The
By Pastor Matt Black
15 January 2006
Lord's Day evening
Book of Philemon
Introduction: Open
your Bibles to the book of Philemon.
Philemon is located just before the book of Hebrews. I and II Timothy, Titus, Philemon and
Hebrews.
[read Philemon]
The title of tonight’s message is “The Providence of God in the Pains of Life.” Philemon is a book named for a man who had a
run-away slave named Onesimus. Philemon
was an elder at the
Paul was writing from a Roman prison cell. John McRay has written about what it would
have been like for the Apostle at this time:
“Roman imprisonment was preceded by being stripped naked and then flogged, a humiliating, painful, and bloody ordeal. The bleeding wounds went untreated; prisoners sat in painful leg or wrist chains. Mutilated, blood-stained clothing was not replaced, even in the cold of winter…
Most cells were dark, especially
the inner cells of a prison, like the one Paul and Silas inhabited in
“The present situation is,
therefore, very unpleasant, deeply frustrating. He is in a Roman cell: damp,
with little light, and probably cold - very uncomfortable. The Scriptures tell
us that the Romans had an obsession for chains. The apostle Paul himself refers
to those chains in II Timothy 2:9,
where he says that he is presently bound, or chained. And he says in Acts 26:29
also, that he could wish that all men were as he, a child of God, yet without
these bonds, these chains.
Further, we learn from II Timothy
4:13 that it could well be at this time that the apostle Paul lacked
adequate clothing and books, for he asks Timothy to bring his cloak and the
books with him when he comes to visit him.”[2]
Later on, we read in Acts 28:29,
that Paul was put under house arrest.
These would have provided Paul with milder conditions, but at the time
he is writing to Philemon the minister, he is in a horrible dark and primitive
prison cell.
What is also interesting is that
here you have this servant, Onesimus who is writing this letter as Paul
dictates it. You have the same thing
with the letter to the church at Colosse.
So Paul has instructed Onesimus to return to Philemon and bring both the
letter to Philemon and the letter to the Colossians.
With that in mind, let us look
to the book of Philemon to teach us some lessons about God’s
I.
First, Recognize that God has chosen the State of our birth. In verse 16, Paul let’s us know Onesimus’
present state clearly. He calls him a
“servant” or we would say today, a slave.
This was sadly quite common in the
A.
So first notice that there are very many things
about us that we do not decide.
I love chocolate ice cream. I
will choose it almost every time if I’m given that choice. I have my preferences, but there are many
things I have not chosen for myself. God
has chosen our parents, our strengths, our weaknesses. He has chosen whether we have a high
metabolism or a low one. He has allowed
all the inherited illnesses and all the inherited strengths to be vested in
you. Some have been born with diabetes;
some are predisposed to heart problems.
Others are born with back problems.
My brother was born being predisposed to scoliosis. He had to endure six major back surgeries
beginning at age 13. None of us choose
these things. We must own the fact that
everything that we did not choose, our hair color, our eye color, our
personality, and even our quirks! There
are so many people unhappy today because they wish they were different. Where ever you are today, and who ever you
are—realize God has chosen all these things for you for His own purposes. You did not choose the language of your
childhood. God wired you the way he wanted
to wire you. You may be introverted or
extroverted, contemplative or totally laid back. So much of who we are was given to us before
we were born. We need to accept the
things that we cannot change.
When I was in
And yet, even though there are many things we do not
decide, we must understand that
B.
There are also very many things that we do desire. God gives each of us free moral agency. We have the freedom to choose within the
confines of our own will. Of course,
sinful man always chooses sin because that’s what he likes. God never does violence to our wills. He never forces us to do anything. We are all responsible for every one of our
actions. So though God decides many
things about us, he is not responsible for any of our actions. We will all give an account before Him on the
Day of Judgment.
God chose where and how and under what circumstance
Onesimus would be born. God chose his
personality traits and hair color, and even wired him to be the unique person
that he was, but Onesimus chose what he would do with those things. We can never blame God for our own bad
decisions.
So we need to recognize that God chooses the State of our
birth. Secondly,
II.
We need to recognize that God has allowed the Sins of our past. Now God is not the author of sin. “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at
all” (I John 1:5). James further tells
us that “God cannot be tempted with evil, neither
tempteth he any man: 14 But
every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed”
(James 1:13-14). As I said, we are
responsible for our choices, but God is not in heaven wringing His hands. Onesimus had done wrong, but God allowed him
to do wrong, so that he would be exactly where He wanted him.
Here was Onesimus, and he had stolen some money from
Philemon, a minister of Christ. This
cause Onesimus to flee Colosse. And
where does Onesimus go? He goes to
Illustration: We can see this in the life of Joseph. Here Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers. He is wrongly accused and sent to prison by the wife of Potipher. God works all these things together for His glory, so that when he confronts his brothers, he does not blame them. He says this:
But as for you, ye thought evil
against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is
this day, to save much people alive.
Another
example is the crucifixion. This was the
most heinous act of sin in the history of man, but yet God allows it. And he does not do violence to the moral
agency of man.
He says:
Ye men of Israel,
hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by
miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye
yourselves also know: 23 Him,
being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have
taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
We call
this compatiblism. That is
God always does His perfect will. His
will is never violated. Neither is man’s
will violated. God fulfills His purposes
without forcing man into a corner. Yet, God in His mercy opens man’s eyes to
the Gospel, and then man by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit freely chooses
to love and serve God.
But let
us get back to the matter of our sin.
God allows our sins within the divine order of His plan. Yet we are always responsible. So what are we responsible to do?
A.
We must first, Own your sin Onesimus was befriended by the Apostle
Paul. Paul says in verse 10: “I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my
bonds:” It is God’s providence that we are where we are. There are some sins that we commit that will
have consequences till the day we die.
And yet, if we own these sins—that is we take full responsibility for
them, then can make that which Satan planned for evil be to our good! What does Paul say,
where
sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
So grace will abound, but we must first take full
responsibility for our sin.
B.
Secondly, we must make specific plans to Turn
from your sin. If we have stolen, we
need to make restitution. Paul let’s
Philemon know that specific steps are being taken to make things right in
verses 18-19
If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on
mine account; 19 I Paul
have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do
not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.
If you find yourself in sin, you need to ask yourself what
it is that you have offended the Lord
III.
Recognize
that God has called you to Service
in the present. Isn’t it amazing that
Onesimus thought he would have it all if he just stole a bit of money and got
his freedom! Little did he know that the
Lord was after him. We read in the
prophet Isaiah
I am
sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that
sought me not
That is the providence of God! Onesimus was going to
A.
Those
who were once unprofitable are now not only profitable, but indispensable.
1.
Onesimus
2.
John Mark (Marcus)
2 Timothy 4:11
Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he
is profitable to me for the ministry.
B.
We
who were once strangers are now united—on
the same team!
Only God can do that!
Conclusion: God’s plans and providence often
require great pain. If we are to be used
of God and profitable, we must follow His will –turning from our sin whatever
it takes, and let God take care of the rest!
Closing Hymn: 442 I Know Whom I Have Believed
[1] Church History, Issue 47.
[2] Clark Haak. The Reformed Witness Hour. Learning Contentment. http://www.prca.org/refwitness/1999/1999apr25.html. Accessed 15 January, 2006.