Ever wonder how faith can persist even in the direst of circumstances? This week, our journey through the book of Philemon explores this question and more. As we delve into Paul's letter penned from his prison cell, we uncover the profound beauty of his bond with Philemon, a wealthy converted Jew. We marvel at the strength of Philemon's faith and the way it has positively influenced those around him. Tune in to hear how Paul, even while imprisoned, remains hopeful and even requests a guest room at Philemon's home, hinting at his optimism for future release.
But there's more to this story than meets the eye. We are introduced to Onissimus, a runaway slave who crosses paths with Paul and, under his guidance, finds his own path to Christianity. As we unravel Paul's plea to Philemon to accept and forgive Onissimus, we are challenged to reconsider our relationships with our brothers and sisters in faith. Can we embrace forgiveness and reconciliation as Paul urges us to do? Together, let's examine how this letter, despite its deeply personal nature, holds a broader message, inviting us all to be a positive influence in the lives of those around us. Join us for an enlightening discussion about faith, forgiveness, and friendship - even in the face of adversity.
Ever wonder how faith can persist even in the direst of circumstances? This week, our journey through the book of Philemon explores this question and more. As we delve into Paul's letter penned from his prison cell, we uncover the profound beauty of his bond with Philemon, a wealthy converted Jew. We marvel at the strength of Philemon's faith and the way it has positively influenced those around him. Tune in to hear how Paul, even while imprisoned, remains hopeful and even requests a guest room at Philemon's home, hinting at his optimism for future release.
But there's more to this story than meets the eye. We are introduced to Onissimus, a runaway slave who crosses paths with Paul and, under his guidance, finds his own path to Christianity. As we unravel Paul's plea to Philemon to accept and forgive Onissimus, we are challenged to reconsider our relationships with our brothers and sisters in faith. Can we embrace forgiveness and reconciliation as Paul urges us to do? Together, let's examine how this letter, despite its deeply personal nature, holds a broader message, inviting us all to be a positive influence in the lives of those around us. Join us for an enlightening discussion about faith, forgiveness, and friendship - even in the face of adversity.
Welcome back to the to fish podcast. My name is Nick, I'm Aaron and this week we're continuing our Bible study, moving into the huge book of Philemon. I said huge, it's not really that big.
Speaker 2:It's huge. It's so big that you you might miss it if you're flipping through the Bible.
Speaker 1:My Bible ESV or die three-quarter of a page.
Speaker 2:Yeah, luckily my Bible that I'm reading out of today has tabs with all the book names on it. Yeah, so I could find it really quick, but in my book it's on page 1434.
Speaker 1:So turn there and join us. We're gonna go through the book of the page of Philemon Right before Hebrews. Hebrews, yes.
Speaker 2:I think, as we go through this pre-show, talking, nick and I think it'll be important to go back to the. I got baptized now what episode? As we walk through this, we think they'll kind of go hand-in-hand. So if you haven't listened to that episode, go back a couple, listen to that one. We think they're gonna tie in pretty well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, remember him back on. That one is a very a theme of you know, a new Christian came along, your friend just got baptized, I think was the title of it, like you said, and how can I walk alongside that person now? And I think how can I walk beside a brother and things like that? And here Paul, as we start to read, is very much sticking his arm out and sticking his neck out in love for this friend and trying to walk together with him. So we'll get going. One more side note there's several names in this. They're all gonna be butchered, so pronounce them however you want, but it's probably not how I'm gonna pronounce them as we go through here. So so here we go. Let's get started here. Philemon, verse one Paul, prisoner of Christ, and Timothy, our brother. To Philemon, our beloved fellow worker, and Appiah, our sister, and Archipus, our fellow soldier, and the church in your house. Grace to you and peace from God, our father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2:So a little context here. Paul is sitting in prison when he's writing this sitting in prison and he's writing to Philemon, who is a rich converted Jew. Paul's writing this letter from prison as my verse read in prison for preaching the good news about Christ. I think you're read a little bit different.
Speaker 2:Mind a little clearer that he's in prison writing this yeah, and I believe this letter was wrote about same time as Colossians. A little bit of background there. So that opening paragraph he kind of describes just who he's writing to, where he's at, and then I think as we dive into these verses down below we'll find out why he's right yeah.
Speaker 1:But I think an interesting point to this greeting is it's not like other greetings that he's given when he addresses the church the church in Colossians, the church of Ephesians, the church in Galatians as he's writing this. He's writing it and he says I'm gonna Paul, the Apostle, I'm. He puts himself not in a pedestal to say I'm looking me, I'm so good, but he puts himself in a place of authority to say God, put me in this position, you can trust me. We talked about that before. As we've broken down through these verses. Peter does the same thing, but in this one it's different. He said hey, I'm a prisoner and I'm in prison. Hey, this is to Philemon, a beloved brother, a couple other people.
Speaker 2:Grace to you, it's very personable yeah, and with Philemon he also points to that this guy hosts a church and his house which would possibly point to, the guy has some wealth, has some property. He's leading a church. It's not the same.
Speaker 1:If you go and read the rest of, yeah, paul's letters, it's almost as if Philemon might be a friend, you know, I mean, he probably, paul, probably went through this area, spent some time in this house. Church became friends with Philemon, became friends with these people and this is less of a hey look, church as a whole. I'm writing this because you guys stink at this or that, or good job.
Speaker 1:This is more of a personal letter yeah but not to say that we can't get excellent things, and that's why it's in scripture here, verse number four, moving on. I thank God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have towards the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us. For the sake of God, for the sake of Christ or. I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.
Speaker 2:So right there, paul, obviously just showing the amount of respect that he has for for him, and he is laying it out on the table, like we've seen him in some letters that way, but he's opening this letter that way. Like you are my brother, I respect what you're doing in your church and your house and I hold you in high regards.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think obviously Philemon is effective in what they're doing at his church, because I hear of the love and of the faith. So it's not just hey, I remember it, I'm hearing about it, it's coming out of your church, you know as he's here and yet contagious.
Speaker 1:That's a great word. You're effective and you're doing what needs to be done, because it's spreading. It's not just staying in your little small group or it's not just staying in your little church on the corner. What you're doing is reaching people, is reaching people. It's, it is the great commission. That is the commission that a couple of chapters go in acts.
Speaker 1:A couple of chapters ago, jesus himself said this is what you need to do Go and preach, and it's just, it's, it's spreading. And he's saying man, you're giving me so much joy and comfort to know Paul respects this guy. Like you said, verse number eight. Accordingly, though, I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet, for love's sake, I prefer to appeal to you. I think. Just pause and write there. Where is the? What we've seen in other verses? Hey, I'm coming to you with authority, whereas I could command you, I'm going to, I'm. I'm going to hold that because I could, but I'm going to ask you, I'm going to appeal to you, I'm going to ask you that you do the right thing here.
Speaker 1:Moving on, I, paul, an old man and now a prisoner, also for Christ Jesus, I appeal to you for my child on this who's father I became in my imprisonment.
Speaker 1:Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.
Speaker 1:I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel. But I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion, but out of your own accord Verse 15, for this, perhaps, is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a bond servant, but more than a bond servant, as a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. So here's Paul's predicament he's in prison and he's come across this guy, onissimus, who was a slave, a bond servant, owned by Philemon, and for some reason he's in prison. It seems as though he's in prison with Paul here and Paul's using him to help him in his own work. Whether it's spreading the gospel in the prison, whether it's right in the writings, whatever it is, he's become a brother to Paul, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, obviously this. This guy did something too wrong, philemon, because he ran away, but he still ended up in prison. So, and we don't know exactly what he did wrong, right, but he ends up, just happens to end up in the same prison as Paul.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's like, what are the odds of that? And Paul ends up sharing the gospel to him and this guy's converted. So, like our episode a few weeks ago, here it is Paul baptizes this guy. We don't know that he baptizes him, but he's a. He clearly states he is a believer, he is a changed man. Yeah, I'm sending him back to you. A changed man. I know he wronged you and I'm pleading with you to see this guy for who he is today, not for what he did to you in the past, which is how we should walk with our brothers that are converted, that come to the new life. But they also have to display that, and I believe this slave is displaying that to Paul because Paul's going to bat for him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think verse 13,. I would have been glad to keep him with me in order that he might he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel. I think that maybe this guy's been set free, but he could stay with Paul and help Paul, and that would greatly help Paul. That would be good for him. But Paul's decided the right thing to do is to send him back Now. That doesn't make sense, especially in today's society, 2023,. He's a slave. Slavery is bad. We should free slaves and, yes, I'm agreeing 100% with that. But Paul's saying while that's right and that's what he's doing here, he's pleading. While I want him to be free, while he is a changed man, while he can help me spread the gospel, he's also a slave and the right thing to do is go back to your master.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think he addresses that Paul does in Colossians and in Ephesians. Actually, in Ephesians a couple of weeks ago, in that episode even we were talking about men and women. You know the whole section in chapter five where it talks about wives and husbands and how we should love and respect and submit to each other. And then in chapter six, he writes about to children and parents. But then he writes to bond servants and masters in verse five bond servants, obey your earthly masters with trembling, with fear and trembling with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye opening, not by the way of eye service, as people pleasers, but as bond servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. And then in Colossians chapter, and then in Colossians chapter three, all the way down at verse 22,. He says again bond servants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye service as people pleasers, but then sincerity of the heart, fearing the Lord.
Speaker 1:Whatever you do, work heartedly, ask for the Lord and not for them, knowing that the Lord, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your Lord, you are serving the Lord, you are serving the Lord, christ, for the wrong to will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. So it blows my mind to have this thought process here. Slavery is bad, but if that is your lot, which is horrible, paul said do it well, and it's a testimony for Christ. And so, anissimus, here back to Philemon. You're a bond servant to Philemon. Go back and do it well, but with that, I'm gonna send this letter saying man, I'm gonna plead to you, do the right thing here. He's a changed guy, let him be free and help. To help in the ministry of the Lord.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because Philemon probably in that time had every right to either beat this guy or execute him when he came back Like he does not have to accept him back into his pool of people, and I'm guessing that Anissimus I'm guessing Anissimus was not jumping up and down to go back. Yeah, because he knows that he won. He didn't live the way you just described. He wasn't a believer then and obviously he ran away and he did something wrong to them and then clearly he's in jail. So maybe he had two wrongs along the way. So this guy's probably not eager to get back out there and go back to his master and one probably have to ask for forgiveness. But luckily he has a letter from Paul pleading on his behalf of his changed life.
Speaker 1:But also knowing that this letter might fall in deaf ears. Yeah, and he's gonna go back to a master. That could be hard on him and could beat him and could do all the things that he formally tried to get away from, possibly, but the fact of the matter is this letter made it to Philemon, so he went back. Can you imagine that conversation with Paul sitting in prison and Paul's like hey, your time's up here, you need to go back. Can you imagine that? Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, I just changed my life. Why would I go back to that? It's the right thing to do. Yeah, I just can't. I can't imagine that conversation that they had there in prison.
Speaker 2:No, that was I imagine he had to give him quite the pep talk, yeah exactly.
Speaker 1:That's funny. Verse 17, so if you consider me your partner, this is again Paul writing in Philemon. Receive him as you would receive me. If he has wronged you at all or owes you anything, charge that to my account. Verse 19, I, paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it. To say nothing of, you are owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you and the Lord, refresh my heart in Christ.
Speaker 2:Verse 19,. I like how mine reads here. I, Paul, write this in my own handwriting. I will repay it and I won't mention that you owe me your very soul.
Speaker 1:That kind of sounds like he's like hey, remember how I, how I, led you to Christ. Don't forget that.
Speaker 2:How does yours read again?
Speaker 1:To say nothing of your owing me, even your own self.
Speaker 2:That's what he's saying so I'm not calling on a favor.
Speaker 1:I think maybe some way to think about what he's saying there is hey, obviously he led him to Christ, but he's not saying, hey, I'm not trying to call favor here. I'm not trying to say, remember what I've done for you. I'm saying I'll repay it If he owes you.
Speaker 2:I'm paying it. I'll pay it back. I don't care what it is, I'm going to pay it, and it's not that I'm calling in a favor.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And he's writing in his own handwriting yeah. That would point to. Maybe somebody else wrote for Paul sometimes.
Speaker 1:I think I want to say I just study on this and I'm pretty sure that Mark spent some time with Paul walking around doing some of Paul's writings, so that could be that this is actually Paul writing, and this points to, again, the personable. These guys are probably friends. Yeah, he's saying I'm going to write a special letter from a standpoint of not not of authority, but from a friend asking a friend for something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, verse 20. I mean, yes, dear brother, please do me this favor, for the Lord's sake, give me this encouragement in Christ. I am confident, as I write this letter, that you will do what I ask, and even more.
Speaker 1:That's like saying thanks in advance for doing what I'm asking. He's got. He's got. He knows that this guy is going to do the right thing. He has it. I just want to point out back Verse 17. So if you consider me a partner, receive him as you would receive me. So he goes from a slave. Whatever transpires, we have no idea to now. Paul is sending him back and until he reads this letter, the guy why you leave him probably has no idea what's going on, just that he's been gone. Yeah, could be received him as though you received him. Receive him as though you received me, which I would got to assume. Product, oh son, kind of thing. When these buddies get together, they're going to be embracing each other like, oh my gosh, I haven't seen you in so long. This is amazing. Tell me everything. I, you know what.
Speaker 2:I mean, yeah, that's a good point I hadn't thought about it that way.
Speaker 1:And then he's saying the slave that something happened, he's gone, he's in prison, he's coming back. Receive him that same way, with the love of Christ, as a friend. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Basically, what Paul's saying to do here is greet him with open arms and accept him as a brother in Christ, not as your slave. He's on the same level as us now. Yeah, he went from Gentile to believer or slave to believer.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's good 22. At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I'm hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you. So Paul's hoping he's getting ready to get out of prison. Hey, by the way, I need a room to stay Cause.
Speaker 1:I got nothing right now, which which then tells me hey, I'm going to check up on this situation. Yeah, is that okay? Oh, hey, I know you're going to do the right thing. Confident of your obedience, I write to you and, by the way, I'm going to come and stay with you, and that very well could be Paul also saying I'm going to settle these debts. Like I promised, I'm coming, we're going to take care of the business that he owed you and I'm also going to make sure you did the right thing.
Speaker 2:I'm going to live up to my end of the deal. If he owes you something, I'm coming to pay it. I am going to charge you a room fee, though, but I'm coming Like I want to be with you. I want to see that the right thing transpired here. I wish I had a map. One of the things I listened to I was a guy doing a video Showed like the distance these were from each other, like whatever C was in between them. Like this would have taken some time. Anyway, it would take some time to get back to his master, and then it would also it's going to take Paul time to get there and to follow up with it.
Speaker 2:So there's going to be perhaps months in this whole operation of forgiving. I think a big thing here is forgiving and how to walk with a brother that changed his life and you know he did a lot of wrong and show love.
Speaker 1:in that you wronged, I got to learn to love. I got to learn to forgive. I got to learn to love.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and to go go to bat for your brother. Like I know he screwed up back here, but I know who he is today.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I know he's a Christ follower and I know he's not going to do that again.
Speaker 1:I think, probably just in my own life, just thinking about it, how many there's been several times where I wish I would have had a Paul in a moment to say, hey, I know Nick's done wrong here, but he has changed. He does do things differently and a lot of times we don't have that person Obviously. I don't think any of us have that. What Paul's doing here. Very few of us have that.
Speaker 2:I'm going to forgive.
Speaker 1:I'm going to pay off his debts, whatever kind of debts those are, whether monetary or you know whatever they are, but that this guy became a Christ follower. And I don't think in our own journey following Christ, we're going to get this. It's not going to be easy. We're not going to get the hey, I came to Christ. I met this pastor who I'm studying under and all of a sudden now life is good, my debts are cleared, I'm being freed. That doesn't happen to most of us.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:There are consequences to our sin, which there was for him too, but our journey is going to be hard.
Speaker 2:Now, by no means does any of this point to something that's going to be easy for him, like he's going back to something that he tried to run from.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And my guess is he's going to have to do some of the same work, but he's also going to help preach the good news and spread the good news out of a home church, as Paul described. That is doing great work already. Yeah, I man, which also makes you think like he had to have heard the gospel already. So the seed was maybe planted and then confirmed when he was in jail with Paul.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's true. I just thoughts keep talking, popping in my mind that the map idea, how this was so far of a distance to travel. I Think there was a lot of faith in this too. For onusmas to say, okay, I'm gonna trust that I'm doing the right thing and that God's gonna provide for me, because there was a lot of time and ocean. It's gonna be in a Jonah situation. He could have got halfway through and said, nah, ain't happening. I've decided it's not worth it. Yeah, potential of this going wrong is not worth it. I'm out of here.
Speaker 2:Well, I think the the other thing I heard in regards to that Um, he could have been captured by another slave owner and that slave owner could have kept him.
Speaker 1:That's true too, and he would have been right back to being a slave.
Speaker 2:He would have been right back to being a slave under somebody else. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I think there's a lot of faith on an onusmas is Part two, because a lot of things could go wrong. The letter could get lost.
Speaker 2:At sea, you know. I mean like and then he's they had more accurate mail back then, oh, they did, yeah, they didn't have the USPS. Modern day mail is not so good.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's funny finishing up here. Verse 23, epaphores my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, and so do Mark, artificious, dap, demis and Luke, my fellow workers. The grace of the Lord Christ be with you in spirit. There you go in verse 24. It does say mark. I Can not confirm but I'm pretty sure that that is mark, the gospel of mark, who spent a lot of time with Paul Writing and helping write Paul. I have done some research and some people think that mark, the gospel of mark, is pinned by mark, but it was Paul's Talking through it, saying through it. So All those guys are sitting in prayer in prison with them and he's saying, hey, these guys send their greetings, which you know, paul's.
Speaker 1:That guy that sat in prison and Sang was happy in his imprisonment. I don't think I could be the same way. It's hard to see my faith be that strong to say, no matter what the situation is, I'm gonna, we're gonna be happy, we're gonna praise God for our suffering. These guys are with me, we're excited to get out and come to you To make sure that you did what you said you, what I told you to do, what I pleaded you right and we're gonna do our end the bargain to make it up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love it. What a great little book. That is great. What 25 25 verses there that I think speak a lot to how we should live as Christians and how we should treat one another, perhaps how we shouldn't put ourselves on a pedestal. We're all Christ followers and on the same level, so I think this week that's a that's a good reflection point. Um, who are you walking with? Who can you go to bat for? Who maybe needs you to go to bat for them? Oh, that's good, and Just just take a moment and reflect on on those things. And and maybe there's even somebody in your past that you need to Go back to and say hey, man, I really wronged you here. Let me, let me pay my debt back to you. That's the challenge for this week to fish community. We greatly appreciate you and we'll see you in a couple weeks. You.