Philemon 17 If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself.
Well hello there my faithful Friends! ‘Grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.’ Just practicing what I preach. (smile) Yesterday we began looking at how Bruh Paul built his case to Philemon, re the runaway slave Onesimus. Today we’ll continue it. After the godly greeting and all the commendations on Philemon’s faith at work, Bruh Paul smartly tacks to windward, avoiding the use of formal apostolic authority to have him take back Onesimus. (vs.8) ‘Yet for LOVE’S sake, I rather beseech thee…I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds.’ (vs.9-10) Remember, though the slave had no rights in Roman law, Bruh Paul now considered Onesimus a son, born of necessity in his imprisonment, a free man in Christ Jesus, and also a brother in the Lord to Philemon, his earthly master. Bruh Paul’s basically putting poor Philemon between a rock and a hard place. He uses incentives like, he wasn’t useful to you before, but now he’s useful to us both, also playing on the meaning of the name, Onesimus, ‘useful’ (vs.11) And Bruh Paul would have kept Onesimus in Rome to help him, but wouldn’t do anything without Philemon’s consent, ‘that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.’ (vs.13-14) Bruh Paul certainly knew how to manipulate the human mind. He wanted Philemon’s good deed to seem like a willing, Christian act, not like it was forced upon him. And he could jive with the best of them too. ‘For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him forever. Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord.’ (vs.15-16) That’s good ‘lawyering’ my Friends. Imagine Philemon reading this letter nuh, and getting somewhat worked up by all Bruh Paul’s fancy reasoning. But then he throws in the personal side of the argument: ‘If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee aught, put that on my account. I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.’ (vs.17-19) Bruh Paul is showing his generous side, offering to repay Philemon whatever Onesimus owed him, but note the last part of verse 19, where he subtly reminds Philemon of his own debts. What a brilliant strategist my people! In today’s greedy, rapacious world, he would have made a killing with that brilliant mind, if he so desired. And so my people, we come once again to the fact that talk is very cheap, but good deeds not so. But we can only show our faith through our works. And it does take a little more gumption for us to actually step out and do something that will make Christ proud. I don’t know if this was the logic Bruh Paul was following with Philemon, but if Philemon was such a hotshot believer, it sure stood a good chance of working. Then he would be forced to show his Christian faith in action, by taking his ex-slave back as a free man, forgiving him his wrongdoing, and also considering him his brother in Christ. That’s a tall order even by today’s standards, much less back then with life more closely regulated, both politically and religiously, and prone to harsher justice and punishment. But Friends, as Bruh Paul might have told Philemon today, ‘Brother, either put up or shut up nuh. Put yuh money where yuh mouth is!’ (smile) I’m smiling my people, but those same words can also be used against us. They’re still too many sick, hurting, suffering citizens out there, that as true believers, we should be helping, but are not. My Brethren, it’s time to forget ourselves and concentrate on others. There are lots of people out there suffering more than us. If we look around, we can all find at least one Onesimus to help. Jesus didn’t have to come and die for us nuh, but he became selfless and did it because the Father asked Him. That was the only way to cleanse all sin forever. And even when human fear gripped Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, He never faltered. So if we hope to be anything like Jesus, the first thing we must do is to forget about self; me, my and I, remembering Bruh Paul’s prayer for the Colossians, ‘That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.’ (Col.1:10) That’s also my wish today for all of us my people; that we might walk worthy of the Lord, bearing good fruit in both faith and works, and in the process, coming to know Jesus better. Much LOVE!…Christianity suffers from…too much talk… and too little walk…
Well hello there my faithful Friends! ‘Grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.’ Just practicing what I preach. (smile) Yesterday we began looking at how Bruh Paul built his case to Philemon, re the runaway slave Onesimus. Today we’ll continue it. After the godly greeting and all the commendations on Philemon’s faith at work, Bruh Paul smartly tacks to windward, avoiding the use of formal apostolic authority to have him take back Onesimus. (vs.8) ‘Yet for LOVE’S sake, I rather beseech thee…I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds.’ (vs.9-10) Remember, though the slave had no rights in Roman law, Bruh Paul now considered Onesimus a son, born of necessity in his imprisonment, a free man in Christ Jesus, and also a brother in the Lord to Philemon, his earthly master. Bruh Paul’s basically putting poor Philemon between a rock and a hard place. He uses incentives like, he wasn’t useful to you before, but now he’s useful to us both, also playing on the meaning of the name, Onesimus, ‘useful’ (vs.11) And Bruh Paul would have kept Onesimus in Rome to help him, but wouldn’t do anything without Philemon’s consent, ‘that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.’ (vs.13-14) Bruh Paul certainly knew how to manipulate the human mind. He wanted Philemon’s good deed to seem like a willing, Christian act, not like it was forced upon him. And he could jive with the best of them too. ‘For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him forever. Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord.’ (vs.15-16) That’s good ‘lawyering’ my Friends. Imagine Philemon reading this letter nuh, and getting somewhat worked up by all Bruh Paul’s fancy reasoning. But then he throws in the personal side of the argument: ‘If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee aught, put that on my account. I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.’ (vs.17-19) Bruh Paul is showing his generous side, offering to repay Philemon whatever Onesimus owed him, but note the last part of verse 19, where he subtly reminds Philemon of his own debts. What a brilliant strategist my people! In today’s greedy, rapacious world, he would have made a killing with that brilliant mind, if he so desired. And so my people, we come once again to the fact that talk is very cheap, but good deeds not so. But we can only show our faith through our works. And it does take a little more gumption for us to actually step out and do something that will make Christ proud. I don’t know if this was the logic Bruh Paul was following with Philemon, but if Philemon was such a hotshot believer, it sure stood a good chance of working. Then he would be forced to show his Christian faith in action, by taking his ex-slave back as a free man, forgiving him his wrongdoing, and also considering him his brother in Christ. That’s a tall order even by today’s standards, much less back then with life more closely regulated, both politically and religiously, and prone to harsher justice and punishment. But Friends, as Bruh Paul might have told Philemon today, ‘Brother, either put up or shut up nuh. Put yuh money where yuh mouth is!’ (smile) I’m smiling my people, but those same words can also be used against us. They’re still too many sick, hurting, suffering citizens out there, that as true believers, we should be helping, but are not. My Brethren, it’s time to forget ourselves and concentrate on others. There are lots of people out there suffering more than us. If we look around, we can all find at least one Onesimus to help. Jesus didn’t have to come and die for us nuh, but he became selfless and did it because the Father asked Him. That was the only way to cleanse all sin forever. And even when human fear gripped Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, He never faltered. So if we hope to be anything like Jesus, the first thing we must do is to forget about self; me, my and I, remembering Bruh Paul’s prayer for the Colossians, ‘That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.’ (Col.1:10) That’s also my wish today for all of us my people; that we might walk worthy of the Lord, bearing good fruit in both faith and works, and in the process, coming to know Jesus better. Much LOVE!…Christianity suffers from…too much talk… and too little walk…
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