Passage: Philemon 1. 1-25
“If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me.” Philemon 18
People are not just souls. The have a personality and social relationships. Paul, when in prison, became the spiritual father of Onesimus, a runaway slave. (Even prison can become a platform for evangelisation). Onesimus is now serving Paul in prison. He was a genuine, beneficial and useful (that is the meaning of his name-v.11) servant. Paul considered him as his own very heart (v.12). Paul was happy to appoint him as his personal assistant (v.13). Nevertheless, he wanted to send this new convert back to his master. “I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favour you do will be spontaneous and not forced,” (v. 14) Paul said.
Look at the way Paul deals with his convert. When he sent him back, He introduced Onesimus as his son, not as a former slave of Philemon, or not even as “Brother Onesimus!” (If Philemon saw him as his former slave, he would look to him with grudge… Now, Onesimus is Paul’s son!). “If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand; I will pay it back” (vv.18-19).
Paul was ready to pay a cost for someone who had accepted Jesus. He was not like the Pharisees Jesus talked about in Matt 23:15 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.” Which breed do we belong to? The Pharisees, who struggle to see conversions and then forget the converted, or, Paul, who in love reckoned the convert as his son?
Evangelism is about giving. It demands you, and, all that you have too. We all speak about John 3 16 - the ‘so great love’ God has shown to mankind. How about 1 John 3:16? “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” Looking at a helpless man, will you say, “Charge that to my account?”
Prayer: Lord, help me understand that witnessing is giving, Amen.
Further reading: James 2. 8-20, 1 John 3. 16-20
“If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me.” Philemon 18
People are not just souls. The have a personality and social relationships. Paul, when in prison, became the spiritual father of Onesimus, a runaway slave. (Even prison can become a platform for evangelisation). Onesimus is now serving Paul in prison. He was a genuine, beneficial and useful (that is the meaning of his name-v.11) servant. Paul considered him as his own very heart (v.12). Paul was happy to appoint him as his personal assistant (v.13). Nevertheless, he wanted to send this new convert back to his master. “I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favour you do will be spontaneous and not forced,” (v. 14) Paul said.
Look at the way Paul deals with his convert. When he sent him back, He introduced Onesimus as his son, not as a former slave of Philemon, or not even as “Brother Onesimus!” (If Philemon saw him as his former slave, he would look to him with grudge… Now, Onesimus is Paul’s son!). “If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand; I will pay it back” (vv.18-19).
Paul was ready to pay a cost for someone who had accepted Jesus. He was not like the Pharisees Jesus talked about in Matt 23:15 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.” Which breed do we belong to? The Pharisees, who struggle to see conversions and then forget the converted, or, Paul, who in love reckoned the convert as his son?
Evangelism is about giving. It demands you, and, all that you have too. We all speak about John 3 16 - the ‘so great love’ God has shown to mankind. How about 1 John 3:16? “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” Looking at a helpless man, will you say, “Charge that to my account?”
Prayer: Lord, help me understand that witnessing is giving, Amen.
Further reading: James 2. 8-20, 1 John 3. 16-20
