Forgiveness And Acceptance

Philemon 1-20

Today’s Scripture passage from this week’s Lectionary in the Book of Common Prayer comes from a short personal letter the Apostle Paul wrote to a fellow believer.  Philemon was a wealthy man and probably an elder in the church of Colossae, which met in his house. At the time of his writing, Paul was a prisoner in Rome. While there he came into contact with a runaway slave named Onesimus, who had fled from Philemon, his master.  At this time Paul was possibly under house arrest, and not in an actual prison, and he was allowed visitors. While meeting with Paul, he led Onesimus to saving faith in the Lord Jesus, and Onesimus was an immense help to him in various ways.

At this time, slavery was legal in the Roman Empire and throughout the whole world.  In addition Onesimus had stolen from Philemon, and Paul knew this must be set right. Onesimus was afraid to go back, but now as a believer, he, too, knew that wrongs needed to be set right, and that was the purpose of this letter.  Paul was seeking to have Philemon take Onesimus back with no harsh consequences, to welcome him back now as a brother in Christ. Paul had led Philemon to the Lord years earlier, and was in a sense his spiritual father. In addition, Paul was an Apostle, and had the authority to tell Philemon what was right to do.  However, he appealed to him as a friend in love, to accept Onesimus back with love. Paul wanted Philemon’s actions to send a powerful message to the church about the importance of forgiveness.

Though afraid to return, Onesimus did the right thing and returned to Philemon.  Running from our problems, like Onesimus did, will not solve them. We, today, should not avoid the difficulties of life, but instead obey God.  Both Philemon and Onesimus needed to follow and obey God, the one to return and restore what was stolen, the other to accept the other back in love.  God wants our willing and joyful obedience, not grudging submission. If we believe His way is best, we will have no trouble obeying Him.

The main theme in this Scripture passage is one of forgiveness and love.  Philemon needed to forgive Onesimus for fleeing and for stealing either money and belongings, and to show Christian love to him.  Onesimus needed to forgive Philemon for any harsh treatment he received. Paul sought to free both from anger, bitterness, wrong attitudes and behavior.  He urges Philemon to offer grace rather than demand justice.

Has someone betrayed or offended us?  Has someone walked away from us? We may need to learn the lessons that Philemon did.  Christian relationships must be full of forgiveness and acceptance. We are to forgive and restore our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, even as Jesus has forgiven and restored us.  As Christians, we should forgive as we have been forgiven (Matthew 6:12; Ephesians 4:31-32). Jesus calls us to treat the one we’ve forgiven as we would want to be treated.

The name Onesimus means “useful”.  He had hardly been that to Philemon.  But now Onesimus had been radically transformed by God’s grace.  In his letter to Philemon, Paul uses a play on words (vs. 11). He told Philemon that Onesimus was once unprofitable or useless, but now he is profitable or useful.  Before coming to Christ we were all unprofitable to God, but now, like Onesimus, we are profitable and useful to Him.

Another message in this letter of Paul to Philemon is that salvation is not determined or affected by  a person’s station in life. God accepts anyone who comes to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ, whether they are rich or poor, well-educated or not, regardless of their race or nationality.  God accepted the slave Onesimus just as readily as He accepted the wealthy Philemon. In Christ we are one family. No walls of racial, economic, or political differences should separate us. All fellow Christians are our equals before Christ, regardless of any differences in wealth, education level, nationality, etc.  How we treat them reflects our true Christian commitment.