The Master's Forgiveness | Sermon 09/17/2023

Apologia Utah

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All right, guys, last week we went through Philemon 1 -7. And what we're speaking about, what

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Paul was telling to Philemon in his prayer to Philemon is who is your master?

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Remember who Jesus is. Remember the faith that you proclaim and the

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God that you love. That you, Philemon, were once a creature who is a sinful being.

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You are on an equal playing field. The Gospel puts us all on an equal playing field. Sinners who are condemned before a holy and just God, but it's the

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Gospel who makes us alive together with Him. So the issue with regards to Philemon is that Philemon had a slave,

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Onesimus, who had fled from Philemon's household and went to see

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Paul in Rome. And in that, Onesimus came to Christ, right?

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And now, Paul is sending Onesimus back to the church in Colossae with a letter.

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And Philemon is to read this letter, so is Philemon's wife, and the rest of the church in Colossae, including the letter to the

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Colossians. That's where we were last week. And this week, the sermon title is

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The Master's Forgiveness. And before I get into the sermon, I always like to give a brief introduction, really, the things that we should be holding onto as we go through Paul's letter, his plea to Philemon.

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Being made in the image of God, everyone, we ought to reflect the attributes of our

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Creator. We have a duty and a purpose to God, to act as a people who exhibit the characteristics that God requires of us.

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It should be simple, because we were created for that very purpose, to glorify

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God and to enjoy Him forever, to take dominion over the earth the way a loving father would care for his own children, to love the way that God loves, to comfort the way that God comforts, and to lead the way that God would lead.

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In all things, in our creaturely purpose, we were to not miss the mark, so to speak.

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The word sin itself means miss the mark. We, in all of our responsibilities, were supposed to reflect the character of God to all things, from big to small, from the waters of the land, from the deepest caverns of the earth to the heights of the sky, we were created to cultivate, love, care for, and lead in all ways.

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And in honesty, it's still true. It's still true. We ought to never miss the mark.

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In all things, we ought to be the image of God bearers who in spirit are not using the

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Lord's name in vain, yet we do in every aspect of our being and purpose. When we hear do not use the

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Lord's name in vain, typically we think of the curse word. But truly, what the heart behind that commandment is is that the

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Israelites were supposed to reflect to the nations that they were the people of God, right?

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They were not to deal in unjust weights and measures. They were not to lie to other nations.

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Why? Because they were to reflect God's law to them. And if they were to deal with other nations unjustly, then they are reflecting on the perfect character of God, of Yahweh.

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That's the deep meaning of using the Lord's name in vain. And when we think about that as being image bearers of God, every time we sin and we miss the mark, being fallen human creatures, almost every second of our lives we're using the

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Lord's name in vain. Those who fail at one point of the law have failed all of it, right?

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James. Something happened to us, that's the reason, that distorted the very image of God inside us.

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Something crept in and usurped the throne of our hearts and swayed our allegiance from the one true master to the father of lies.

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What happened? Adam did what ought not to be done. In total defiance to God's word, in whom

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Adam personally knew him in the garden, what did he do? He took and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which

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God said what? Do not eat of it. In that moment, he defied the living and true

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God and pursued something other than, something less than. He desecrated the goodness of men by profaning the name of the only

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God. He exchanged in that moment the truth of God for a lie, of which the serpent tempted that he would be what?

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Like God, knowing both good and evil. In a sense, Adam exchanged a life of holy worship in action to the living and true

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God. And in just one moment, he worshiped himself and the fallout was catastrophic.

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He used the Lord's name in vain. One millisecond decision brought about a millennia of sin and death and decay in which we still deal with.

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In Adam, sin and death reign, but in Christ, all are made alive. Adam, he missed the mark.

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And in that, all of his posterity will inevitably come face to face with the beckoning call of our maker.

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Death. The wages of sin is death. The wages of missing the mark is death.

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We then face judgment for a life lived in vain. As Solomon states, all things under the sun, which he had seen, is what?

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Vanity, vanity, vanity. And this is where we sit, all of us.

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Vain and in decay, rotting in the robes of death and even the best use of our hands under the sun, we toil in vain.

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We bear false witness, we cheat, we steal, we envy, we lust, in all things, we are vanity.

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Reflecting to the world an image in rebellion and an image that is broken and deserving of hell.

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But in between the judgment we deserve and the wrath that awaits us all, God revealed a concept so alien that our fallen brains, we have a hard time even coming to terms with it.

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And that concept is forgiveness. We talked about this last week and I pray you did not forget that forgiveness and what it means to forgive is not independent of God.

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True forgiveness is what it's predicated upon the master who revealed it, lived it, and then died for it.

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So hold on to this, we were once slaves to sin, enemies of God, not that we were owned by the devil or we had another true master other than God, but that in our iniquity we were children of wrath, deserving of all judgment from doing what ought not to be done and in rebellion to the one true king we put our trust in anything other than God.

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Anyone who sins broke the law of the only autonomous being who is

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God, meaning regardless of the rebellion that we have, a rebellion to the master, he is our one true master and we will all answer to him, believer, unbeliever alike.

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We actively pursued the darkness like Adam hiding in the leaves because it is the light and life of all men which exposes the sinfulness of men.

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Matthew 17, five through eight gives an account, a shadow of forgiveness.

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It's the transfiguration of Christ when Jesus gives the disciples just a glimpse of his glory where his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.

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Moses and Elijah even appeared before the disciples and Peter began to state that he would do what?

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Build three tents, one for Jesus, Moses and Elijah and the text states this. He was still speaking when behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them and a voice from the cloud said, this is my beloved son with whom

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I am well pleased, listen to him. When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.

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But when Jesus came and touched them saying, rise and have no fear. And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

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This here in Matthew is the beauty of forgiveness, a picture of who forgiveness is derived from.

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In fear, hearing the voice of the father, the natural inclination of man is to fall in fear.

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But what? Jesus came in between them in the voice and said, rise and have no fear.

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In between the holiness of God and the sinful man stood forgiveness incarnate. Jesus reaching out to Peter, James and John where perfect love does what?

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Cast out all fear. A mere shadow and picture of when forgiveness would one day be what?

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Nailed to the cross. God reaching out to man, not because of anything that man has done, but because the father loved us so much that he sent his son to die for us.

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In that forgiveness is wholly rooted in the son in whom he was well pleased, freely given to man because our pardoning was purchased by the blood of Christ.

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Our forgiveness is from God and our forgiveness is a pardon. We did not do anything to deserve it.

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And our record against God as offenders is what? It's wiped clean by the blood of Jesus Christ.

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That's the heart of this sermon series, it's forgiveness and what it is to be forgiven by our master and how we should forgive others, extend that very same forgiveness.

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The master's forgiveness is not fallen human forgiveness.

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In order to truly forgive, we must first look at our master and the forgiveness he purchased through humility and self -sacrifice.

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That's what forgiveness requires. Because as fallen human beings, forgiveness is a difficult concept.

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But the hardest thing about forgiveness is something that we could never have done, right? The hardest part was the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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It was an act done by God. But we, as believers in the master, we can deny ourselves and count others higher than ourselves.

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But that's one of the most difficult things for us to do as people with a God complex, it truly is.

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Forgiveness takes humility and humility comes from not thinking higher of yourself than you are.

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God gave forgiveness at the expense of his son for your benefit from nothing that you have done.

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If God, the only one who does not need to forgive any trespass against him, took it upon himself to satisfy the requirements of sin, then you ought to extend forgiveness as a creature who has been forgiven by the uncreated

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God at no expense of your own. The heavenly reality of extending forgiveness is tough, but it can be overcome through and to God for the glory of God so that we can live in the freedom of our master's forgiveness in which we can truly extend that forgiveness to others and those who we ourselves have been pardoned, not by our works, not by our works, but by the blood of Christ.

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So let's pray. Lord, thank you for this letter that you had preserved to Philemon.

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25 short verses jam -packed with truth that lasts a lifetime.

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God, you are our master, you are the triune God of forgiveness. Father, you loved us and sent the

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Son. Jesus, you are perfectly obedient to the Father for your love for him and your sheep.

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And Holy Spirit, you testify of the Father and the Son, you convict the world of sin and righteousness, you take our hearts of stone and replace them with the heart of flesh because of the grace of God.

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I pray, Lord, that you get me out of the way during this sermon that your truth convicts our hearts that,

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Lord, if we need to, that we weep on the inside at the fact that sometimes we don't forgive others as you have forgiven us.

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Let us feel the weight of that so that in love to you, in understanding who we are, we can give that forgiveness to one another, to believers and unbelievers alike,

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Lord. Let us love you and love our neighbor. I praise you, Lord. Let me get out of the way in Jesus' name, amen.

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All right, open your Bibles, turn to Philemon, starting in verse eight. We're gonna read all the way through to 25, the end of this nice little letter here, and then we're gonna get into it, okay?

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Starting in verse eight. Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love's sake

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I prefer to appeal to you. I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus.

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I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment.

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Formerly, he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.

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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.

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But I prefer to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion, but of your own accord.

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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.

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But how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me.

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If he has wronged you at all or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand.

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I will repay it. Say nothing of your owing me, even your own self. Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the

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Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience,

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I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I'm hoping that through your prayers,

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I'll be graciously given to you. Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends his greetings to you, as so do

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Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. The grace of the

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Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. So last week, we went over why the letter sent to Philemon was to be read aloud, again, to his wife,

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Archippus, and to the church in Colossae. We went over the astonishing power of Paul's prayer to Philemon and to the church in Colossae.

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But what was that prayer, just to give us more context as we get in today, Philemon, verses six through seven, states,

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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 Christ.

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For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because of the hearts of the saints, they have been refreshed through you.

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Interestingly enough, again, in Colossians one, nine through 10, the prayer is so similar. We have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the

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Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Just to remind us,

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Paul was building up Philemon to good works by reminding him of the gospel and what

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God did to save him, that Philemon, by continuing to preach the gospel to the church in Colossae, will be reminded of who he once was in the flesh, that he once walked according to a paradigm, a worldview, that has been radically altered by the gospel, that Philemon was once an enemy of God, just like all of mankind, but now he has been made right by the blood of Jesus.

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In that proclamation to the church, Philemon will be ready to walk in good works regardless of the situation at hand, that now he is to look to Christ in whom all wisdom and knowledge is hidden.

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Furthermore, the gospel of grace will flow out like living water into the church at Colossae.

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Listen, real sin has real consequences, but a real

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God sanctifies the church through the consequences. Remember, Philemon, the letter of the

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Colossians was sent at the exact same time. Now that Paul has set up Philemon for success, he has full confidence that Philemon will do what is right, and what it says in verse seven, to refresh his heart.

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So let us take a look now at Paul's plea to Philemon to take Onesimus back as a brother in Christ.

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How did that one prayer end again? For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

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Verses eight through 11 in Philemon. Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love's sake

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I prefer to appeal to you. I, Paul, an old man, and now a prisoner, also for Christ Jesus, I appeal to you for my child,

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Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. Formerly, he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and me.

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Taking a look at verse eight there, we see a connection to the prayer. There was a reason why

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Paul had the prayer. The purpose was that the Lord would bring the knowledge to Philemon, to convict him to do good works by the power of the

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Holy Spirit, and what? Not by compulsion, right? I'm bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, but for love's sake, but for love's sake

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I prefer to appeal to you. How do we know that? Well, we're told by Paul that as an apostle of Christ, he is a spokesperson for the king.

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In his authority as an apostle, he is able to command Philemon to take Onesimus back. He is, because that is honestly what he should do.

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Forgive as you were forgiven, right? That is a fundamental reality. Yet Paul, as a worker in love,

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Paul trusts that the Holy Spirit will bear witness to the truth, and in Philemon's love for Christ, he will, for as verse nine states, for love's sake, appeal to Philemon.

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Do you see the wisdom of Paul here in terms of not standing in between someone's sanctification and how the

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Holy Spirit is working in somebody? He's going to allow that to happen, why?

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For love's sake, and yet here's another connection to the greeting that we went through last week. It says in verse five,

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I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all of the saints.

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So Paul, in his plea here, he's purposeful and tact, right? He says, you have love for Jesus, you have love for the saints.

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Now, Philemon, for love's sake, I'm not going to require this of you. And who is

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Onesimus now? He's a saint. He's a saint. Instead, I believe

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Paul is stating, I will let faith work through love. This allows Philemon to grow in spirit and for the church in Colossae to be a witness to the outpouring of faith and power of reconciliation through the

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Holy Spirit. Such a beautiful thing. Let's check it out. Turn to Galatians chapter five.

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We're going to look at the first verse here in Galatians. Starting with that.

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What does it say? Galatians five, one. For freedom,

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Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

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We all witness to LDS people here. We have a heart for the LDS people who are inbounded chains by an organization with a false gospel and a false

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Christ. So when we hear Galatians, we're like, we know what Galatians is about, guys. This is about the

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Judaizers trying to place the law on the Gentiles by saying you must first be circumcised before you can become

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Christians. So Andrew, why are we talking about Galatians? Well, we know that the context of the passage is referring to the fact that the law, that works cannot save you, and that forgiveness of God was predicated on the covenant that God made with Abraham.

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But continue to look. Galatians five, verse four through six. There's a beautiful truth here that's underlying all of it.

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Galatians five, verses four through six. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law.

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You have fallen away from grace, for through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

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For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but what is it?

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But only faith working through love. I think this is part of the plea that Paul here is making to Philemon.

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Not a requirement, but faith working through love, to bring about the good works in Christ. Paul understands that Philemon is in a relationship with the living and true

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God. And in that relationship, there is freedom without requirement. And Paul has faith in God that Philemon will do what is right.

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Let's look further down in Galatians as well, because though Paul is talking to people who are trying to subvert the gospel, the heart of what

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Paul is talking about is truly freedom, forgiveness, and love for a neighbor. Check out verses 13 through 15 here in Galatians.

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For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love, serve one another.

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Through love, right? Serve one another. What was, who was on Onesimus? He was a slave, right?

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He was a servant. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

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But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

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That's that teeter -totter that Philemon can be on, right? Love for his neighbor, extended through the freedom and love for God to forgive

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Onesimus for running away as a slave. But not only that, by seeing Onesimus as more than a slave, but a brother in Christ to serve the slave in forgiveness.

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It's huge. But what could happen if he wants to reject the call of freedom in the gospel, he could devour him.

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Philemon could devour Onesimus. Then in Galatians 5, 16 through 25, it continues speaking about walking according to the spirit and not according to the flesh as a way to love your neighbor.

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And remember last week, we talked about when you face adversity or sin, what should you do first, Christian?

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Seek the wisdom that comes from above, the wisdom from God. Now here it is in Galatians, part of the key that I pray will help you see the big picture with regards to Philemon.

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Galatians 6, 1 through 3. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.

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Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

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For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

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We're talking about forgiveness or sin issues within a body. What should you do to the individual if they are in sin?

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Restore them with what? A spirit of gentleness. How do you do that? Humility, self -sacrifice, not thinking of yourself higher than you want to because you are nothing.

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We're told right there in Galatians. With regards to Philemon, Paul is without requirement allowing

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Philemon to operate within the parameters of love here. Forgiveness as well is predicated on God, and it came without requirement for us to fulfill.

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Who fulfilled the requirement of forgiveness on our behalf?

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Who did it? Jesus, we couldn't do it. In faith, working through love, what ought

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Philemon do? One, in love, pursue Jesus through the

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Holy Spirit, and in that love, operate in freedom. In freedom,

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Philemon, do not submit a yoke of slavery to Onesimus. Meaning that your salvation through the love of God, there was no requirement placed upon you for the master's forgiveness.

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It was already purchased by Christ, extended through grace, right?

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Therefore, before God, Philemon, you have nothing to boast of. Do not think you did something to contribute to your salvation.

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You are nothing in that sense, remembered in Galatians. Don't think higher of yourself than you are.

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Though there is a transgression that your brother is in, do not hang this over his head, right?

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Help restore him in a spirit of gentleness. I'm not saying don't rebuke somebody who's in sin, or if they've sinned against you, but don't think you're better than them.

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Love them, restore them. Even if the transgression is against yourself, remember that you did nothing of yourself to save yourself from the wrath of God.

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Do not think you are something when indeed you are nothing. Have the mind in you that was also in Christ Jesus, Philippians chapter two, right?

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Though He existed eternally in the form of God, He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.

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So He took on the form of a servant, and He was obedient to the Father, obedient even to the point of death, death on a cross.

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Jesus did not have to do that. He didn't have to forgive us of our sins. He didn't have to take on flesh.

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He has every right to not extend forgiveness to creatures who defy Him. He can destroy all of us and be totally just in that.

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But as the one who was sinless, He still took on flesh and died the death that we deserve. Philippians chapter two, absolutely an amazing chapter to have that mind in us, in interacting with other individuals who are justified by the shed blood of Jesus Christ and unbelievers alike, to extend that same mind to them.

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Do not think higher of yourself than you ought. Instead, have the mind of Christ.

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So should not Philemon in his love operate according to the spirit that is now at work with him?

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Paul, for love's sake, then appeals to Philemon, continuing in verses nine through 10 of Philemon.

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I, Paul, an old man, and now a prisoner, also for Christ Jesus, I appeal to you for my child,

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Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.

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Cling on to what Paul is saying here. Let it hit you like it would hit Philemon. Remember, this is a real situation going on between two real people.

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Let it hit you like it would hit Philemon. Onesimus is no longer an unbeliever.

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During Onesimus' time with Paul, he has passed from death to life. What was the old paradigm that Philemon once operated in?

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We talked about it last week. Slaves were not considered persons. They did not have rights.

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They didn't. Let this really hit you as it would hit Philemon. He has been born again.

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Paul is now pleading for Onesimus, like a father would plea for their child.

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Listen, Philemon, the Onesimus that fled from your household as a slave is no longer the Onesimus that stood condemned.

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He's not the same person anymore. He's been born again. And here's a cool use of the name that Paul is using.

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Onesimus means literally useful. That's one of the reasons why we know or we think that he was born into slavery, because many slaves have the name

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Onesimus. It means useful. You want a good slave that you want to purchase? Buy the one whose name's useful, right?

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And Paul is stating that prior when Onesimus was in your household, he was useless.

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Though his name was useful, he was useless then. But now in Christ, he's useful to you and to me.

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What is that being said here? He's not your property anymore. He's not just useful to you,

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Philemon. He's also useful to me. He's on an equal playing field. Being born again,

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Onesimus is truly useful. Not in works according to labor as a slave, but now as a slave to Christ.

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Not just the property of Philemon, but in all reality, the born again property of God.

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That should hit Philemon hard. And the statement that Paul is making to Philemon is actually like revolutionary, right?

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That this slave is on the same playing field as Philemon.

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You think he's your property? He's actually God's property. You think he has no rights as a person?

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Well, guess what? Jesus' shed blood was for him. And he's been born again, and I'm his father.

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Some heavy stuff. That's a massive worldview change for everybody that lived in ancient Rome. Someone saying that on behalf of a slave?

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That's like, whoa. Well, guess what? The gospel's revolutionary. You're all slaves to sin.

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When that word is used in the Bible, imagine how people would think that we're

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Romans, that the gospel was offensive to them. You're telling me I'm a slave?

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I'm a freed man. I'm a citizen of Rome. Kaiser Curios, right? Caesar is

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Lord, and I follow him. I am not a slave. No, you're a slave to sin. It's a revolutionary statement.

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Onesimus belongs to God. He's not just your property. This is a brother in Christ. Now on to verses 12 through 17.

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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.

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But I prefer to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion, but out of your own accord.

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For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever.

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No longer as a bondservant, but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother, especially to me.

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But how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord? So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me.

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Remember Colossians four, seven through nine, the ending greetings in Colossians.

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Says this in Colossians four, seven through nine. Tychicus will tell you all about my activities.

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He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts.

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And with him, Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.

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In this letter that Paul has sent, here's the reality. Onesimus went with the letter.

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Think about that. Paul did not wait for Philemon's response to the letter. He didn't wait for Philemon to send a letter back being like, okay, send him

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Paul. No, he sent him with the letter. And Onesimus was his very heart.

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I pray that in our dealings with one another, we can have the same utmost encouragement for one another.

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That we would trust that our fellow believer in Christ would do what is right. And that we would put our faith in God working in them to also make the same great decision.

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Paul truly believed that Philemon without compulsion would do what is right because Paul trusted in who?

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God. Paul also considered the brother who was in sin, his very own heart.

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Restoring him with what? A spirit of gentleness. Remember Galatians 6, one through three.

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Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.

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Keep watch on yourself lest you too become tempted, bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.

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For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. That is your temptation if someone sins against you.

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To think higher of yourself than you are, to not extend the forgiveness that the master requires of us.

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The master's forgiveness way greater than our forgiveness. Remember that guys when we leave here today, right?

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Do not think higher of yourself than you are if someone sins against you.

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Don't deceive yourself. I mean, that's the deception in the beginning, right? With Adam in the garden, he thought higher of himself than he ought to.

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He said, oh, maybe I do wanna be just like God, knowing both good and evil. Don't deceive yourself.

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He was deceived in the garden. Let's not deceive ourselves again. We have the ability to walk in freedom through the love of the spirit to do what

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God, the God of all wisdom requires of us, in his word revealed to us, wow, to do what ought to be done, not walking according to the flesh, but according to the spirit.

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Paul states that he would have been glad to keep Onesimus and that he had every right because Philemon is

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God's property to work according to the faith on behalf of Paul while he was in prison. But instead, like what we were going through earlier,

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Paul respected Philemon enough to do nothing without his consent and by compulsion.

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Do you even see the heart of the apostle? It's amazing the things that God was doing within the early church at that time.

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The apostle Paul, the one as an old man, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, who's awaiting his death, right, he could have thought higher of himself than he did.

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He could have. I've done so much more than you, Philemon. Look at me here. Oh, that's not having the mind of Christ.

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That's not how Paul operated. He wanted to walk according to the spirit, not according to the flesh.

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He wants Philemon to do the same thing, to extend that love to others. Paul then puts this sinful situation into perspective of God's decree for Philemon, offering an objective look at the situation.

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We can do this for ourselves with regards to sinful situations that we may be in. This is what he says starting,

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I believe it's in verse 15 here. When I'm talking about God's decree, I'm talking about God's sovereignty.

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He has declared the end from the beginning. Paul gives insight to Philemon to have an objective look at his situation here.

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He says this, for perhaps this is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, right?

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Almost unveiling a mystery of God's will for why Onesimus, a slave, would have left

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Philemon in the first place. He's saying, well, maybe he left so you can have him back forever. Get outside of yourself and look at the situation in a bigger way, right?

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Even with sinful situations in between one another as Christians or a Christian with an unbeliever, let's take a look outside of ourselves in the situation.

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Maybe God is working some way, you don't know. He says, no longer in verse 16 as a bondservant, but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother, especially to me.

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But how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord? When Onesimus comes back to you, he's more than a bondservant, he's more than a slave, but he is your brother and not only does he come back to you, he may come back forever.

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Meaning that one day he's going to die, one day you're going to die. Paul would even say, one day

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I'm going to die. But in the end, we will have resurrected glorified bodies and be again with each other forever.

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I think when he's saying forever here, he means forever. Forever, let's say after you die and you're in heaven worshiping

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God with other believers, awaiting the resurrection of your body or the resurrection of your body, worshiping

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God in spirit and in truth here with glorified bodies. Forever means forever for each and one of you as well.

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Remind that of yourself when you're talking to other individuals that there may be a sinful situation.

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This person that you might think yourself higher than because they're now in a position where sin has been had, let's say by the other individual, you may forget that you're going to be with this person forever, worshiping

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God. Remember that you will. God is always working in situations.

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I think that's what he's saying here. There's nothing outside of the counsel of his will. All things that have come to pass have been decreed by God.

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Though we don't have the foresight needed to understand why things are happening, because we're not

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God, we are told that all of it is what? For our good and for the glory of God.

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Regardless of it, God is working all things together for good, for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.

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All things. That can help you get an objective look outside of your situation if you feel that you are angry and going into sin and thinking higher of yourself than you ought.

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Well, guess what? What happened to you is for your good, your sanctification to the glory of God, and it was part of his decree.

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Handle that first with God. If you're angry that that was decreed against you, take it up with the just. Okay, take it up with the just.

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Don't take it on the other individual. Believing God in his word during difficult times or when we are struggling with forgiving others gives us an objective perspective that it is for our good and his glory.

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We can take a step outside of ourselves and seek to see how God could be orchestrating what we would consider a horrible situation into something sanctifying for both parties.

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Paul is reminding Philemon now, since you have love for all the saints, here is a saint, no longer a bondservant, but a brother, and he is coming back to you.

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I just imagine when Titicus gives the letter to Paul, I don't know if for some reason

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I get a picture in my head of like some guy with like feathers on his feet, like just like running really fast and delivering letters.

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I know that's probably some pagan Roman God. I don't know why I pictured that in my head, but I picture this guy just giving a letter to Philemon, and then all of a sudden behind him comes

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Onesimus. Like, hey, how you doing? Over to Philemon, the decisions that gotta been made.

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I don't know why, that is just funny in my brain. He's a saint, he's coming back to you, no longer a slave or your property, but his master is

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Christ. He is your brother, he is on equal footing, and Onesimus can be in a brotherly relationship with you for all eternity, worshiping

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God. So consider this, Paul is stating, one, Philemon's master is Jesus, two, you are both brothers now in Christ.

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That's absolutely revolutionary for the time in which this was written. But also,

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Christian, your master is Jesus. Remember the letter to Colossians went out the same time the letter to Philemon went out.

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The sinful slave came returning in repentance to Philemon with these instructions. Colossians three, if you wanna go there, 22 through chapter four, verse one.

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Bondservants, slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye service as people pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the

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Lord. This is the believer slave at the church in Colossae, okay?

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He's told to obey his earthly master. Fearing the Lord, whatever you do, work heartily as for the

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Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord, you will receive the inheritance as your reward.

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Why? Because you're serving the Lord Christ. Right now in your position that you may be in, you're not doing your work to your master, right?

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The earthly master for them, you're doing it for God, and God cares about you. He says, for the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality, but he doesn't end there.

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Paul then reminds anyone who may have slaves, masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a master in heaven.

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Guess what? You have a slave and you're a slave, okay? Both Philemon and Onesimus are an equal footing here.

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Who's their masters? The true master, the master of forgiveness, our Lord Jesus Christ. So let's dig into a parable.

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They're both servants from Jesus to gain a heavenly perspective of the situation that Philemon is in.

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Turn to your Bibles, to Matthew 18, 21 through 35. And for some context here, this is right after verses 15 through 20, where Jesus gives commands on what to do if your brother sins against you.

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Give you some time to turn there, and then we're gonna dig into this parable from Jesus.

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Then Peter came up and said to him, Lord, how often will my brother sin against me and I forgive him?

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As many as seven times, Jesus said to him. I do not say to you seven times, but 77 times.

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Therefore, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.

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Where he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him 10 ,000 talents.

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And in equal money today, that's like millions of dollars, especially with our inflation. Like, woo, that's a lot of money.

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It's like trying to buy a house in Utah. It's like almost impossible. Well, actually it is impossible in terms of trying to settle your debt with God, but continue on.

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Verse 25, and since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold with his wife and children and all that he had and payment to be made.

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Verse 26 here, so the servant fell on his knees imploring him, have patience with me and I will pay you everything.

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And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him 100 denarii.

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And seizing him, he began to choke him saying, pay what you owe. So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, have patience with me and I will pay you.

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He refused. He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed.

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And they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, you wicked servant,

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I forgave you all the debt because you pleaded with me. And should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you?

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And in his anger, his master delivered him to the jailers until he should pay all of his debt. So also my heavenly father will do to every one of you if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.

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Your heart. This is powerful. Let's think about the parable of the unforgiving servant with regard to Philemon and Onesimus.

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We find that Philemon and Onesimus are both servants of the living and true God. Philemon owed a debt to God that could never be paid out of pity and out of grace.

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The master forgave that debt. So would it be okay for Philemon to then hold the debt of the master's fellow servant over his head to come over to Onesimus when he's back and choke him, give me back what you pay me?

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The answer is an unwavering no. Verse 33 again in Matthew 18, and should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you?

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The question is with regards to Galatians six, do you think the unforgiving servant thought too highly of himself?

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That's the warning, yes. Yes. The reality of our master's forgiveness is this, right?

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The unforgiving servant had a debt of 10 ,000 denarii against the master, a debt that could never be paid.

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The debt the other master's servant owed to the unforgiving servant was only 100 denarii, right?

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There was a debt owed to the other servant, but it was only 100 denarii, meaning that before God, the debt that we owe him is astronomical.

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It is something that we could never pay off, that the master though in his mercy through his grace offered forgiveness that he pitied the servant to release him from the debt.

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Something to think about now that we live on the other side of the cross, right? After this parable was given, we understand now that the debt we owed to God required a sacrifice.

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Now, Jesus here isn't speaking of soteriology or the measure in which we receive our salvation.

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This is a parable on how we can deal with not just believers, but unbelievers as well in terms of forgiveness.

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But think about this though. The expense of which the father forgives us was paid for in the life of his son.

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It was that great exchange. So we can even think about the parable like this, right? The master, in order to forgive the one servant who had a debt of 10 ,000 denarii, the master, without the servant maybe even comprehending it, gave the life of his one and only son in exchange for the servant in whom that debt was paid by the life of his own son.

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And then that one servant goes and chokes the servant that owes him money, even when the death of the master's son forgave him.

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It's heavy stuff to think about. Now, this one servant, for the teaching

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Christ is making in the parable, knows someone who owes him a debt, alluding to a sin that has occurred between the two.

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This sin is not like the sin of the unforgiving servant before the holy God, right? It doesn't cost nearly as much.

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Furthermore, the other servant whom the unforgiving servant is holding the debt over, his master has also forgiven him at the expense of his son.

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The one who is forgiven should extend grace and mercy to whoever has sinned against them.

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For God, rich in mercy, gave his only son to pay the price for their sins. And here's the warning, verse 34 through 35.

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And in anger, his master delivered him to the jailers until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly father will do to every one of you if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.

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This is the key. If you do not forgive your brother from your heart, your heart. Listen, the unforgiving servant upon the release of his master should have resolved forgiveness in his heart before seeking reconciliation from his fellow servant.

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The unforgiving servant did not truly understand what it costs the master to forgive the debt that the servant owed.

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What can we learn from this? Well, Jesus says, forgive first your brother in your heart. How many times?

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70, seven times, 70 times seven. Forgive always, but first in your heart.

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This is where all of our issues stem from. You cannot say, I forgive someone because I can't forgive someone because they haven't come to me asking for repentance.

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You cannot say that. First, you should forgive them in your heart. Seek reconciliation after you have forgiven your brother in your heart first.

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Why? Because you may go over there and choke them to death. The unforgiving servant sought, he should have sought reconciliation prior or he sought reconciliation prior to forgiveness in his heart because he truly actually didn't understand the master's forgiveness.

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How do I know that? It's in the parable. The parable says, so the servant fell on his knees imploring him, have patience with me and I will pay you everything.

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That's not a picture of understanding forgiveness of the gospel. Again, the parable is not about soteriology.

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It's not about how we are saved. But the point is, is that he says, I will pay you everything.

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No, it's already been paid. That's the beautiful thing about the forgiveness. You can't work for something that you physically cannot do.

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The master, the father calls all men everywhere to repent, but it doesn't mean that all people have been given the grace from the master to repent.

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Grace and mercy precedes our repentance. We must then extend the same grace and mercy to people who have sinned against us the same way

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God has given us mercy apart from anything that we've ever done. We wouldn't repent and turn from our sins unless God rich in mercy lavished us with his grace.

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It wouldn't be possible. It's not humanly possible. But we've also heard maybe a rejection to what

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I'm telling you today. Luke 17, three through four states, pay attention to yourselves.

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If your brother sins, rebuke him. And if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in the day and turns to you seven times saying,

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I repent, you must forgive him. Scripture here is telling me if he repents and only if he repents,

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I'm gonna forgive him. But it actually shows the same concept that Jesus is stating in the parable, forgive always.

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Because did he actually demonstrate true repentance if he sinned the same sin seven times? And how do you know if someone is actually truly repentant?

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And if they aren't, are you never gonna forgive them and hold it over their head for the rest of their lives? That's not the point of Luke 17, three.

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Forgive always. Ask yourself if this man has repented, right? And is committing the sin over and over again.

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Sometimes repentance may not be legitimate, but you should forgive always. The text states,

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Matthew 18, 33, and should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you.

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Colossians 3, 13, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you.

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As the Lord has forgiven you, you also must forgive as you have been forgiven, right?

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It does not say this, give forgiveness as God gives forgiveness. Here's the difference, okay?

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God is perfect, holy, and sinless. He is perfectly just in withholding forgiveness and mercy to whomever he chooses.

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You, on the other hand, right, myself, are not sinless, you are not perfect. He can choose whom he wants to extend grace and mercy.

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You, Christian, do not have that option. You don't have that option. You're not God. You were forgiven apart from your works, predicated on grace, which led you to repentance and restoration to God through the blood of his son.

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The grace of God preceded your repentance. In that, you should extend grace and mercy to all, for that is how it was given to us.

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But here's the question, right? Why should I, what are you saying,

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Andrew, then I need to be in like a friendly, loving relationship with this individual after I forgive them in my heart?

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I would tell you, I think that reconciliation is different than forgiveness when we think between sins between humans, right?

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Forgiving someone in your heart is something between you and God. It first takes humility and self -sacrifice.

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Reconciliation is different. Reconciliation is different. It's a benefit to both parties involved in the sin absolutely, and sometimes reconciliation does require restitution, right?

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If someone has sinned a grave sin against you, let's say that a husband commits adultery on his wife or his wife commits adultery on him, you can never get true restitution.

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You can't take back what has occurred, right? Therefore, God in his word says that divorce is an option because restitution isn't something that can occur.

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Hear me, you can forgive the person in your heart, but reconciliation and restitution may never occur because you can't change that.

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You can't take it back. And it takes time to reconcile or build trust again, but you should first forgive them in your heart.

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You should extend them grace and mercy, but it doesn't mean you have to be in a relationship with that individual right away.

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You have that ability to gain trust. We have the ability to forgive others first in our hearts because Christ has fully forgiven us and we have been reconciled to God by the restitution freely given to us in Christ, and now we ought to offer that forgiveness to others.

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So when we think of forgiveness between God and man, Jesus Christ reconciled us to God and paid restitution with his blood.

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Even Onesimus here, he was a slave that ran away from Philemon's household.

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There should be restitution that occurs. There's money or labor maybe that Philemon was not able to make because Onesimus was gone.

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The other thought is maybe Onesimus stole something and ran away. Reconciliation is the restoration of the relationship that has been broken by sin.

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You can forgive others in your heart with full reconciliation actually occurring. And part of reconciliation, how it starts, is typically on the person who sinned against you, their personal repentance, and then you can start building trust again.

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But your forgiveness should first start in your heart before going to that individual.

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It's a hard concept to grasp, but we must first think about what God commands, right?

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The Lord's Prayer. As you have been forgiven, you also must forgive. Remember, you could not repent and turn away from your sin apart from God's grace and mercy.

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We should give that to our fellow believers in Jesus Christ. We should also give that grace and mercy to unbelievers.

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In that parable, what is Jesus even talking about when he starts talking to Peter? He says, this is the kingdom of God. How can we

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Christians show the unbelieving world grace and mercy? By forgiving them.

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By forgiving them. Showing them what that love is. God was patient with us, extended us grace and mercy, and we come to repentance to him.

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Who are we then to say that we're not going to forgive that individual because they're an unbeliever, you haven't forgiven them in your heart, and because they're an unbeliever and they haven't come and repented to me?

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Well, maybe if you actually think less of yourself and you talk to that individual and tell them that you have forgiven them, what if that shadow of forgiveness points them to Christ and they become your brother and sister in Christ through your grace and mercy?

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Just being showed to them through the love of Jesus. It's absolutely amazing. We've seen those videos of people on the witness stand, right?

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And it's a mother, her daughter's been killed at the hands of a murderer, and she looks the murderer in the eye because she knows the grace of her

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Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And that person's never repented to her, never. She says,

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I forgive you for what you've done. But guess what? You should still pay the price for your sin, absolutely.

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But I want you to know Jesus and I want you to come to repentance. That's forgiving someone in your heart. She can't ever get her daughter back.

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He didn't repent to her. Is she not able to forgive him? She is.

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She has the freedom to forgive him in her heart and walk in freedom, in love, preach the gospel to that man.

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Along with the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18, he should have extended mercy on the master's other servant, again, prior to seeking restitution and reconciliation.

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Should have. All in all, the Christian is not only commanded to forgive his fellow brother and sister in his heart, but the

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Christian is commanded to forgive all without exception. As the Lord has forgiven you, you also must forgive.

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And this is forgiveness in your heart. You may be thinking, Andrew, I have been a victim of horrible things.

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Horrible acts of sin that have been committed against me. Things that I can never get restitution for. My child is now dead because of something someone's done.

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I was raped. I was abused. I've been beaten and broken at the hands of my parents or loved ones.

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I understand. I hear you. I cannot fix those things, right? But what

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I can do is just point you to God's word. Those things do not need to hold you captive as a slave to bitterness.

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They don't. God will make all things right in the end. There will be justice for you and for what has happened to you.

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I believe God's word in that. But you can first forgive these people in your heart. That's freedom.

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It's freedom. Freedom. You do not have to walk in a reality where something that has happened to you in your past is happening over and over and over and over again because you haven't forgiven first that person in your heart.

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Reconciliation can be made again. In horrible situations, there should be pastors involved.

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Trust should be built. But in all times, reconciliation does not necessarily have to happen.

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But you can still forgive someone in your heart. What forgiveness does is it allows us to be free from bitterness in order to walk according to the spirit.

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For your sin against God outweighs any sin man has committed against you. Remember, do not think too highly of yourself.

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The individual who sinned against you does not deserve your forgiveness because you did not deserve

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God's forgiveness. The unbeliever or the believer deserves your forgiveness because you did not deserve

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God's forgiveness. Sorry. But track with me on this. Please do not conflate reconciliation and restitution with forgiveness, with regards to sinful situations between men.

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Those things differ. But I want to challenge you with a couple of questions if you're having a hard time following what I'm saying.

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What if I, here's one of the questions, what if I was forgiven the way I had forgiven others?

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If you don't extend grace and mercy to other individuals and you're waiting for their repentance, you would have never been forgiven in the first place if that's how

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God forgives us. We would never repent apart from the grace of God. You'd be dead in your sin.

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Also think about this. Is it possible to not be bitter if you say that you cannot forgive someone until they repent?

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You think you can possibly not hold bitterness? I challenge you to really examine yourself.

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Getting back to Philemon, with regard to Paul's plea, let's read it again. Verse 12, going to 17.

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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.

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But I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord.

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For this perhaps is why he was parted from you first. That you might have him back forever, no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the

01:02:53

Lord. So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. What ought

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Philemon do? What would the Holy Spirit with Philemon urge him to do?

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Forgive him. Take him back not just as a slave but now as a brother in Christ. Both parties, sinners justified by the grace of God.

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And now going to verse 17, Paul then states this. So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me.

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Why? Because Onesimus is now one of you. It says that in Colossians chapter four in the final greeting.

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And with him, Onesimus, who is one of you? This is astounding. But remember,

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I say to that forgiveness in the heart first should then lead to reconciliation. Why?

01:03:46

Listen to what Paul says next. This is the clencher at the heart of this letter. This is the section of the letter that should bring you to tears that I would believe that Philemon was probably in tears when he read it.

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Verse 18 through 19. If he has wronged you at all or owes you anything, charge that to my account.

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Then he reiterates, I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it.

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To say nothing of your owing me, even your own self. Charge it to my account. Here we see

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Paul literally taking away any argument from Philemon with regard to hesitancy. But we also find

01:04:21

Paul doing what? Imitating Christ. I can see Christ advocating for the salvation of his sheep the same way.

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Father, if this person has wronged you or owes you anything at all, charge that to my account. That's what he did. And the truth is firm.

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Christ has paid it. But what's interesting is Paul still cares about restitution and reconciliation.

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If he stole something from you, I'm gonna pay it back. I promise you that. So if something has happened to you, you forgive someone in your heart,

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I promise you that God cares, number one. Number two, I care about that as well.

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He says that he'll do it. He'll pay it with his own hand. Imitate me as I imitate

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Christ, that's Paul. This letter from Paul's own hand to Philemon shows what the master's forgiveness is.

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It's what it is. Forgiveness from the master puts all men at the same level.

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The master's forgiveness is predicated on his grace and mercy, apart from anything we can ever do.

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His mercy was lavished upon us. We ought to lavish mercy and forgiveness to others.

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This is Paul's call to Philemon. This is God's call to all of his people. Pray for those who persecute you, forgive even your enemies and be peace seekers.

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Do not think too highly of yourself. You can do all of these things without being a doormat, in all reality.

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You can let love cover a multitude of sins without being a doormat and just let people walk over you. Like, oh, I'm just gonna do what

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I want to this individual, they're just gonna forgive me. That's not what's being said here. Paul then tells

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Philemon, echoing his prayer from the beginning in verse 20, he says this in verse 20. Yes, brother,

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I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. He goes all the way back to the prayer, telling

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Philemon that he's refreshed all of the saints in Colossae through his faith and love for the Lord Jesus. Now Paul then reiterates that in verse 20 and says, refresh my heart.

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Refresh my heart in who? In Christ. Verse seven, just to echo it. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

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Again, refresh my heart, Philemon, by continuing to refresh the hearts of the saints through forgiving others as Christ has forgiven you.

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Think about the testimony of God's grace that would happen to the church in Colossae.

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Seeing this, right? Why was the letter addressed to everybody at the church?

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Because the sin affected everybody. Philemon was the leader of the church in Colossae, the church gathered in his house.

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But guess what? Through a sinful situation, God, rich in his mercy, through his righteous decree, can make the church 10 times stronger than what it ever was before, by seeing the gospel lived out, by literally seeing it lived out before their very eyes.

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So let's go through verses 21 through 25, and then end in prayer, okay? This is the closing section of the letter.

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Remember, I kept saying through the letter, Paul already sent Philemon with the letter, did not wait for a response.

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That's so cool. And how do we know that Paul was confident about this? Well, verse 21 tells us.

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Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.

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At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I'm hoping that through your prayers, I'll be graciously given to you.

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Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you. And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

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The grace of the Lord, excuse me, Jesus Christ, be with your spirit. What a beautiful way for Paul to end this letter.

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He's in Rome, awaiting possible death. Doesn't know, pretty much kind of knows.

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But at the same time, he says, if I'm out, if I get out, hey, prepare a room for me, because I want to see you.

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I long to see you guys, I love you. But then he also says to him, the grace of the

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Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. We can read a letter, right? And we can be so far from it, because it wasn't written to us.

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But the reality is, is Philemon was in a very tricky situation. He was in a very tricky situation.

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He could have thought too highly of himself as a leader of a church, and not through grace and mercy, extend forgiveness and show it to the rest of the body.

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That'd be detrimental. So Paul says, may that grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

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This is a difficult situation. Sin is always a difficult situation. But how do we understand it?

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Or how should we understand sin between two individuals? Not apart from the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ in the gospel.

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Because if you try, you'll never understand the master's forgiveness. Let's pray.

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Lord, thank you for this time. Again, thank you for your letter to Philemon.

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Let this sit on our hearts. Let our souls, Lord, ponder over the grace and mercy that you have given us that led us to repentance.

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Let us be able to extend that to other individuals, to be peace seekers. Let us love you,

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Lord. Let us refresh our hearts. Let us refresh your heart by our love for you and faith in the

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Lord Jesus Christ. It can be hard, Lord, to extend forgiveness.

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But please, never let us forget the gospel. Because in that, we won't think too highly of ourselves.

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Let us truly love one another, not use your name in vain. Let us be image bearers who extend forgiveness to believers and unbelievers alike, such as the kingdom of God.

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We love you, Lord. We thank you for your word. Please be with us as we go. In Jesus' name, amen.