3 Points in Philemon

Today in my study of Philemon three main points stuck out in verses 8-10. It seems that when we read simply for the sake of reading that we often miss the substance of what we are reading. I can’t tell you how frustrated I used to be when someone at church would lead a bible study and go verse by verse. To me not every verse had a important point to offer. But as I have done this study and have taken time to meditate on each verse, I find that each one does have something to offer. If I meditate on it long enough and ask God to show me the function of the verse, it pops out to me—sometimes slowly and other times like a flash. Do yourself a favor—read to learn and to see the point, don’t just read to get through it.

The first point my friend Phil offers is that when we approach someone to get them to do something that should be doing we have two ways of approaching them. The first being using our authority and position to demand that they do what they need to be doing. Our position and title sometimes grants us that liberty. I know it did for me in the secular world. I had the responsibility of getting things done and my title allowed me to demand that people get their jobs done to my satisfaction. Paul tells Philemon that he has every right to demand that he take Onesimus back into his house, but he doesn’t do that. Paul asked Philemon to take Onesimus back as a favor to him, he did not demand. By doing this Paul most likely cut off Philemon’s pride before it even had the chance to show its head. He approached the situation with tenderness and grace. He gave himself the opportunity to explain to Philemon why it was the right thing to do before Philemon would have quit listening if he would have went about demanding that it be done. It is the same for us today in the discipleship process. When we find someone who isn’t living the way they should be, we have the opportunity to be overbearing and completely risk them tuning us out completely. We also have the opportunity of approaching the situation with grace and love, using our authority with wisdom to get them to see why their way of living isn’t beneficial to them.

The next point Paul shows us is that we should not be afraid to use our situations and circumstances to the benefit of the situation. Paul explains to Philemon that he should not cast off what he was asking of him simply because he was an old man or in prison. Paul uses his prisoner status to his benefit explaining that he was in prison for the sake of the gospel. Paul is using his circumstances to build a connection to Philemon to gain a heartfelt response from him. When we find that we have a connection with someone that we are trying to influence with the gospel, we should not be afraid to try and use it either; that connection that we draw from might be the difference of the person being reached or not.

The last point hat Paul makes in these verses is one of responsibility. Paul refers to Onesimus as his son. He also takes on a father son relationship with Philemon. He cares for Onesimus as a son since he helped bring him to the saving grace of Christ. This point really meant something to me because it is an issue that is close to my heart. For so long I have been concerned with what happens after a person is saved in a church or a big revival of sorts. To me too many new Christians are not properly cared for after they are born again. They are left almost to fend for themselves and are not discipled properly. We should learn from Paul and care for the people that we lead to Christ enough to see that they are properly developed in to disciples of Christ that are equipped to fend for themselves and bring more people to the saving grace of Christ. We should think of them as our children and raise them up spiritually much like we would our own children physically.

Father I ask lord that you continue to show me how to move in grace and in servanthood. Show me how to use my authority to reach people and not turn them away from the grace you have to offer them. Amen