Dwelling Below With Saints We Know Series

ENGAGE

You’ve probably heard the little ditty, “To dwell above with the saints we love, O that will be glory! But to dwell below with the saints we know, well, that’s a different story!”

TENSION

I think you’d all agree with me that there is a lot of truth in that statement. But we really shouldn’t be surprised that relationships within the body of Christ can be difficult at times. Because the gospel of Jesus brings together people of diverse races, economic status, family backgrounds and religious backgrounds, the possibility for strained relationships is great.

Just think about this group that is gathered here this morning. While there are a few of us here that are Tucson natives, we have people here from a wide variety of other places – Illinois, Alabama, Los Angeles, and even Jamaica. We have doctors, and nurses and teachers, and bankers – quite a few of them in fact. We have those who are in management and those who work under managers and those who are retired. We have some people who live in houses and some who live in apartments. We drive Fords and Chevys and Hondas and Hyundais. We have UCLA fans and Wildcat fans, Cubs fans and Dodger fans, Bears Fans and Dallas Cowboy fans all worshiping side by side. We have people with Lutheran backgrounds and people with Catholic backgrounds and people with Baptist backgrounds and some people with no religious background at all.

In any place other than the church, gathering together a diverse group like that on a regular basis would be inviting disaster. But the very fact that the gospel makes it possible for us to live in harmony – at least most of the time – is both evidence of the genuineness of our faith and a testimony to the world about the power of the gospel.

TRUTH

As we continue with our series title “Little Books with a Big Message”, we’re going to look at Paul’s shortest letter that is included in the Bible. You’ll find the book of Philemon near the end of your Bible, right before the book of Hebrews.

The book of Philemon centers around three people with about as diverse of backgrounds as you could imagine:

• Paul, a scholarly, zealous Jew and former Pharisee

• Philemon, a wealthy Gentile businessman

• Onesimus, a runaway slave

Apparently, Paul had previously come in contact with Philemon, possibly during his ministry in Ephesus, and led him to become a disciple of Jesus. Philemon had then returned to his hometown of Colossae. The letter is also addressed to Apphia, probably Philemon’s wife, and Archippus, who was probably his son and possibly the pastor of the church there in Colossae, and to the entire church that met in their home.

This is very likely the same church to which Paul wrote another letter that we call “Colossians” and it’s quite possible that the two letters traveled together from Paul’s jail cell in Rome to the city of Colossae – one which was primarily for Philemon and the other for the church there.

So with that brief background in mind, please follow along as I read the entire letter.

[Read Philemon 1-25]

Before we address this letter and what it teaches us about developing healthy, gospel-shaped relationships, I want to take a few minutes to address the topic of slavery in the Bible.

When we think of the idea of slavery we probably think of 19th century slavery in the United States that was a major cause of the Civil War. Frankly that was a shameful page not only in the history of this country, but also for the church, which also split over the issue. There were many slave owners who used the Bible, including the book of Philemon to justify the practice of slavery, claiming that the Bible actually condoned the practice.

But the kind of slavery we are familiar with is quite different than the slavery that was present in both the Old Testament as well as in Paul’s day. One of the main differences is that in Bible times it was not a racial issue at all. People of all races and cultures were slaves. Some were born into slavery or abandoned as children and taken into slavery. Others were sold into slavery by their parents or became slaves as a result of war or became slaves in order to pay off a debt.

By some estimates, slaves may have comprised as much as one third of the population in the Roman Empire during the time that Paul wrote this letter. Many slaves lived relatively comfortable lives and were treated well by their masters and many of the most highly skilled people in that culture – doctors, teachers, musicians, artists and accountants – were slaves. That form of slavery was much different than what most of us are familiar with, and in many cases slaves lived what we might consider relatively normal lives.