Home To Stay

Q: What does the Bible say about the grace of God?

The Bible teaches that God's grace is unmerited favor, and it is through grace that we are saved, as shown in Ephesians 2:8-9. The grace of God is a central theme throughout Scripture, illustrating His unmerited favor towards undeserving sinners. In Ephesians 2:8-9, it states, 'For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.' This grace is evident not only in our salvation but also in the transformation it brings to our lives, making us merciful and gracious like Philemon, who reflected the grace he received from God. Just as God’s grace transformed Philemon, it also transforms us into instruments of His mercy and love.

Q: How do we know that God can save anyone?

God's ability to save anyone is evidenced by His sovereign grace, which reaches even the most lost, exemplified in the story of Onesimus. The story of Onesimus in Philemon illustrates that no one is beyond the reach of God's saving grace. He was a runaway slave who turned away from his master but journeyed far only to find himself in desperate need. It was in Rome that Onesimus heard the gospel and came to faith. This shows that God orchestrates events in a person's life for His purpose, affirming the truth found in Romans 8:28-30 where God works all things together for good for those who love Him. Through His sovereign hand, He ensures that none of His elect will remain lost, demonstrating that His grace can indeed save to the uttermost.

Q: Why is forgiveness important in Christianity?

Forgiveness is essential as it reflects God's mercy towards us and enables us to extend that mercy to others, as seen in Paul’s appeal for Onesimus. Forgiveness is a crucial doctrine in Christianity because it demonstrates the very essence of God’s nature and the gospel message. In the letter to Philemon, Paul advocates for the reconciliation of Onesimus, urging Philemon to forgive him and accept him not just as a servant but as a brother. This act of forgiveness mirrors Christ's own sacrifice, where He bore our sins so that we might be reconciled to God. The mutual forgiveness among believers serves as a powerful testimony to the world of God's unending mercy and grace, a theme prominent in the Lord's Prayer where we ask for forgiveness as we forgive others, exemplifying how one's heart is transformed by the gospel.

Q: What does it mean to be accepted in the beloved?

Being accepted in the beloved means being embraced by God's love through Christ, indicating our identity and secure position in Him. To be accepted in the beloved is a profound truth rooted in our identity in Christ. Ephesians 1:6 states, 'To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.' This acceptance is not based on our works or merit but solely on Christ’s righteousness and the sacrifices He made on our behalf on the cross. For Onesimus, coming home was not merely a return to a former master but a return to familial acceptance, akin to how believers are welcomed into the family of God. This foundational truth reassures us that no matter our past failures or sins, through Christ, we are fully accepted, loved, and secure in our relationship with God.

Thank you, John and Robin. Turn
back now to the little book of Philemon. What an amazing, wonderful
story this is. I've heard from several of you
already about this. Now, this is one of your favorite
stories. Mine too. We've looked at it
several times together. In fact, one lady, and I love
when this happens, one sister said she asked the Lord last
Sunday to impress upon me to preach from Philemon. She did not tell me that until
this morning. That's of the Lord, isn't it?
This is the story of a runaway slave, an ungrateful, unthankful
young man who ran away from home and the Lord in His sovereign
mercy and grace saved him and brought him back, brought him
back. This is my story, isn't it? This is your story. Home
to Stay, I entitled it, Home to Stay. Look at this, Philemon was a
wealthy, great man of influence, and yet a merciful and gracious
man. Verse 1, Paul, a prisoner of
Jesus Christ, Timothy, our brother, unto Philemon, our dearly beloved
and fellow laborer." Now, Philemon, Scripture says, "...how hardly
shall they that have riches enter the kingdom of heaven." And yet
the Lord saved this man. We believe he had a rather large
estate with servants, and this Onesimus was one of those servants.
And the Lord saved Philemon through Paul the Apostle's preaching. And they became fast friends
and brothers. And I believe that Paul perhaps
stayed with him on occasion, but they were very close. So
Paul is writing to this man on behalf of this slave, this servant
of Philemon's that ran away, apparently stole something and
ran away from him. Philemon was a great man and
wealthy and influential, and yet God saved him by his grace. It doesn't matter if you're high
or you're low or you're rich or you're poor or you're old
or you're young, you're saved one way, by the grace of God,
through the preaching of the gospel. So he heard the gospel. And now he's not just a wealthy
man, he's rich in mercy and grace. The grace of God made him gracious.
The mercy of God made him merciful. And the love of God made him
a loving man, a believer, a worshiper, a supporter of the gospel, an
ardent supporter of the gospel. He was Paul's chief supporter
of Paul. And Paul needed that. He was
traveling everywhere. But look at verse 3. It says, in verse
3, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. Philemon knew the Lord. And verse
4 says, I thank God for you, making mention of you. Verse
2, I left this out. To the church in thy house, grace
to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayer.
Philemon knew the Lord and he wanted his whole house to know
the Lord. Apparently, he had worship services
in his house. There was no church. We believe
he was from Colossae. And there was no church in his
house at the time. But he wanted everybody to hear
the gospel that he heard. So he had worship services in
his house. And like a faithful man, a steward
of God's grace, he had all of his servants His wife, his children,
his servants, everybody listening to Paul preach the gospel. We have been to Mexico many times
and there are places there where the Lord was raising up a church
and they didn't have a building to meet in and they met in a
home. Remember Roberto and Carmelita? Oh my, what a blessing that was.
Brother Milton preached up there in the mountains of Chiapas to
this family. The Lord raised up a church and
built a building, and there's a church. And this happened many
times. But those whom the Lord saves,
they want other people to hear this gospel. They want their
family to hear this gospel. They want their children to be
saved. And they want their servants to be saved. My father-in-law
had a business. And every single employee that
worked for him came to the worship service. He wanted them all to hear this
gospel. The Lord saved a couple of them, but not all of them.
But anyway, he had his family and these servants in the worship
service in his home. Alright, now there's this young
man named Omnesimus. He was a servant. And he's working for Philemon, alright? But like so many young people,
he doesn't realize how gracious, how merciful, how kind the Lord
has been to him in putting him where he is. Under a godly man,
under the sound of the gospel, And he's sitting there onesimous,
hearing all this, and he wants out. He wants gone. He wants to go out in the world
and make his way and leave this place where he feels like he
thinks he's in bondage. He thinks he doesn't want this
authority of this man over him. He wants to go out and make his
own way and be his own man, go out in the world and, you know,
fare for himself. And he would have destroyed himself,
but God. But God. Onesimus. I picture
him, well he's a slave, he's a servant, he's poor, probably
uneducated, he's ignorant. He has no worth or value in himself. He has no ability, he's a servant. He can't do anything for anybody.
But Philemon took him in, and he's working for him, and in
mercy and grace Philemon fed him, clothed him, provided for
him, protected him, but Onesimus, this young servant, doesn't realize. And the goodness of God is over
all his work. The tender mercies of God are
over all his work. He tells us, having food and
rain, that we should be content. But no, not enough. Lust of the
flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of the life. We don't want God's
authority. We don't want His reign and rule.
We're not appreciative of all He's done for us. So we go out
in the world. Onesimus sits there and plots
his escape. He's waiting for his chance to
leave and get out of this miserable place. This is my story. As soon as
I can, I'm out of here. I just didn't know. I just didn't know what a good
place this was. But God. And I kind of believe
that Onesimus, well, he did. He ended up in Rome. He thought,
where can I go and get a good job and make money and get ahead
and get all the things I want in this life. We're better than
Rome." So that's where he ends up, on Nesbitt. He ends up in
Rome by the grace of God. Now people, God moves in a mysterious
way. God's people sometimes go out
into this world and get defiled with it and by it, and get degraded, degrade themselves,
and get in a pit, get in a slime pit. That's what the Scriptures
call this world. Filthy. Without God, without hope. And
God allows them to get really, really low. Because then the
grace of God will mean everything. Because Christ came into this
world to save sinners. You know that? Christ said, I
didn't come to call the righteous, I came to call sinners to repent.
He said, all manner of sin shall be forgiven. He talked about,
and he listed those things, you know, perversions of this and
that and the other. He said, and such were some of
you, but God. So here's the thing I'm trying
to give you some hope for that forlorn child, daughter, son,
husband, wife, brother, sister, whomever it may be that you're
burdened for. And they're low, real low. You
think they can't get too low. Well, I'm here to tell you, they
can't get too low that God can't save them. His arm is not short. Not short. You're looking at an example
of how God reached down. Oh boy, Onesimus. He's cared for, he's provided
for. He says, I'll go to Rome. So he steals some money. From
this, look at verse 18. If he's wronged thee or owes
you anything, put that on my account. So apparently he stole
something. Remember the story of the prodigal
son? He said, Father, give me what's
coming to me. Father didn't owe him anything.
Give me what's coming to me. Oh, if God gave us what's coming
to us. But no, he's so... You're gracious
so much. God gives everybody whatever
you want and go after. You can get it. You want to get
rich? You can get rich. You want to
get this world? You can get it. You can have
anything you want. Yes, you can. What do you want? David said, One thing have I
desired, and that will I seek at. What's that, David? Christ. Paul said, One thing have I desired. He said, That's what I'm going
after. I want to win Christ and be found in Him. Solomon found
out, didn't he? He said, I tried this whole world.
I got everything. The Lord gave me everything my
heart could desire. And you know what I found out?
It was vanity. It was useless. It didn't fulfill
me. If God had left me in that, it
would have destroyed me. But God gave me riches, eternal
riches, and those riches are Christ Jesus. Now, I don't know
what Onesimus got into, but I do. Some of you do know where he
ended up. If he went to Rome, where he
ended up, you do know what he was doing and what he got into. And it's a shame to speak of
those things. But he did. And he wasn't good. And Mespis
is not a good boy, though his mother may think so. He's not
a good boy. He's unprofitable. Look at verse
11. He was unprofitable. Unprofitable. Oh, he's not worth anything.
Oh, the amazing, wondrous, sovereign grace and purpose of our God
in saving those who do no good, who do only harm and hurt to
all those that love them. God, in great mercy to those
that hate Him, and those that rebel against him and bite the
hand that feeds them. God in great mercy is so kind
and so merciful and so gracious and so good to them. And it is
that goodness that leads us to repent. And here's the wonderful thing,
Onesimus wouldn't hear the gospel, he didn't hear the gospel when
he was at home at Colossae, while Paul was preaching there to Philemon
in that house, so he ends up in Rome, a thousand, you know
how far it is? A thousand miles. Far off. He's a far off. Right there's
the gospel and right there he sits all those years but he didn't
hear a thing and the Lord had him go all the way a thousand
miles to Rome to sit to do what? To hear the gospel. Why's that? My people will hear my voice. You can't run far enough. There's nobody too far off. He's
able to save to the uttermost. One time, our Lord walked from
Bethel all the way up to Tyre and Sidon, up to the furthest
most point of Israel. Right up there where Syria meets
Israel, where the heathen, nothing but the off-sky and the heathen
are to save one woman. He saved her and came back, walked
all the way back. If you belong to the Lord, and
this is our comfort, you see, this is our hope for our lost,
rebel, unprofitable family. If they belong to the Lord, He's
going to go get them. The gospel's going to find them
out. You can't get away. You can't get away. Right, John? You can't get away. The gospel is the power of God
and salvation, you see. The gospel. The religious world,
you know, thinks we can just take people in and love them
and feed them and bribe them with all this stuff and befriend
them and all that and that'll make them, soften them and they'll
love, they'll begin to love the Lord. No, no, not saved by love,
we're saved by blood. Not saved by sentiment, we're
saved by substitution. You've got to hear the gospel
of Christ crucified. We're not saved by emotion. We're
saved by satisfaction. We're saved by propitiation.
We're saved by reconciliation. The Lord Jesus Christ. Someone's
got to pay. Someone's got to make restitution.
Someone's got to intercede. Someone's got to mediate for
that sinner. And that someone, that only one,
is the Lord Jesus Christ. It's amazing how this whole letter
sounds like John 17. Those of you who know our Lord's
high priestly prayer where he's hanging on the cross and he's
interceding for unprofitable rebels that hate God. Philemon heard this letter and
he had mercy on Onesimus when he came back. He heard Paul's
plea for mercy for that runaway, and our God hears our Lord Jesus
Christ's prayer on behalf of all His people. He says, well,
don't you love these verses? Verse 9, he says, For the love's
sake I beseech thee, as Paul the agent and now prisoner, I
beseech thee for my son whom I have begotten. in time past
unprofitable unto thee. But now he's profitable. Now
he's profitable. Go to John 17 real quickly with
me. John 17. Go over there. This is amazing
how these go together. Because that's why the Lord had
the book of Philemon put in Scripture. This letter is just like our
Lord's plea. Our Lord, like Paul, was a prisoner
when he was taken from prison. And who shall declare his generation?
Isaiah 53. A prisoner for what? For the
truth's sake. A prisoner for who? He's delivered
up for our offenses. And Paul said to Philemon, do
this for love's sake, because you love me. Pardon on this one. And for the love wherewith He
loved us. God sent His Son to be propitiation
for our sins on Calvary trip. Look at John 17. Look at verse
23. It says, I am them and thou and
me, that they may be perfect in one, that the world may know
thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. For love's sake, Paul said, have
mercy upon Onesimus. And our Lord pleaded for His
people, for us, to have mercy on us for Christ's sake, for
His sake. Paul said, I have begotten Him
in my bonds. And our Lord Jesus Christ, we
are begotten of God through the travail of Christ on the cross. Because of His bonds, we go free. He took our bondage and we got
His freedom, freedom from sin. Christ prevailed on Calvary's
tree. In the letter it says that Paul said, I've sent Him again,
receive Him as my own bowels. Our Lord said on His, look at
verse 10 of John 17, All mine are thine and thine are mine,
and I'm glorified in thee. Receive Him as mine own bowels.
Our Lord said to the Father, Thine are mine and mine are Thine.
They're all mine. He said in this letter, He said
He's departed for a season that you should receive Him forever. Our Lord said, Father, I've given
the words to your people. Receive them. Receive them on
my behalf. All according to God's will.
He departed, he wandered, but Christ, the great shepherd of
the sheep, went searching his lost sheep. And he found them. Everyone. Christ sought them,
Christ brought them, and Christ bought them by His precious blood.
And it says in Paul's letter to Philemon, he says he's now
not just a servant, but he's a brother. Beloved. especially
to me and also to them. A beloved brother. We are accepted
in the beloved. Accepted in the beloved. And
go back to our text in Philemon. Look at this. Don't you love
these verses? Look at verse 17. If thou count me therefore as
a partner, Christ who thought it not robbery to be equal with
God, equal with the Father, but took
upon himself the form of a servant, made in the likeness of sinful
flesh, and was made obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross, and went to Calvary's tree to pay the the price of
our redemption. It says, if he has wronged thee,
verse 18, and he owes you anything, put that on my account. What do we owe the Lord? Well,
we've broken His law on every account. So what did the Lord
do? He nailed the handwriting of
ordinances against us to His cross. He kept every jot and
tittle of God's Word on our behalf. He paid every For every transgression,
for every sin, every single crime, every single sin that we ever
committed, Jesus Christ paid it all. All the debt. Where sin did abound, grace did
much more. Put that on my account. That's imputation, isn't it?
God hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we
might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Verse 19, I love
this, Philemon. I have written it with my own
hand. Thus was it written, and so shall it be done. that the Scriptures might be
fulfilled. It's been written from the beginning
of God's Word that Christ must suffer for His people's sake.
That He would come into this world and pay the price of redemption
for every single runaway sheep that belonged to God, that God
gave Him. They must be saved. He said,
I've written it with my own hand. I will repay it. And everyone
whom Christ came to save and laid his life down and shed his
precious blood will be saved. Come on. And verse 19 says, I
do not say unto thee how thou owest unto me even thine own
self beside. Our Lord said in his prayer in
John 17, Father, glorify thy Son. He said, I will. that those whom thou hast given
me be with me where I am." Whatever the son prays for, the
father gives him. They're equal to him. The father
glorified him. And he said in verse 20 and 21,
Brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord. Refresh my bowels
in the Lord. Have encompass in thy obedience,
I wrote unto thee. Our Lord, in Isaiah 53, it says,
He shall see the travail of his soul, and he's going to be satisfied.
Because this is the will of the Father. Everyone that seeth the
Son and believeth in Him, He will raise him up. He shall not fail nor be discouraged,
the Scripture says. He shall see what his people
saved and what he paid for redeemed. Yes, he will. So Onesimus is
coming home. This is the story. Onesimus is
coming home. He's coming home to stay. He said here he departed for
a season and he'll never leave again. Everyone whom Christ has
really saved, they're going to stay. Whomever
Christ died for, their sins are gone. And whoever Christ intercedes
for, whoever Christ ever lives to make intercession for, they
will be kept by the power of God, which is the gospel. And
don't you know when Onesimus came home, and sat and listened to that
gospel again, what did that gospel mean to him now? How could I
have not heard this? How could I have left? How could
I have been so ungrateful? How? How? How? And he's home
to stay. Never going to leave again. Now
look at this. This is wonderful. Look down
at the end of this story. right after verse 25. You see
the little subscript down there? You see that? That's part of
the text. It was written from Rome. Paul
wrote it to Philemon. And Onesimus is writing this down for him. See, Paul had bad eyesight. He
was in prison. Many people, while he was in
prison, dictate these letters for him. Tychicus and various
ones, Luke and so forth, write these things down. One epistle,
he said, you see how large a letter I wrote with my own hand? But,
you know, he had poor eyesight, so he had onesimus. I want you to write this. I'm
going to send a letter to Philemon on your behalf. I'm going to
write this down. And Onesimus is writing this
all down. Receive him for my sake. Please. He's unprompted. I bet he can't
see the page for tears wetting that paper. You see, this letter
that he's going to take to the man he wronged is his pardon. This plea from a man whom Philemon
loves dearly, that owes him, this plea is Onesimus' salvation. And so after this letter is written,
he's got this roll, this letter in it, and he puts it in his
cloak, and he's going back home. And he himself is not really
sure if Philemon is going to take him back again. He's wronged
him. He's stolen from him. He's ungrateful. He's unprofitable. He's never done anything worthwhile
for this man but steal from him and rob him and hurt him and
left him after all these years. Now he's coming back. Is he going
to have me? Don't you know? Is Philemon going to have me?
I've done nothing but wrong by him. But he's got this letter. His whole salvation is dependent
on this letter, these promises and this prayer by this one whom
Philemon loves and accepts. And this gospel is just that.
Do you hear me? This book full of precious promises
of Christ and Him crucified. This is your plea. These are
the promises of God, who loves His Son supremely, who made this
world for His Son, who purposed salvation because of His Son.
And God will receive and accept every single sinner that comes
to God by Jesus Christ. Every single one. So you're hollering now, yes
I am! How can you know? This book says
so. All that the Father giveth me
shall come unto Him. He'll receive all that come unto
God by Him. We are accepted and beloved.
You see, that's why we keep coming to hear this Gospel. This is
our hope. You say, I'm such a sinner. God knows that better than you
do. See, they're discussing it. Paul is writing to Philemon saying,
he's no good, he's unworthy, he's unprofitable, he's never
done anything good for you, but I've paid the price. And he's
coming home now. What good is he going to be now?
This man's rich. He doesn't need anything from
an onesimus. He doesn't need another servant or runaway servant,
no. The onesimus needs him. And Philemon's going to get glory
and honor from receiving this rebel back. And because Philemon loved Paul
so much, because Philemon was such a merciful and gracious
and loving and kind, gracious master, he's going to receive
this. I see this story now. I see Onesimus coming up. He's not holding his head up.
I've decided to accept you, Philemon. No! He's fearful. He's trembling. And his only
hope are the promises and the plea of the one who said he'd
pay for them. And so he comes home. I can see it now. And he's not
going to have me. He's not going to have me. And
lo and behold, like that father that saw the prodigal son, here
comes Philemon running out the gate. and wrapped his arm around Onesimus
and fell on his neck and kissed him and said, welcome home, son. Welcome home. Oh, let me just
be a servant. Oh, no, no, you're not a servant
anymore. You're my son. You're going to sit at my table.
Why? Paul wrote a letter. And you
got it right there. So whenever you get the feeling
like God's done with you, whenever you get the feeling like He's
done with me now, I've sinned away the day of grace, get that
key out of your bosom. It's nigh unto you. It's the
Word of faith. And plead that with the Father.
You know that. He'll accept you. You have His
Word on you. You have His Word on you.

Home To Stay

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about the grace of God?

How do we know that God can save anyone?

Why is forgiveness important in Christianity?

What does it mean to be accepted in the beloved?

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Home To Stay

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about the grace of God?

How do we know that God can save anyone?

Why is forgiveness important in Christianity?

What does it mean to be accepted in the beloved?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

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