Lord. Help us to truly be gracious one to another, Lord, that we might be willing to show the love of Christ to those that we might feel, and oh, they're beneath me. Why would I fellowship with them? It's because they're your brother. They're our brothers and sisters in Christ. Lord, I pray we might build up one another for your glory. Father, we reach out to one another with the love of Christ in everything that we do and say, Father, we pray for the work and the moving of your Holy Spirit upon our hearts. O Lord, apply thy word to our hearts. O Lord, inscribe it by your Spirit, Lord, on our souls, that you might truly love our brothers and sisters in the way that we are commanded to, just as Jesus loves us. O Lord, what a glorious declaration. May we follow this and heed your commands to love the Lord with all our heart, to love our neighbors as ourselves, but to love our brothers and sisters just as Jesus loves us. Father, we ask and we thank you in Jesus' holy name. Amen. Let's all go ahead.