Philemon: A Concrete Faith That Goes Beyond Our Rights

Introduction

"How can you tell that Jesus is at the center of our everyday life?" This is how Patrice Berger opens his message at Église Évangélique AB Renens - Lausanne. Not only on Sunday morning, when we gather, but in daily life.

To answer, he takes an entire book of the Bible: the epistle to Philemon. Only a few verses, with no chapters, which he reads while pausing along the way. It is the story of a runaway slave, a Christian master and an apostle in prison who acts as a mediator between the two.

Behind this very personal letter, the preacher asks a question that touches each of us: are we known for a faith that claims its rights, or for a faith that acts in such a concrete way that it challenges those around us?

Outline of the message

1. A runaway slave and a letter to a friend

The preacher starts from the film Gladiator 2, shown on television the week before: behind the spectacle, the script evokes a reality of that time. Slaves held a considerable place in the Roman Empire, while Roman citizens made up only about 10% of the population.
Some slaves did manual labor, others managed property. But a slave had no rights. If he ran away and was found, he was severely punished: he could be branded on the forehead, or even crucified. Professional slave hunters tracked down the fugitives, because a slave was an investment for his master.
Philemon is a wealthy believer in Colossae, a friend of the apostle Paul. The church meets in his house: in the first century there were no church buildings, and people gathered at the homes of those who had the most room.
His slave Onesimus runs away. By providence, during his flight he is confronted with the gospel and accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior. His life is transformed, and he ends up with Paul, to whom he becomes very useful.
Paul does not want to take advantage of his presence. He writes to Philemon to accompany Onesimus's return. It is Tychicus, a member of the apostle's team, who carries this letter along with the letter to the Colossians.

2. An open letter that begins with gratitude (verses 1 to 7)

Paul writes as "a prisoner of Jesus Christ," together with Timothy. The letter is addressed to Philemon, but also to Apphia, who is thought to be his wife, to Archippus, who may be their son, and to the church that meets in their house. It is an open letter, read before the whole church.
Paul gives thanks for Philemon's faith in the Lord Jesus and for his love toward all the saints: through him, the hearts of the saints have been refreshed.
"What an extraordinary way to begin a letter!" The preacher asked himself: if he had lived at that time, could the apostle Paul have written the same thing about him? And you, if the apostle sent you a letter, could he write that?

3. Asking in the name of love rather than imposing (verses 8 and 9)

Paul has complete freedom in Christ to order Philemon to do what is right. Yet it is "for love's sake" that he prefers to make a request.
He describes himself as "an old man." The term refers to an age of 49 to 56, which makes us smile today. But Paul was worn out by his journeys and trials: he had been stoned and had gone through many hardships, listed in 2 Corinthians 11.
The preacher contrasts this attitude with a formidable technique from the working world: to push a colleague into depression or resignation without having to fire him, you wrongly attack him on his strong point, you belittle what he is good at.
Paul does the opposite. He knows that love for others is Philemon's strong point. He relies on this gift received from Jesus to ask him for something, instead of imposing it, and to invite him to take one more step in his attitude of faith.

4. From useless to useful: the power of salvation (verses 10 to 16)

Paul intercedes for "his child," who became his son in prison. There is a play on words here that is lost in English: Onesimus means "useful," "profitable." "Who once was useless to you, but now is useful to you and to me."
Paul would have been a strange friend if he had gone on benefiting from Onesimus's services while knowing that he belonged to Philemon. He prefers that Philemon's kindness be voluntary and not forced.
A runaway slave has become a brother in Christ. "It is not really a revolution, but it is the power of salvation in Jesus that brings about this liberation." As Paul writes to the Colossians, God delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love.
Paul did not campaign for the abolition of slavery across the world. He came alongside his brother and his neighbor in a concrete way, and he took care of that one case.
In his providence, God turned the situation around: where sin had abounded, through Onesimus's flight and theft, grace abounded all the more through salvation in Jesus. The runaway slave does not come back to be punished. He comes back as a brother with whom forgiveness has to be lived out, who will sing hymns beside Philemon, his wife, his son and the rest of the church.

5. "Put it on my account" (verses 17 to 21)

"If then you count me a partner, receive him as you would receive me. But if he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, put that on my account."
Paul had serious problems with his eyesight, and members of his team wrote the letters he sent. Yet it is thought that he wrote verses 18 and 19 himself, in large letters. Imagine Philemon discovering, in the middle of the letter, this acknowledgment of debt written in the apostle's own hand. It must have been overwhelming.
Onesimus probably had not left empty-handed, and his absence had caused a loss. Paul offers to pay it back.
Paul stresses a second time that he could have imposed. But he counts on Philemon's obedience: "I cannot be with Jesus and remain unmoved, as if there were theory and no practice."
Paul also reminds Philemon that he owes him his very self. Through the apostle's ministry, Philemon discovered that a great debt had been erased by Jesus. All that is left now is a small debt to settle.

6. Mark, the coworker restored (verses 22 to 25)

"Prepare a guest room for me": we see the friendship that binds Paul and Philemon. What will Philemon do? The most optimistic think he set Onesimus free, others that he sent him back to Paul to help him in his captivity. We do not really know.
The closing greetings often leave us cold. Yet we recognize names there: Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke.
What struck the preacher was Mark. He had left Paul and Barnabas's first missionary team (Acts 13). Later, when Barnabas proposed taking him back, Paul refused, and the discussion was so sharp that they formed two different teams.
Yet Mark is found at Paul's side again, in Colossians 4, in 2 Timothy 4 and here in Philemon. The one who had abandoned the team was restored. Paul asks Philemon to walk the same path of concrete faith that he has lived himself. He does not say "you should do this" while remaining impervious himself.

7. A faith that goes beyond our rights

"We are top-level athletes when it comes to individualism." We know very well, in Switzerland in particular, what is fair, what is your share and what is mine.
Imagine Paul writing us such a letter: transparent, on a private matter, speaking of going beyond our rights, with a financial aspect, and read before the whole church. The reflex would be: "Mind your own business." The preacher found many expressions along those lines, and none in the opposite direction, apart from Bible verses.
"My life in Jesus should not be a lever to uphold my rights." It is there to be demonstrated, even if it sometimes costs money, even if it goes beyond what the law requires.
The Roman Empire was turned upside down because believers did things that went beyond what was fair and due. It left such a mark on the Empire that, three centuries later, an emperor had to take it into account. "Are we known as people who are disconcerting in our actions, or as the neighborhood gossips?"
If this letter has reached us, it is probably because the outcome was very favorable; otherwise it would have been hidden or destroyed. Paul, for that matter, did not seem worried: he knew that Philemon would do even more than he asked.
Paul did not start a social revolution. He acted as a believer in the situation he was living. Loving your neighbor as yourself means responding to the situation that presents itself to you. It is because all these believers simply lived out their faith with their neighbors that the Empire was turned upside down.
The preacher also recalls fruits of faith in history: the Bible as one of the sources of inspiration for the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, hospices and hospitals run for centuries by believers, the abolition of slavery carried largely by Protestants in the 18th and 19th centuries. John Newton, the author of the hymn Amazing Grace, was a former slave trader who later worked against the slave trade.
We are not necessarily called to lead great movements. But at our own level, we are called to express our faith. It is nothing extraordinary: it is the consequence of what Christ has done in us, he who canceled a debt we could not pay.

Key takeaways

In his providence, God turned a slave's flight into an encounter with Jesus: where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more.
Paul asks in the name of love instead of imposing. He relies on Philemon's strong point to encourage him to take one more step.
"Put it on my account": the one whose great debt has been canceled by Jesus can welcome, forgive and give up what is owed to him.
Paul asks Philemon for what he himself experienced with Mark, the coworker he had set aside and then restored.
Faith in Jesus is not for defending our rights. Lived out concretely with our neighbor, it challenges people and shows Jesus.

Personal application

If the apostle Paul wrote you a letter today, what could he say about your faith and your love for others?
Is there a person you need to welcome back, like Philemon with Onesimus or Paul with Mark?
In what situation are you demanding what you are owed, while Jesus invites you to go beyond it?
When you ask something of someone, do you build on their strengths or on their weaknesses?
What in the way you act this week could lead someone to wonder why you act that way?

Verses cited

Frequently asked questions

What is the epistle to Philemon about?

Philemon, a wealthy believer in Colossae at whose home the church meets, had a slave, Onesimus, who ran away. While on the run, Onesimus met the gospel and ended up with the apostle Paul. Paul sends him back to his master with this letter and asks Philemon to welcome him no longer as a slave, but as a beloved brother.

Why does Paul ask instead of commanding?

Paul had complete freedom in Christ to order Philemon to do what was right, but he prefers to ask in the name of love. Patrice Berger sees the apostle's tact in this: instead of attacking Philemon on his strong point, he builds on Philemon's love for the saints and invites him to take one more step in his faith.

What does the epistle to Philemon say to us today?

For Patrice Berger, we are very well trained at claiming our rights. The letter to Philemon invites us to a concrete faith, one that sometimes accepts to cost money and to go beyond what is owed to us, so that the people around us wonder why we act this way and see Jesus.