Paul concludes his letter to Philemon today by saying he is confident that he will do the right thing. The conversion of Onesimus is so real and the work he's doing is so beneficial to Paul's ministry that he hates to send him back to his master, but it's the right thing to do. He urges Philemon to treat Onesimus not as a slave but as a brother in Christ, which is what he is.
"I am sending him---who is my very heart---back to you. I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary." (Philemon 1:12-14) Philemon himself is a Christian, and Paul appeals to him from this standpoint, saying, "Having Onesimus helping me is, by extension, like having you here helping me. I know you would give me assistance if you could, and Onesimus has done this in your place. I am not a free man and I need friends like him who can bring me supplies and letters and who can deliver letters for me and do things in the Christian community that I can't do myself."
In reading these words Philemon's heart will be softened by thinking about how Paul, his brother in Christ, is suffering. Philemon has a great deal of respect for Paul and will find it difficult to hold a grudge against Onesimus who has been saved under Paul's preaching and who has been ministering to Paul in prison. Under Roman law Philemon could have Onesimus executed for running away, but clearly he's not that kind of man, because Paul doesn't seem to even consider the possibility that Philemon will be so harsh. We know this because Paul expects Philemon to accept Onesimus back into the household, for Paul will instruct him how to treat him once he's back in the household.
"Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever---no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord." (Philemon 1:15-16) Paul asks Philemon to look on the bright side. Although it was wrong of Onesimus to run away, the Lord took a bad situation and made something good out of it. For whatever reason, Onesimus never converted to Christianity while living in the household of Philemon, even though a church meets in Philemon's house. Perhaps the only thing Onesimus could think about in those days was being a free man and doing what he wanted to do, so he paid no attention to Christian doctrine while in Colossae. But Christ met him in Rome and freed him from slavery to sin, and now that he's made things right with his heavenly Master he is ready to make things right with his earthly master. He is going to be a great deal of help to Philemon now, so Philemon should look at the matter from this viewpoint, not from the viewpoint of how inconvenienced and unhappy Onesimus formerly made him.
Paul now makes it impossible for Philemon to be bitter toward Onesimus. He asks Philemon to treat Onesimus as he would treat Paul himself. "So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back---not to mention that you owe me your very self. I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask." (Philemon 1:17-21) Paul's words indicate that Philemon is one of his converts. We can't help but think fondly of the preachers under whose preaching we came to Christ, can we? I came to Christ through the radio preaching of Dr. Charles Stanley and to this day I listen to his program and think fondly of him and have a lot of respect for him. If Dr. Charles Stanley told me how I am to treat a brother or sister in Christ, you can be sure I'd take his words to heart, and Paul knows Philemon will take his words to heart. Philemon and Onesimus are now family members in Christ, and their relationship is forever changed because of this.
"And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers. Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." (Philemon 1:22-25) Paul hoped to be set free. If so, he planned to visit Philemon. Philemon would want Paul to witness the Christian friendship between himself and Onesimus, so I have no doubt he was obedient to all of Paul's instructions. I don't think Philemon was a harsh man, at least not since he came to Christ, and I think that although he has a right to be angry with Onesimus he will instead extend forgiveness and friendship to him.
Tomorrow we are going to begin our study of the book of Hebrews and I'm very excited about it because I've never done an in-depth study of this book before. I know not everyone has been a big fan of Paul's letters because the number of followers of the blog has dropped quite a bit while we've gone through Paul's letters, but whether or not Paul is the author of Hebrews (most scholars think he was, others think he wasn't), this study is going to be a completely different experience for us. The book of Hebrews is written to Jewish Christians and it presents Christ as the high priest, something which the Jewish readers would have readily understood and something which will teach those of us who are Gentiles something new and beautiful about our Lord.
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