 After having doing research in a paper for a seminary, I want to share with you something that I think is actually pretty cool I think it'll bless you and that comes from the story of Philemon Really the story is about Onissimus who ran away and Paul is urging Appealing to Philemon who is the owner the master of Onissimus to treat him as he's a brother before I go there I want to read something from me from the 13th amendment Most of us have an idea of what slavery is like or what we've been told it's like you from watching movies and so forth Here in America, but let me just read something because we think that slavery has been abolished I want to point out something to you I'm reading this from the 13th amendment. It says neither slavery nor involuntary servitude except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted Shall exist in the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction. So in other words Slavery has not been abolished in America. Slavery still exists or I should say involuntary Servitude still exists if a person is incarcerated if a person is in prison in other words The prison can make a person do work now if they don't there are certain Remifications they can't beat you they can't give you a longer sentence But they can take things away from you putting in put you in certain units and so forth put you on restrictions You can't go to commissary also different like that You can't get maybe take away your your good time that you may have earned Those things they can do to punish a person for not doing the work they require. Why is that important? Well, Paul who is a prisoner knows what it's like to be a prisoner Paul knows what it's like to be in chains to have chains on he's riding on behalf of onissimus now We don't know how onissimus became a slave. We don't even know why onissimus ran away All of the Bible says that if there's something that he owes To filamon will then to credit as a matter of fact, let's go to Let's go to filamon and let's go to verse. Let's start verse eight Therefore though I have enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is proper Yet for love's sake I rather appeal to you Since I am such a person as Paul the aged and now also a prisoner of Christ So notice what he how he conveys speaking of himself as a prisoner himself Who understands what it's like to be forced to do something to be controlled not just by the authorities themselves But also by Christ and he's not appealing to anissimus I'm sorry to filamon on the basis of him being his senior in terms of him owning him But as a brother, why is that important? Because there are also some rules that the old covenant Could Paul could probably say well This is what the Lord wants us to do in terms of how we treat slaves and so forth and in that time if you are a runaway slave Slavery was a was a vital part was just an integral role in society then it was not abolished but I want you to see how Paul does something and it actually ends up becoming how we end up dealing with slavery not just at that time But even going forward even here with eradicating slavery in America But Paul appeals to him on a different level as a brother In the Lord as a prisoner of Christ and he says verse 10 I appeal to you for my child onissimus whom I have begotten in my imprisonment now Is that to say that onissimus came a believer? After running into Christ, I mean after running into Paul. We don't know but likely I think that's probably the way now Slaves at that time did have the ability to go and Look for some sort of mediation. They were they had better rights than what you would have saw as slaves here in America did But not a lot. They did have some rights. There are various reasons why a person could be a slave They could be a slave because they were born into it Sometimes folks have babies and they throw the babies away and they pick the baby up And then someone sells them off for slavery sometime first can become a slave because of a debt Either voluntarily or involuntarily and indebted themselves to servitude It could be for some sort of penal reason other words They have been convicted of a crime and now they are caused to work off their debt to society or even financial debt By this way and there might be a link You also have what's called manumission where a person can receive their freedom now The difference is with America versus then is that freedom? Or I'm sorry slavery was not based on race with a person ran away Unless they told you unless you knew about the person you wouldn't know the person would just fit in with society And so if a person had the means they might go after and retrieve this this slave But they didn't have the means that then the slave might get away There's also the possibility that a slave could kill his master because upon his death and maybe this server to an end Sometimes though they may have already wheeled that that slave would go to their descendants and so forth But all that being stated we don't know why on this miss became a slave We don't know why he's running away. Paul makes a statement who was formerly was useless to you But now is useful both to you and to me now We don't know what that means why he says he was formerly useless does that mean that he was not a good worker That he's not doing his job Not sure now the name Onesimus was a common name given to slaves Not a name they were born with but a name that they were given and so this on this miss could have been his real name It could have been it also was named that was given to slaves and so Paula same Who was formerly useless to you? But now is useful both to you and to me and he's speaking I think in terms of him being useful to the kingdom and maybe Paul was saying he was useless in regards to the kingdom not sure not sure he says I have sent him back to you in person That is sending my very heart in other words me doing this Consider this to be something very dear to me and I'm sending him to you He says whom I wish to keep with me so that on your behalf He might minister to me in my imprisonment for the gospel and so Paul I would like to use him, but I want to send him back to you You would think that's a pretty dangerous move at least as far as a miss miss concerned because go back What if he doesn't what if he didn't accept your appeal and he takes me back as a slave? But without your consent I did not want to do anything so that your goodness would not be in effect by compulsion In other words, I won't I don't want you to make you do something I don't want you to feel guilty about I want you to do this freely for perhaps He was for this reason separated from you for a while that you would have him back forever No longer as a slave, but more than a slave a beloved brother Especially to me, but how much more to you both in the flesh and in the Lord? So now he's appealing to fill him on in a particular manner in a particular way not under some sort of compulsion Hey, you owe me this also not for that reason either But he says if then you regard me a partner accept him as you would me But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything charge that to my account soon They say well, maybe oh, this miss did something wrong incurred a debt stole something don't know We it doesn't we don't know but Paul says whatever he has done whatever he owes you Charge it to my account because you owe me as a matter of fact. He says I am Paul I'm writing this with my own hands I will repay it not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self as well So Paul kind of throws it in there and listen you owe me as well Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord Refresh my heart in Christ now what I want you to notice is what he says to him And this is kind of odd. Remember, where is Paul? Paul is imprisonment Paul Not that necessarily have an expectation of living too long now. This is the imprisonment that did this Not where he's gonna die This is about a couple years prior to him dying But Paul understands that he is going to die for the gospel at some point in time And so Paul is making a strange request with that being known He says having confidence in your obedience I write to you since I know that you will do even more than what I say at the same time also look He says prepare me a Lodging for I hope that through your prayers. I will be given to you In light of Paul knowing that at some point time he is going to die and He and even if he doesn't die now, he's got other missions that he would like to do The likelihood of going to see Philomon is small and Paul knows this but he says prepare lodging for me Do you think that Paul? I kind of think so. I don't I don't know this to be the case, but I kind of think so Consider him like me treat him like a brother and even more so. Oh, by the way prepare a lodging for me What's the likelihood that Onissimus will receive this lodging because he's no longer a slave He would be received not as a slave, but as a brother now. Here's what we do know What would we think we know? There are those that have written and it's hard to tell but there later becomes a bishop There later becomes a servant in the church of Ephesus name Onissimus who was a former we believe to be a former slave. Is this the same person? It's kind of coincidental if it's not it may not be though It may not be but a lot of people have come to accept that this might be the very same Onissimus who is now useful in the ministry think about that now Paul says that he can be useful if this is the same Onissimus certainly he is useful now. Here's something else that happens and we don't talk about this But how Paul appeals to Philemon becomes widely known His letter to Philemon becomes kind of an industry standard so much so that plenty the younger Who is not a believer as a matter of fact has no love for Christians? Uses this tact when also appealing on behalf of another friend not out of compulsion Not saying that you must do this not under threat But because you owe me. I love you and so forth. He wrote he writes the same sort of letter. I want y'all think about this How do we deal with slavery in the western world? We didn't deal with it in terms now obviously one of the laws change But how this was done was following the same pattern appealing to the goodness and kindness of a person's heart But also putting upon them who those folks who claim to be a Christian Now obviously all slave masters and slaveholders were not christian. It's not what i'm saying But you would still appeal to them in that same vein the very same way that paul Appeals to onissimus. We see that at the beginning of the ending of the slave trade That's how they initially appealed is that the only way they appealed i'm not saying that but initially For these good god-fearing men where they were not that's how it was coupled That's how it was put out for these good god-fearing men to do the same thing Follow the same way that paul Appealed to filamon. He's appealing to other men. And so you started seeing Men and women and there were those who actually were christian because again It was possible at this time to be a believer in christ and have masters Someone might say that no you couldn't be a slave owner and be a christian. Well Exhibit eight filamon filamon was a christian filamon has slaves And filamon is appealed to as a christian paul and so you're not a you're not a believer because you have slaves This was kind of the society that they lived in Some slaves were treated harsher some were treated better Some were like members of the family the slave himself would rather be free though Let's just be honest. It's not as though that he really he rather enjoyed being a slave He would much rather be free And so is it possible that there were a slave master slave holders that were believers in christ But may have been ignorant to the plight of these slaves not even thinking about it That happens a lot and and again filamon is one such one We have a lot of people in the bible who own slaves who had servants and slaves Who were under the control of a master? Think about abraham and i think i'm sorry think about abraham and sarah Hagar was a maid servant and so she ran away God tells her to go back So you have that and so it's possible Matter of fact more nothing possible It's true that there were people that had slaves Who were ignorant of certain things didn't think it through Owned slaves and they were appealed to be on the basis of them being a christian That was the strategy for a lot of people to begin or to lay the foundation For abolishing slavery then as it took hold all you need is enough influential people Who are believers to see this and then to look at this very letter that we have in our bible As a roadmap as a strategy to release slaves if enough influential people have it those with pockets They have influence in their different parliaments and in congress and so forth Even in our own governmental pages We see terms like all men are creating equal and endowed by certain and able to rights by their Creator and so we see The influence of the bible even in our own government I said that our government is a christian government and it's perfect. That's not what i'm saying But what i'm saying is the influence on this little letter here Has long lasting influence even on people who are not christians Even on people who are not believers even on folks that claim to be christian But we're not even on wicked people the influence of this letter has a far Reaching effect not just on anisimus who may very well have been also a bishop in the church of emphasis but also for other people To enjoy the freedoms that's afforded to them by the lord that the lord wants in the half But also freedoms in the lord and paul appears appeals to them And paul appeals to them as a brother in christ begging or appealing to them to also view the other person the one that's enslaved As a fellow image bear as a fellow brother or sister in christ How awesome is this one little letter? How awesome is the effect on this letter to the rest of the world? Amen