Let's pray. Lord, this morning, Lord, as we look at your word, Lord, teach us again the principles found in the word of God so, Lord, not only we ourselves can relate to them, but, Lord, we can be meditating upon them and be thankful for the work that you've done in our own life. And then, Lord, thank you for the word of God that we have in our hands that we could actually read and meditate upon, and hear it preached, and study it, and just share it with others. And I thank you for the freedom we have there, Lord. And I just pray we never take for granted of that. And Lord, with all that, Lord, I pray as we preach the word of God, we would be ready whenever you come. So Lord, let us live our life, a holy life, pursue godliness, and flee those sins that held us in bondage. Because, Lord, if you came today, what sin would we have to be ashamed about? I pray that we would live so we're not ashamed. And so, Lord, today we thank you and ask you, Lord, to make our heart and minds ready to receive the truth of God's word. And I pray in Christ's name, amen. We're looking at Philemon today. I decided to do this message, just one message for this whole book. And the reason why is because it is really a letter, personal letter written by the Apostle Paul to a man named Philemon. But he had a purpose in writing this book. And that purpose is going to become evident in a moment. But if you're looking for Titus I and II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, all right, right before Hebrews, if you're looking for that in the book. I was reading a story about a man named John Jasper. He was born in 1812. And this man, John Jasper, spent the first 25 years of his life as a slave on the peach plantation in Williamsburg, Virginia. About 1837, he was asked to go to, or told to go to Samuel Hargrove's tobacco warehouse. And when he got there, Samuel Hargrove was a believer. And he was actually a good master to the slaves. And what he did is he, would always speak to his slaves about salvation and their soul, and then he would pray for their conversion. And so, John Jasper, under the hearing of his messages, on July 25th, 1839, gave his heart to Christ. And he said this, he often told how he came to faith in Christ, My sins was piled upon me like mountains. My feet was sinking down to the regions of despair. I felt that of all sinners, I was the worst. I thought that moment the Lord would take me, but he didn't take me yet. And I cried to heaven. and praised his name. His mother would pray for her son, and her prayer request for him was that he would do nothing but sing praises to Jesus. Well, after that happened, after he became a Christian, he would relate his conversion wherever he went, and at one particular funeral, they asked him to speak. And he was such a dynamic speaker, he would be asked over and over again to preach and speak. And then there came a time where the Civil War brought John Jasper freedom and it produced a dramatic change in his life and ministry. What happened at age 55, he became the pastor of a church down south. And he pastored that church for some 34 years, and then he went to be with the Lord. And the last words that he had is this, I have finished my work. I am waiting at the river, looking across for further orders. Now, I relate that story because when we read Philemon, that's like a modern-day Philemon story, because he meets his slave master, he becomes a believer, and then God calls him to be a pastor and preach, and then he's freed from all the rules and laws of being slaves, and then he was a faithful pastor for many, many, many years in his church. So when we come here to Philemon, we find that this is a personal letter that was written by the Apostle Paul to his friend Philemon, a respected believer in Christ. And this letter is well thought out and is a well composed, Holy Spirit inspired letter on behalf of Onesimus. Onesimus was a pagan slave who turned Christian. So in this letter to Philemon, we see exemplified the higher law of love that is actually revealed in Christ Jesus. And this is the distinguishing mark of the children of God, love for the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what makes us so different than all other religions. Biblical Christianity is different from all other religious systems. And this is what distinguishes true disciples from all others who are false followers of God. So both Paul and Philemon had been refined by the love of God, and this refinement of love is expressed in their courtesy and consideration for one another. In this epistle, the very fabric of Christian love is seasoned by a runaway slave named Onesimus, owned by and under the authority of his master Philemon. William Barclay mentions the absolute power a master had over his slaves around this period of time. He said that a master can box their ears or condemn them to hard labor, making them, for instance, work in chains upon their hands while in the country so they wouldn't run away, or in a sort of prison factory. If they were thieves and stole, or they ran away and were caught, the master can at most crucify them, and at least they were branded with a red hot iron on the forehead with the letter F, which means fugitivus, or runaway. So the Roman government at that time afforded virtually no protection to slaves. Really, the bottom line was you have a good slave master, you did pretty well. If you didn't, it was pretty horrible. And the mindset of the day was a slave was not a person, it was a living tool. The past character of Onesimus was really dubious. He was a slave. And in those days, slaves were very ignorant because they really couldn't go to school. They were untaught. They usually were in a low social standing. And it is possible that Philemon, being a Christian, attempted to do Onesimus good. But I think some have said that this probably bothers him to Onesimus, so he fled the house. Maybe his Christian master's regulations, like maybe you have to attend church, prayers, maybe admonitions for salvation, may have been disagreeable and proved to be too much for Onesimus' untrained nature. So not caring, he wronged a good man. This dishonest slave stole some of his master's property and ran away, thinking that he would be less likely to be discovered by the minister of justice. Therefore, he ran 1,200 miles on a 1,200-mile journey from Colossae to Rome. Onesimus was the worst of the worst. He was a thug, the scum of society, who was comfortable enough to hobnob with the dregs and lowlife heathen gangs and thieves which infested the imperial city of Rome. Maybe he thought, in the slums of Rome, I can hide and they'll never find me. Onesimus most likely never considered that the Lord of all creation would look out of heaven with an eye of love and set his eye upon this slave. So this short epistle is quite important in several ways. Two things stand out. First, we see that the way in which the gospel actually works. No one, not even a runaway slave, is beyond the work of God. No sinner is beyond the work of God, no matter how much, how long, how deep a person has gone into sin. If anyone will trust Christ, he will become a new person. Secondly, the ancient barriers of class hatred are being broken down by the gospel. Philemon and Onesimus, because of the gospel of Jesus Christ, actually become Christian brothers. Now, let's kind of see from the letter how that all happened. We have to really marvel at the wonder and the marvelous electing love of God, which selected such a one as Onesimus, because we can pretty much put ourselves in the same place as him. We were born sinners. We live in sin. We loved our sin. And we really weren't really thinking about salvation or God or forgiveness. We were just trying to enjoy our life the best way possible. But God is sovereign. to do what he pleases, having mercy on whom he chooses. Thank the Lord for that. Just like it says in Romans, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So Onesimus ends up either in prison with the Apostle Paul or as a servant of the Apostle Paul while he was incarcerated. He was a runaway slave who belonged to Philemon, and Paul sent Onesimus back to his master with a letter asking Philemon to do something, and that's what Philemon is. It's a letter from Paul to Philemon about Onesimus. Now, let's look at the first thing, and that's in verse one through three, and that's the gracious greetings. And believe me, this epistle, if you want to find out how to write a letter, look at Philemon. This gives all the principles on how to write a letter. Because what he does in this letter, he actually is very gracious and very kind. And notice what it says, first of all. Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy, our brethren, to Philemon, our beloved brother and fellow worker, and to Aphia, Now, this first passage sets the tone for the whole book. that Philemon was a faithful Christian, and it appears that he had a church in his house, a church composed of mostly his own family and servants. He was privileged, actually, to possess a wife, a beloved wife, a fia, it says our sister, but most likely it was his wife, and then a son, Archippus, who was a fellow soldier. So his children walked in their parents' footsteps and were members that met in Philemon's house. Now we heard of Archippus back when we were in Colossians. where it says there in Colossians 4.17, so say to Archippus, take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you will fulfill it. Now when I was back there, that probably was a mild warning to him, not to quit, but fulfill the ministry and purpose that God called you, and most likely that ministry was, he was the fill-in pastor for the church at Colossae. Also, we know that he was no slappy person because of what is said about him in Philemon, that he was a fellow soldier. He was a tough person when it came to spiritual things. He understood what it mean to be a Christian in a difficult time. Now, the church that he had was in his house. Church buildings really didn't appear until the third century. So this was the norm in the beginning, and many times they had to have a church house or a place to meet so nobody knew they were meeting there, because they were always dogged and under persecution. And remember, for a church to exist, any church to exist, it must have unity, It must have oversight of elders and the mercy ministry of deacons. It must have instruction from the word of God and prayer. It must have fellowship. It must have evangelism. And it is assumed that all these things were taking place in this house church. And notice in verse number one, Paul does not describe himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ as usual, He describes himself as a prisoner of Jesus Christ, not a prisoner of Rome. So it says that Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus and Timothy, our brother. So he aligns himself with the weakness and powerless like Onesimus. He's appealing to Philemon by subtly inferring that he is enduring imprisonment for the sake of the gospel. I'm going to ask you, Philemon, to do something less difficult. The apostle Paul was in prison because he has been preaching the gospel of Christ. He's in prison for the sake of Christ, and he is a prisoner who belongs to Christ. Timothy is mentioned here in the beginning of the letter because he worked closely with the Apostle Paul in ministry and was his close companion. Timothy, remember, was the next generation of pastors. He was being raised up by Paul to take the baton and be that next generation to carry on the church and its ministry. So both Paul and Timothy and Philemon experienced the reality of the newness that comes when one repents of sins and believes in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. They all were rescued by Jesus Christ, as Colossians 1, 13 says, for he rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. So along with them, The reality of the newness of the Christian life is that you and I who have believed are citizens of two kingdoms, one an earthly and one a spiritual. And to those who have received God's grace through faith in Christ have become citizens of the kingdom of God. However, even though We have been rescued from the domain of darkness, and because of the light of the glorious gospel that had shone in our hearts, we still live at the same time in both the earthly and the spiritual. And even though presently we live in these two spheres, the spiritual must always have the upper hand in the earthly sphere. In other words, fleshly responses must be weakened and spiritual responses must be strengthened. So what we understand of the word of God makes us live and act and speak and think differently. So as we learn to live in both realms, the gospel continues to instruct us concerning the new position we presently hold, and that position is we are children of God. We have royal blood running through our veins. and therefore we are to live differently in the world. No one can be faithful until he has faith. Saving faith always sanctifies, and the sanctified want to be saintly. They want to be faithful. They want to be obedient, yet not perfectly, but that's what their desire is now. This is the difference between those who profess to know Christ and those who actually possess salvation. There are several things faithful brethren, the faithful brethren really continually receive if you are in the family of God. If you notice in verse number three of Philemon, the first thing we receive is manifold grace. Faithful Saints and faithful brethren have been given manifold grace. It says grace to you. That's the first thing That's why it sets the foundation of this epistle saving grace by his grace He has proved he has provided Redemption by the sacrifice of himself and by his grace. He has called guilty sinners and made them into saints For you have been saved by grace through faith, Ephesians tells us. And then there is living grace. It is God's gift to make saints gracious and saintly and faithful. And then there is also serving grace. It is God's gift to make saints useful and productive servants. of the Lord, where it says in Peter, as each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Also, if you are in the family of God, saints and faithful brethren have been granted multifaceted peace. Look at verse number three of Philemon. It tells us their grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. So with grace comes peace, and peace is the cessation of hostility against God that is gone, freedom from fear of damnation, liberation from guilt, that saints are at peace with the God of peace. And the objective peace of God is that blessed condition when God is our friend and we know it, and it is well with us in time and it's also well with us in eternity. See, that's the kind of peace that God gives us. And both of those kinds of peace are mediated by Christ Jesus himself. So if a person is at peace with God Almighty, of whom, who else could they be afraid of? No one. Romans tells us, if God is for you, who can be against you? The gospel of Jesus Christ plunders the evil one's domain. Because the strong man, the devil, is overcome and captive souls are removed from his domain into the kingdom of God. That's what God does. He rescues us. And why is this concept of peace with God important? It is important because Satan wants Christians to think that the fight of holiness is worthless and hopeless and it is too monumental and an impossible task to even accomplish. The truth is that every Christian is totally at peace with God and so cannot truly be shaken by any satanic tactic if the Christian stands upon the peace of God. So peace in the Christian sense connotes messianic salvation, and that is the salvation that Christ provides from slavery to sin and death. The peace that comes with true salvation is better understood in really several forms that it takes in the Christian life. And the first form that it takes is Christians experience peace with God, the firm awareness that there is nothing between a believer and God but the peace brought about by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Romans 5 says, therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So without this peace with God, Christians cannot do anything. Peace with God makes them ready for service and battle. So the Christian must be confident about his relationship with God regarding this concept. If I am to have any doubt about my salvation, I shall not be able to fight the enemy. I shall have to spend the whole of my time struggling with myself. See, Christians must have clarity about their sins being forgiven, their souls being reconciled to God, and the Spirit of God now working sanctification in them. And if they are to stand in the day of temptation, they must have this peace. Secondly, besides peace with God, Christians also experience the peace of God. satisfied in God and his work. The Christian feels a tranquility of God in their hearts. It's like the Apostle Paul, when he mentions this piece in the epistle to the Ephesians, he says, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God and the peace of God. which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. See, the tranquility of God transcends all understanding. God's peace is like a platoon sergeant. In a sense, a special warfare warrior guarding the entrance to your mind and heart and soul, preventing any enemies that would promote any kind of anxiety to entering your mind. It's that kind of peace. And then thirdly, the peace obtained through the gospel has one more form, that's peace with others. Christians are aware that their struggles are not against flesh and blood. We do not fight one another. And for this reason, Paul can say in Romans, if possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. See, that's our responsibility as believers. If we are jealous and envious and selfish, concerned only about ourselves, and heedless of the welfare of others, our position is really hopeless. We're stuck in self-pity. So if you are also in the family of God, we have a new position, and that new position is this. It says in our passage of scripture, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The source of these blessings come from God himself. This grace and peace is from God. And each person of the Godhead, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, is involved in bringing believers the grace in which they stand every day. And the source of this change is new standing. in God the Father. In fact, as I mentioned before, once a person has come to Christ, the person can truly, for the first time, call God their Father because Jesus has really appeased the Father's wrath toward the believing sinner. They are forgiven because what Jesus Christ has done in his work Jesus is the believer's new Lord. He is the believer's new master and bears all the believer's punishment on the cross, reconciling the believer to God and bringing peace in their heart and in their mind and in their life and in their relationships. So the work of Jesus enables new birth. And believers amazingly become the children of God, as the Gospel of John tells us. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name. So Christians are children of God, and therefore have a new father, the father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I stress all that. All these doctrinal truths, for this reason, that grace and peace are the foundation of Paul's argument or his appeal to Philemon, that is, human forgiveness and reconciliation form the proper response to divine acts of grace in a person's life. In other words, anything that happens in your life is a divine act of grace. How am I going to respond to it? You may not be able to change your circumstances, but you sure can respond to it in a way that honors God and shows you're redeemed. Now, do we always do that always perfectly every time, the first time? No, we fall on our face all the time. But when we get up from falling on our face, we realize we didn't do that right. And now we need to do it the right way. So we need to take the doctrines that we're learning and put them into daily practice. Whatever comes our way, and some things that comes our way are very hard. Life is not easy. Life is difficult. But when one becomes a Christian, the Lord enlarges our heart, when he cleanses it, to take care of other people. The Christian no longer should walk on the other side of the street when there is another human being in need, especially if they're of the household of faith. And the key word in Philemon, you know what the key word is? The key word is receive, accept, and welcome. In verse number 12, I sent him back to you in person, Paul says. In verse number 15, for perhaps he was, for this reason, separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever. And then, of course, in verse 17, if then you regard me as a partner, accept him as you would me. So now we see Paul, secondly, From his gracious greeting, he shows an appreciation to Philemon of his refreshing love. In verse number four to seven, we see the appreciation of refreshing love. Philemon was a brother in Christ. And he was won to the Lord by the Apostle Paul, where it says that in verse number 19, the last part of the verse, it says, not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self as well. Paul subtly mentions them. You know what? I'm the one God used to bring you to Christ. She has a little bit of authority there in that. So Paul offers up a prayer of thanksgiving for Philemon. He says, I thank my God making mention of you in my prayer, verse number four. And what does he mention? He mentions and he's thankful for Philemon's love and faith that it's practical. It's everyday love and faith. It's not just love and faith you talk about or you hope you have. It's love and faith that actually is lived out on the human level, on the street level. Notice what it says in verse five, because I hear of your love and the faith which you have. Toward who? Toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints. So love and faith toward God and his people is an identifying mark of God's presence in those who have come to experience God's salvation. That's for all of us to see if that is there in our life. And when we do see genuine evidence of the transforming results of the gospel in ourselves and even in other people, no matter who they are or were, our response should always be thankfulness. Paul is thankful that he didn't just lead Philemon in a prayer and that was it, never saw him again, never heard of him. He saw the transforming work of God in Philemon's life. He was different and he was appealing to him. in his difference. Now, if you notice in verse number six, the prayer is for Philemon to have practical experimental knowledge to put into practice about all the good the Christians are to do. Notice what it says in verse five, and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective You see that word, effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ's sake. So something happened that when we become believers, God puts a goodness in us that was not there before. We know what is good. We know what is right. It becomes very clear to us what is right. And he is reminding Philemon that he has this goodness in him. So when people believe in Christ, really they become identified with one another in an intimate association and incur both the benefits and responsibilities of communion with one another. We benefit from having relationships with one another, but in that relationship and those relationships we have in the church, we also have responsibilities that go with it. We don't abuse people. We don't tear people apart with our words. We pray for people. We want the best and the best goodness God can give them. That's why we ask God to bless people so God would be near to them and help them in all their situations and all their difficulties. But God uses the church to do that. None of us are exempt from that. And from what we read about Philemon, He is about the fundamental responsibilities of a believer. So is Paul. As it says in Galatians 6, so then while we have opportunity, what does it say? Let us do good to all people, especially to those who are of the household of faith. See, we have a responsibility that the goodness that God puts in us by God transforming our minds to know what his good and acceptable and perfect will is. That understanding comes with responsibility. We have no right as husbands and wives to abuse each other. We have no right as parents and children to abuse them or to abuse employers or to abuse employees or neighbors or whatever it may be. That is off the table for believers. Our job is to do them good. Do them good. And believe me, you do that, and you will have opportunities to share Christ with them. So fellowship, remember, is the body life of the church. It is the sense of people belonging to one another in the body of Christ. Philemon's fellowship of faith is not inactive, but energetic fellowship. It's a fellowship in which he lives out every single day, and Paul's saying, I prayed that fellowship would not stop. And because of Philemon's love and faith in carrying out his Christian responsibilities, the apostle Paul says right here in our verse, he says this in verse number seven. He says, I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love. because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through the brother. Isn't when you're good to people, that's refreshing to people, right? That's refreshing. This word refresh that is stressed here in our text, it's really Philemon's love had refreshed the people of God. When they heard from Philemon, their ears, they perked up because of his character, because of the history of his life. They perked up. This word really means that the people of God, at the deepest and most significant level of their being, is refreshed. Deep in their soul, they're refreshed. When you're around someone like that, you wanna be around someone like that. And the stress is being, make sure you're someone like that, or at least you're growing to be someone like that. Being lovingly helpful to people, giving when there is need, being hospitable to others, refreshes the saints. And Philem was known from Colossae all the way to Rome. He was well known for this. And this fellowship first starts with God receiving us, we receiving God through Christ, and then us receiving one another. That always is the progression that it takes with Christians. Because we're why? We're very selfish. We're self-centered people. We're born that way. So it takes a long time for us to notice someone else. That, wow, man, that person's really struggling. What should I do? But when you become a Christian, the lights go on. and you begin to see the struggles and how you need to pray for someone or meet their need or whatever you need to do, come along with them, read scripture to them, do a Bible study, whatever you need to do, it could be just on the physical realm, you're ready to do it. So if Philemon does learn to do everything good, every good thing, he will be glad to comply with Paul's request. that he do a specific good thing in regard to Onesimus, the runaway slave. Now, that's what we come to next, and that is Paul's really utmost desire in his mind in writing this epistle, to appeal to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus. And so, we have now an appeal of grace. And that's what you need to do sometimes. We need to appeal to people, right? Now, remember, this whole epistle has been very gracious and kind. and uplifting and refreshing. And so now it doesn't end here. Onesimus, in verse eight through 16, Onesimus is a runaway slave, but remember, he wronged Philemon. He was a thief. Philemon no longer needed him because he was disloyal and distrustful, and he deserted him. Now, when somebody does something like that to you, how do you respond to that? You know how you respond? You cut them out. Boom, cut them out, right? I don't want to have any contact with a person who's not going to be honest or not going to be loyal or is going to leave at the first sign of trouble. It tells us in verse number 11, it says, who formerly was useless to you. So that's who he was. Philemon, uh, knew that Onesimus was useless. Now, why should Philemon accept and forgive him based on his past? You probably shouldn't. At least the flesh don't want to do it. You know, in Roman law, there was something known as the advocacy, the advocacy clause. And this was the clause, a runaway slave could return to his master and be protected if he first went to the master's friend and secured support for his cause And that person became an advocate, a mediator, and appealed to the slave owner for grace. Well, what happens? The apostle Paul becomes a mediator. Between who? Onesimus and Philemon. So Paul appeals as a mediator. And how does he do it? He does it in Christian love. Now, Paul could have rightfully pulled rank as an apostle, as a senior apostle, in order, and really actually order Philemon to receive Onesimus instead of, instead he doesn't do that. And it records that in scripture. It records what he does. He logically pleaded with Philemon about this runaway slave. So Paul casts away any trappings of superiority and humbles himself. He, grace, allowed the right for appeal. You know why? If it wasn't for grace, we would have no appeal before God either. So that means in verse number 8 through 10, notice how it's recorded here. It says, 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. I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus. Now we're getting down to very personal things with Paul. What does he do? He appeals to Philemon about him. And what does he say? He says this, Onesimus has come to faith in Christ. In verse number 10, I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment. He became a believer. and was willing to make things right with the one who he had wronged. He was converted to Christ under the preaching of the gospel of Christ, under Paul's preaching. He had to hear it, right? Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Also, he says that Onesimus is now useful to you and me. Verse number 11, who formerly was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and me. And you know what's so interesting? There's a play on words here that Paul uses. That actually the name Onesimus means useful. It means profitable. It means beneficial. So Paul is very keen in what he's doing here. Also, he now regards Onesimus as a spiritual brother, verse 16, no longer 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. And then also Onesimus is now very profitable to both of us, verse 16 again, especially to me, but now much more to you both in the flesh physically and spiritually. So what does Paul do? He says, I'm a Philemon, I'm appealing to your inner goodness that God placed there. That's what I'm doing. And that's what he does. And what does he do? He says, please accept Onesimus back as a newly transformed brother in Christ. And please, please, please, please do this of your own free will. not because me as an apostle is writing this letter. And notice how he records it in verse number 12. He says, I have sent him back to you in person. That is, sending my very heart, verse 13, whom I wish to keep, whom I wish to keep with me so that on your behalf, he might minister to me in my imprisonment for the gospel. But without your consent, I did not want to do anything. so that your goodness would not be in effect by compulsion but of your own free will. For perhaps he was for this reason separated from you for a while that you would have him back again forever. Here's the divine purpose of God in that passage, to take a lost sinner and bring them into the family of God. And God orchestrates all these things that it would happen. And by the way, if you notice in verse number nine, this is what Paul says, I'm old. I may not see tomorrow. And then he says, and I'm a prisoner. I'm not going anywhere. I can't travel to you. But he does say at the end of the book, please set up a room for me that I may come, but he never did. That's what he says in verse number nine. So what does Paul, the mediator, do next? Well, what is it? You know what he does? He asks Philemon to forgive him. That's what he does, all right? Please accept, here's that word again, accept Onesimus and forgive him. So the last thing is he, He's asking for acceptance. That's what he does. Look at verse number 17. Verse 18, but if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, here's where we know he stole something from. Philemon, charge it to my account. So we see the principle of restitution here in Scripture. And then verse 19, I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand, and I will repay you, not to mention that you owe me even your own self as well. Yes, brother, verse 20, let me benefit you. from you in the Lord, and here's this word again, refresh my heart in Christ. Philemon, just keep doing to me what you do to everybody. Do to me what you do to everybody. Refresh my heart in my old age and in my imprisonment. So that's what he does. He actually appeals to his redeemed self, his newness in Christ Jesus. which really shows how different he was from probably before he was a believer. And then in verse number 21, having confidence in your obedience, I write to you since I know that you'll do even more than what I ask. You know, what do you do with a person who does more than what you ask? It means they're not just following rules, they're into their job. And they're looking at their jobs that I'm putting my signature on this. I'm going to do this to the best of my ability. I'm going to go far beyond what I'm supposed to do. That's character. And that's what the spirit of God does with people. That's what he does with people. So Paul said to Philemon, if he owes anything to you from what he's stolen, I'll repay it. And what does Paul do? He settles the debt between the offender, Onesipus, and the offended, Philemon. That is what a mediator does. So what's Philemon's response? Philemon received the runaway slave with forgiveness and counted him as a member of his own family for the sake of Paul. He took him back. And this time, as more than a slave, but as a Christian brother. But think of this for a moment. Can you see in this story your life? You were once an unprofitable sinner, a slave to sin, but you trusted Christ and became a profitable servant of righteousness and goodness. Also, God has received you into his family with forgiveness for the sake of his son. See, Jesus was the mediator for you and I. to plead our case, one mediator between man and God, the man, Christ Jesus. And then in 1 John, it says, if anyone sins, we have an advocate, a mediator with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he himself is the propitiation, the satisfaction for our sin, and not for ours only, but for all those of the world, of the whole world, Jesus Christ. settle the debt of sin in order to make everything right between you and God. God the Father put the sin on Christ and he placed on your account the righteousness of Christ. Received with forgiveness and brought into the family of God. So have you trusted in Christ as your own Lord and Savior? Have you done that, or are you still that runaway slave, still under the judgment of God because you have offended him with your many sins? That's where you'll remain until you come to Christ. But if you have trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior, then thank him today. for putting his electing love upon you, for dying for you, for bringing you into a proper relationship with God, for forgiving you of all your sin debt. And now we have a good master. And then he ends the book with just the final greeting. So this epistle, that's why I thought to do it in just one lump, because if you chop it off, I think you missed the message. is really a book about salvation and how God works and how God breaks down barriers, how God overcomes circumstances, how God creates situations in which everything comes together so a person comes to Christ, no matter who they are, where they are. So that means we, as a church, need to be praying for our kids. need to be praying for our neighbors, need to be praying for people that God in his sovereign election would move things, heaven and earth, so the gospel to go to that particular person and the Lord would bring them to himself and take him from a slave of sin to a member of the family of God. That's what it's about.