Text: Philemon

1. Background
1. One of the prison epistles along with Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians
2. Philemon lived in the city of Colossae
3. Personal letter
1. I’m not sure that Paul knew it would become a part of Scripture
2. He doesn’t claim to be an apostle like when he is addressing a church
2. Story behind the epistle
1. Onesimus was a slave of Philemon’s
2. He had stolen and fled from him
3. Along the way, he met Paul and was converted
4. Paul writes to Philemon on Onesimus’ behalf requesting that he be received without punishment
5. Paul asks Philemon to "put that to my account"
3. Theological Lesson
1. Imputation: Swap
1. Christ’s Righteousness imputed to man
2. Man’s sinfulness imputed to Christ
3. "the just for the unjust"
4. illus. Swapping baseball cards
2. Substitution: "in place of"
1. idea behind the OT sacrifices
2. only way our penalty could be paid
4. Practical Lessons
1. How to get your way without offending someone
1. Build rapport (v. 4-10)
2. Persuade the mind (v. 11-19)
3. Move the emotions (v. 20-21)
2. Salvation changes your relationships
1. reconciliation between God and man
2. reconciliation between slave and master
1. went from a master/slave relationship to a brother/brother relationship
2. enemy of God to peace with God
3. by Roman law he was a slave; by Christ’s law he was now a brother
3. Be content in whatever state you are called
3. Salvation is God’s primary concern, not social engineering
1. Why slavery is not condemned outright
2. Why Paul is more concerned with the heart of these two brothers than he is with the externals
4. God’s emphasis is not on buildings or programs, but on people (house church concept)
5. Integrity of Paul
1. He didn’t abuse his apostolic authority. He could have commanded Philemon to allow Onesimus to stay
2. He was "above board" and sought Philemon’s mind first
3. Christians should have the attitude of going the second mile rather than doing just enough to get by