Everyone Needs Grace

The book of Philemon is an interesting story of three characters. There is the Apostle Paul, who calls himself a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ; Philemon, a wealthy slave owner who was a believer; and Onesimus, a runaway slave who had probably stolen from Philemon before he left. Which of these would you sympathize with the most? My guess is that Philemon would get no sympathy whatsoever because he was a slave holder. Between Paul, who was a prisoner of Rome for preaching the gospel, or Onesimus, who was unjustly made a slave, chances are good that you would probably feel more sympathy for Onesimus.

The problem is that you are never going to see yourself as God does if you are seeing yourself in a culturally-informed matter. It is so easy to be engaged in chronological snobbery, where we think ourselves morally superior because we live later in time. I don’t think any of us would in any way advocate slavery even though it still exists all over the world today, yet there is hardly a moral perversion that has not been softened in the American mind over the last decades.

As you read this story, a lot of the effect is lost because Philemon lived a life that was to some extent culturally informed and we are doing the exact same thing. What you get from God’s words through Paul in this epistle is that everyone needs grace. Paul needed it; Philemon needed it; Onesimus needed it. By definition, grace is not deserved. If someone deserved your grace, they wouldn’t need it. It is easy to love people and to give grace in the universal and abstract, but when you apply it to people you know, it becomes something different.

In Philemon 4 Paul says, “I thank God, making mention of thee always in my prayers.” This is a very common greeting from Paul. Verse 5 says, “Hearing of thy love and faith.” Interestingly, Paul says of Philemon, who was a brother in Christ but participating in a system of slavery that was wicked and against God, that he hears of his love and faith. It is great to have faith and love in abstract, but would Philemon apply this love and faith he had shown Paul to Onesimus who had been his slave? It continues, “Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints.”

Verse 6 says, “That the communication of thy faith…” What follows is how one is to communicate faith and love. Are you going to communicate your faith in real life in your society with the deceptions under which you have lived and the sins which you have committed? It goes on, “That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in Christ Jesus.” He is saying that in communicating your faith, you “become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” Everyone needs grace, and we need to communicate that grace, faith, and love to others.

The bottom line is that you are never going to experience grace if others owe you, if you think, “I’m not perfect, but I’m not Onesimus, a thief. I’m not Philemon, a slave owner” or “She did me wrong. He did something wrong to me.” You are never going to experience the grace of God if you don’t show grace to others. You are never going to show grace to others if you don’t know the grace of God in your life.

So, there are a couple of questions to ask. First, who was the prisoner in this story? Was it Paul? Paul says, “A prisoner of Jesus Christ.” He was a prisoner of Rome for preaching the gospel, but he was also a prisoner, a voluntary and intentional servant, of the Lord Jesus. Was Onesimus a prisoner? Yes, he was trapped in wickedness, sin, and slavery. Was Philemon a prisoner? You might say no, but I can’t think of a worse imprisonment than bitterness. What if Onesimus came back to him and Philemon felt entitled, just, and morally superior, saying, “How dare you steal from me?” How could anyone possibly think and act morally superior if they are a slave holder? The question is, “Doesn’t God see me in the same way when I see myself as morally superior to someone else because they owe me?” So, who was a prisoner?

Second, who was a brother? Paul basically says, “Philemon, you are my brother, and I want you to receive back Onesimus, not merely as a slave but as a brother.”

Third, who was indebted? Who had the moral high ground here? We think about Paul who says he was a debtor both to the Jews and the Greeks, but Paul lived in light of the grace and graciousness of God. He didn’t think himself high because he was an apostle. He thought himself graced because God has saved him.

What about Onesimus? Onesimus had wronged Philemon. Now, how could you even wrong a slave holder? But Onesimus probably owed him something. If you think, “I don’t blame him,” then you are missing the point. You are looking at things in light of the moral landscape of the day. You also are a slave to your own culture. The question is, “How does God see you and others?”

In verse 19 Paul says, “When Onesimus comes back, whatever he owes you, I will repay it.” Then he says, “Albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.” He is saying, “Hey, Philemon, you have been so gracious and loving. You love the Lord and all the saints. You have been gracious and refreshed me. I just want you to know when Onesimus comes back to receive him as a brother, and if he owes you anything, I won’t even mention that you owe your very life to me.” So, who was indebted? Paul was. Onesimus was. Philemon was.

Fourth, who was gracious and loving in the story? In verse 17 Paul says about Onesimus to Philemon, “Receive him as myself.” That is what Jesus says to the Father about you. “For he [God] hath made him [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might we made the righteousness of God in him.” The Lord Jesus, having died for every wicked sin I’ve ever committed says, “Father, Wil is a debtor and sinner, but receive him as myself.”

In verse 18 Paul says “If he owes you anything, I’ll pay for it.” Jesus says the same thing. I earn nothing but death and judgment in hell. Jesus earns heaven because He owns it, and He says to the Father, “Put Wil’s sin on my account.” That is what he said when He died. As far as God, the bookends of Philemon are verses 3, “Grace to you, and peace, from God” and 25, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.” So, who was gracious? It wasn’t Philemon for receiving Onesimus as a brother. It wasn’t Onesimus for even countenancing this wicked slave owner. It wasn’t Paul for giving this instruction. They all needed the grace of God.

How do you see yourself today? You are never going to see yourself as God does in a culturally-informed world. Everyone needs grace. You are never going to experience grace if you feel others owe you. Paul was a persecutor of believers before he was saved. Onesimus was a thief. You may say he was justified, but God says he sinned. Philemon was a sinner because he was a slave holder. Yet all of these were lavishly welcomed as the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ, regardless of their social statues, citizenship, or past.

The reason I can accept other believers as brothers regardless of what they have done is because God has received me as His child. Happiness, joy, and serenity come not from keeping score or being consumed with your rights, but from realizing we all need grace, accepting the unmerited favor of God, and allowing Him to channel that through us to others in the world we inhabit.