Philemon
April 12, 2022
“Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love... I appeal to you for my son, Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains.” (v8-10)
Paul, from house arrest in Rome, writes this letter to Philemon, on behalf of a slave (Onesimus), who stole from Philemon and then ran away. While on the run, Onesimus providentially met Paul, who led him to the Lord (v10). And so, Paul is now “appealing” to Philemon (v8) to receive Onesimus back as a brother in Christ, not a criminal-slave. Paul could have played the apostle-card and “forced” Philemon to set Onesimus free (v14). But instead, Paul uses Gospel-love to motivate Philemon to do the right thing - not only preaching the gospel to Philemon, but practicing the gospel with Philemon: offering to pay Philemon whatever Onesimus owes him (v18).
Father, I thank You for this beautiful picture of the gospel, that is illustrated in Paul’s willingness to pay the debt that Onesimus owed, in order to redeem him from slavery. I praise You that the gospel is so powerful - that it can inspire a heart to renounce and relinquish evil - including slave-holding and anything else that does not align with Your purposes for human flourishing. I pray that You would grow in me the gift of applying the gospel to challenging situations - like Paul does here with Philemon - so that those under my spiritual care are motivated by Gospel-love to do the right thing.
— Pastor Joshua Brooks
Use the following steps to guide your daily time with the Lord…
-
Start with prayer. Ask God to open your heart to help you understand and receive His Word.
-
Read and observe the passage carefully. As needed, read a second Bible version to help with understanding.
➡️ What does it say?
What does this passage teach me about God? What does it say about my sinful nature and my need for God’s grace? How does this passage point to Jesus?
-
➡️ What am I going to do about it?
Does this passage include a promise to claim, an action/attitude to avoid/embrace, or a principle to apply? How can this truth apply to my life? What could my next step be? How can I share this with others? Is there a verse or section of Scripture I need to memorize?
