If my mind serves me well, that
hymn was written by Philip Doddridge, and nobody wrote hymns like Doddridge,
Toplady, and Cowper. Thank you, Judy. I've often told you a true story
that will bear repetition. Some of you know Art Gibbs. I heard him relate this story
years and years ago, after he had been preaching in Peru for
a while, there was a young man who was raised in Northern California. He left home, ran away when he
was 15, 16 years old, and he had been bumming around this
country, made his way down through Mexico and South America He'd
been gone for a number of years, no correspondence with his family
at all. I don't know what his home life
was like, but for some reason he had left. And he had lived
in desperate rebellion against all authority. But one night
while he was on the streets of Peru, God in his good providence
raised a terrible rainstorm. This young man came into the
place where Father Art Gibbs was preaching to get out of the
storm, and unsuspectingly, unwittingly,
without any thought on his part beforehand, God had marked that
as the time and the place where he would save that young man
by his almighty grace, and he was called to faith in Christ.
Now, that's just one illustration of many, many, many that could
be given. God, in his good, wise, sovereign
providence, arranges all the affairs of the lives of his to
bring them to faith in Christ and to eternal glory. I want
to show you once again an illustration of this from the book of Philemon.
The title of my message today is Onesimus, A Trophy of Divine
Grace. I want to take this man Onesimus
and set him before you as an example of God's grace. And let
me tell you about it. This man Onesimus was a slave,
but his master Philemon was a very gracious man. As we read through
the first six verses of this little epistle, you will notice
that Paul describes this man in terms of endearment, in terms
of kindness and love. Philemon was a man who loved
the Lord Jesus Christ. He had been saved by the grace
of God, and that grace had taught him to love his Savior. He maintained
a church in his own house. He was apparently a wealthy man,
but a man who used his wealth for the glory of Christ. He kept
the church, meeting in his own house, under his own roof. He
provided all the needs so that God's saints could gather in
his home and worship the Lord Jesus Christ. He was a benevolent
friend to the Apostle Paul. How Paul and Philemon got to
know one another, we don't really know, but probably it was during
Paul's missionary journey where he was ministering in Colossae
and had preached the gospel. Perhaps Philemon had been converted
while he was there, but this we know. Philemon had been converted
under Paul's ministry. He had been saved by the grace
of God through Paul's influence, and now he was a very generous,
benevolent friend to Paul. And this man, Philemon, was also
generous, benevolent, and kind to his servants. He treated them
with great kindness, graciously, unlike men usually would do. But this man, Philemon, was a
believer, and he recognized that he is the servant of God. And
being the servant of God, he treated his servants with kindness
and with generosity. I could hardly believe my ears
recently listening to a businessman talk about doing business and
found out the way he could make money was to hire folks and work
them at slave wages. Well, that just doesn't strike
me as a man following Christ. This man, Philemon, was a man
who was the servant of Christ, and as he was dealt with graciously
and bountifully by Christ, he dealt graciously and bountifully
with the servants under his rule. Now, Onesimus was a slave whom
Philemon had come to trust. Philemon had given Onesimus the
care of certain of his worldly possessions. Apparently, he had
made him sort of like a foreman in his house. It was Onesimus'
responsibility to watch over the treasures of Philemon's household. But Onesimus betrayed his master's
trust. Whatever it was that Philemon
entrusted him with, Onesimus stole and he ran away from his
master. He fled with his master's goods. He went down to Rome. Perhaps
he thought to himself, well, the best place for me to hide
is down in Rome in the large capital city and there I can
just kind of mingle among the street people. I can lose myself
in the crowded streets of Rome and Philemon will never find
me out. But at last, Onesimus was brought
into that little room, that little prison block where God's servant
Paul was a prisoner. He heard Paul preach the gospel
of God's grace in Christ, and this poor degraded thief became
a true believer. He was saved by the grace of
God, and you know the rest of the story. Onesimus still belonged
to Philemon. He was Philemon's slave. He was
Philemon's property according to Roman law. He was a wanted
man and his master had every right under Roman law to have
him executed for stealing from him and fleeing from his presence. The only right thing for this
slave to do was now to return to his master and hope that his
master would be gracious. Let me pause and address you
who are here, who are yet running from God. Yeah, that's what you're doing.
Running from Christ. Running from God in rebellion.
Running from God in unbelief. Hiding best you can among the
people of this world. Hiding as best you can among
religious people. Hiding as best you can among
your religious people. But you who believe not, let
me tell you my friend, you still belong to God. You still belong
to God. You're a wanted man. Justice
cries out for your execution. By your sin, rebellion, and unbelief,
you've attempted to rob God of his glory. And it would be lawful,
perfectly lawful, righteous, and just for God to slay you
right now. Now, that would be right. That
would be right. The only thing for you to do
is go to God. Go to God, confess your guilt,
plead the merits of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and hope
that God will be gracious to you. In the words of that hymn,
perhaps he will admit my plea, perhaps will hear my prayer,
but if I perish, I will pray and perish only there. I can
but perish if I go, I am resolved to try, for if I stay away, I
know I must forever die. Sinner, go to Christ. Go now to the throne of mercy.
Plead for mercy. Perhaps, perhaps your God, your
master, your creator will be gracious to you. Once this man
Onesimus was converted, Paul took down his pen and paper,
and under the direction of God, the Holy Spirit, he wrote this
little epistle to Philemon with his own hand. He wrote this epistle
with the hope both of preserving Onesimus' life and also of making
reconciliation between Onesimus and Philemon. Now, this brief
little epistle is just plumb full of instruction for us. Let
me call your attention to three or four things that I see clearly
set before us in these verses. First, we have here an example
of true Christian love. Paul demonstrated great love
for this man, Onesimus, simply by the fact that he received
him as a brother. Now, remember, Onesimus was a
slave. He was a thief. He was a degraded
thief. He was now imprisoned as a thief. But Paul ministered to him and
being converted. Once this man was converted,
Paul received him as his son and as his brother. Oh, now that's
Christian love. Paul received Onesimus just like
he did Timothy. Timothy, you will remember, he
was a moralist. He was a young man who was raised
in the truth of God. He was a young man who was taught
by his mother and by his grandmother the Holy Scriptures that are
able to make one wise in the salvation. Timothy had never
been giving vent to his various vices of heart and nature. Onesimus,
on the other hand, was an immoral man, a renegade, a wretch, a
degraded, loathsome piece of human flesh. But once they were
converted, they were both received equally on the same grounds.
Now, my friend, that's the way it is in Christ, only in Christ. In Christ, there's neither Greek
nor Jew. Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, male nor female.
In Christ, all of God's people are one, and Christ is all and
in all. I was talking to Brother D.J.
Ward when I was in Oak Ridge a few weeks ago, and, you know,
I know that there's a lot of pretense, both in the South and
in the North. White men pretend not to have
any racial prejudice, and black men pretend not to have any racial
prejudice. But I said to D.J., they're both
liars. They're both liars. They do what
they have to do to get along in society, but they're both
liars. Black men still hate white men. White men still hate black
men, except in Christ. Except in Christ. In Christ,
there's no distinction. In Christ, all natural distinctions,
all social distinctions, all educational distinctions, all
monetary distinctions, all racial distinctions are gone. But when
men are in Christ, they're warm. They're all accepted before God
and one another on the same footing. Philemon also showed great brotherly
love in his reception of Onesimus again. Though Philemon had been
greatly wronged by this man, he received him into his household
freely. He forgave him of the wrong that
he had done, and he embraced him again as his brother." Now,
that's the way believers are. That's what Christianity is all
about. If we learned nothing else from this epistle, I would
greatly rejoice if God would teach us to love one another. I'm talking about really to love
one another. I want this as much as I want
anything, that God would give me a tender, loving spirit toward
my brethren. The Apostle Paul said, be ye
kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as
God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you, and walk in love
one toward another. Follow the pattern of Christ
himself. If God forgives me, surely I
ought to forgive my brethren. If Christ receives me, surely
I ought to receive anyone else. This love which is set forth
here rules in the hearts of God's elect. I know that God's people
love one another. Our Lord said, by this shall
all men know that you're my disciples. if ye have love one for another.
He that loveth not, John said, knoweth not God, for God is love. And then secondly, there is a
picture here of substitutionary redemption. Look at verse 18. Onesimus had wronged Philemon.
He had betrayed his master's trust, despised his master's
goodness, and stolen his master's goods. Onesimus owed much to
Philemon. By law, he deserved to die. But when Paul writes to Philemon,
he says in verse 18, if this man has wronged you, if he hath
wronged thee or oweth thee aught, put that on mine account. I, Paul, have written it with
my own hand. I will repay it. Now, that's
exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us. The Son of God
stands before God Almighty as our substitute, and he says,
now these men and women, they owe you. They've wronged you. They owe satisfaction to divine
justice. They owe righteousness to a holy
God. Charge it to me. Charge me with
the responsibility of their sins, and charge me with the responsibility
of making them righteous before you. And the prophet said, by
his stripes. We are healed. He was wounded
for our transgression. He was bruised for our iniquity.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And with his stripes,
we've been healed. That's what Christ did for us.
He paid our debt to the justice and the law of God. Jesus paid
it all. All the debt I owe. Sin had left
a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. Now
then, here's a picture. of divine forgiveness. Look in
verse 17. Paul says, Philemon, if thou
count me therefore a partner, what he's saying, Lindsay, is
if you count me to be equal to you, if you count me to be one
with you, like you and equal to you, receive him as myself. That's what Christ did for us.
He stands before God the Father and he says, Father, if you count
me your equal, if you count me your partner, if you count me
one with you, receive these as myself. We have been forgiven
by the intercession of another. We have been accepted by the
merits of another. This man Onesimus was forgiven
through the intercession of Paul, accepted not as a slave, but
as a brother, as an equal. And in just the same manner,
God has accepted us in Christ because of Christ and with Christ. So that we stand before God accepted
as equals with God's own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Accepted
with God because of Christ's merits. his righteousness and
his blood. Oh, now that's the believer standing
before God. God has forgiven our sins through
Christ and not only forgiven our sins, but made us in every
way equal to Jesus Christ himself, who is our mediator by the imputation
of his righteousness to us. But the thing that stands out
most in this text and the thing that I want to spend our time
on this morning is this. In this book of Philemon, we
see an example of God's wondrous, amazing, irresistible grace. The conversion of Onesimus demonstrates
one fact most clearly. The grace of God is always effectual
and always irresistible. There are no exceptions. Grace
is not a weak, helpless, frustrated desire in God to save sinners. Grace is not a defeated will
in God's heart to be merciful. Grace is the saving act of God's
almighty power. Now, I want you to get that.
Grace is the saving act of God's almighty power. Grace is an attribute
with God. Now, understand me. Follow me
carefully. Grace is an attribute of God, but it's more. It's more
than an attribute. Grace is God's will to save,
but it's more than God's will to save. Grace is the power of
God demonstrated in the accomplishment of salvation in His people. Do you see that? Grace is the
active power of God by which we are saved. It is not just
a a desire or a will or an attribute or a characteristic. It's the
very power of God unto salvation. And God's grace can never be
defeated. It can never be successfully
resisted. It can never be thwarted in its
purpose. Taking Onesimus for our example,
I want to show you four or five things about the grace of God.
First, I want you to see that the grace of God always takes
the initiative in salvation. Grace never comes second hand,
it never comes second step, it never comes in response to something
that the sinner does, but grace takes the initiative. It always
takes the initiative. Onesimus was an object of God's
sovereign election. Now that'll become apparent if
you'll read this passage. This poor slave didn't know it,
but he was chosen as the object of God's eternal electing love. He was not worthy of God's love.
He did not desire God's love. He did not seek God's love. Nevertheless,
he was loved of God from eternity. God said concerning him, I'll
be his God and he shall be my child. And so it came to pass. God loved him with an everlasting
love and therefore in loving kindness, He called him. Grace
passed by many other slaves, just like Onesimus in Colossae. Slavery, you remember, during
these days was not uncommon. It was quite an ordinary thing
for a man of means to have a number of servants in his house. He
got them in a number of ways, but there were a lot of slaves
in Colossae, a lot of slaves far more worthy than Onesimus.
For many slaves stayed with their masters, were faithful to their
masters, were diligent in their service. But Onesimus, he was
worthless. He was worthless. He was unprofitable. He was useless to God and a man. But God chose Onesimus. Grace
passed by many who were far more noble and colossal than Onesimus.
Many who were noblemen. Many who were wealthy men, many
men and women at Colossae who were men of rank, of name, of
reputation, but grace passed them by. Pastor, why do you stress
this? Because that's generally the
way grace works. Generally. God usually, usually
passes by the high in my head. God usually, usually passes by
the rich, the influential, the famous. God usually bestows his
grace on the most unlikely of objects. That's the way he did
with you and with me. Turn over to 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. It is the way of grace. to take
the most unworthy of the unworthy, the most loathsome of the loathsome,
the most useless of the useless, and the most vile of the vile
as the objects of mercy. The Apostle Paul says to these
Corinthians, you see your calling, brethren. Let me try to get you
into the story here, into the picture. He says, Dale, look
around you. Look around you. You see these
men and women who are called? Not many mighty ones, not many
wise ones, not many noble ones. I don't see anybody here that's
particularly impressive, do you? I don't see anybody here that's
of any of any real social standing. I don't see anybody here who
could be distinguished for his wisdom, for his learning, for
his reputation, for his might, for his skill. I don't see anybody
here of any nobility or his any rank. But God hath chosen the
foolish things of the world to confound the wise. That's
the way he does And God hath chosen the weak things of the
world to confound the things that are mighty, and base things
of the world, and things which are despised hath God chosen."
Now, that's getting down pretty low, and that's what you call
scraping the bottom of the barrel. Not yet, not yet. Here we are,
yea, and things which are not. Non-entities. Things that just
are not. Nothings. Nothings. Men and women who are esteemed
in the eyes of the world as nothing. Insignificant. Not even worthy
of notice. Not even worthy of the slightest
recognition. Just nothing. That's the folks
God's chosen, buddy, to bring to nothing the things that are. To bring to nothing the things
that are. Let us never forget who and what we are by nature.
Look to the rock which you're hewn and the hole of the pit
from which you're digged. We are nothing. You see, my friends,
the grace of God is always sovereign. It's always free. It's always
unconditional. God has mercy on whom he will
have mercy, and he has compassion on whom he will have compassion.
So then it's not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth,
but of God that showeth mercy. We have no claim upon God's grace. God is in no way obliged to show
us mercy. He can save us or he can damn
us. It's entirely up to God. God
is not in our hands. Contrary to popular opinion,
we are in God's hands. We're in his hands. What I'm
saying is this. The Lord God is sovereign. He
does all things as it pleases him. And he always takes the
initiative in salvation. Let me show you some illustrations
of God's sovereignty. According to Romans chapter 9
and verse 13, the Lord God chooses some and he passes by others. He chooses some and passes by
others. God sent his son, according to
Hebrews 2.16, to redeem some, but not others. He came not to
redeem the seed of angels or the seed of Adam. We didn't sing
that a minute ago, Lindsay. But he came rather to redeem
the seed of Abraham. That's what's stated in Hebrews
2.16. That's his sovereign purpose. God sends the word of the gospel
to some, and he does not send it to others. Now, you just try
to explain that with free will theology, with free will religion. Say, well, God gives everybody
a chance and everybody has the same opportunity and everybody
has an equal standing before God. Wait a minute. What about
folks who've never heard the gospel of God's good? God sends
the word to some and not to others. And you can read it in Matthew
chapter 11. He hides these things in the wise and prudent and reveals
them to babes. God sends his spirit to call
some and not call others according as it pleases him. The Lord God
grants life to some and not to others. I read stories like this
of Onesimus and that of the prodigal, and I'm always reminded, always
reminded of my own experience. I came to church with a young
man. I went to school with that boy
for 12 years. We went through 12 grades of
school together. We got in a fight. Usually, we
weren't fighting each other. We were fighting mutual enemies.
And we skipped school together, and we'd get in trouble together.
We spent our days and our nights together as much as two boys
possibly could. He'd date a girl one week, and
I'd date the same girl the next week. We just did those things.
We came to church. Because there was a pretty little
black-headed girl I wanted to see and a pretty little blonde-headed
girl he wanted to see. And the only way we could see
them was go to church with them. And began to attend with some measure
of regularity, without any interest whatsoever in the gospel, without
any interest whatsoever in Christ or his glory or his righteousness
or his redemption. But one day, I believed. I believed. I came to know God. I came to trust the living God. And to this day, 20 years later,
my friend, Tommy was his name, as far as I know, still lives
in rebellion, unbelief to God. Now what made the difference? He heard the same sermon I heard.
He and I were raised, our houses were back to back. We went to
school together, had the same education, had the same opportunities,
had the same background. If anything, he had a few advantages
I didn't have. What made the difference? Oh,
your free will made the difference. You don't know God if you think
that. I'll tell you what made the difference. Lindsay, God
gave me life. He passed him by. God the Spirit
called me. He didn't call that boy. He didn't
call him. That's the difference, Merle,
that's all the difference there is. God is always sovereign in
his grace. This is his right as God, and
we gladly submit to and acknowledge God's total, absolute sovereignty
in all things. Folks say, well, that makes God
a monster. Brother Barnard said, you better
get ready to meet a monster then, because this is who God is. This
is who he is. Mortal, be dumb. What creature
dares dispute God's sovereign will? Ask no account of God's
affairs, but tremble and be still. Just like his nature is his grace,
all sovereign and all free. Great God, how searchless are
thy ways, how deep thy judgments be. Onesimus was the object of
a gracious choice. And Onesimus was sought out by
an act of grace. Onesimus did not seek God. God sought Onesimus. Onesimus
was not looking for the Lord. The Lord was looking for Onesimus.
Onesimus did not want grace. Grace wanted Onesimus. Onesimus
did not come to grace. Grace came to Onesimus. Onesimus
did not find Christ. Christ found Onesimus. And there's
all the difference in the world. The name of God's church is sought
out. He says, the Lord God declares,
I am found of them that sought me not. Modern day religion says
to the sinner, you take the first step and God will do all the
rest. God says to the sinner, without
me, you can do nothing. Our Lord says no man can come
to me. No man has the ability of himself,
in himself, to come to me except the Father which has sent me
draw him. It is the Spirit that quickeneth,
the flesh profiteth nothing. I will be gracious to whom I
will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will
have compassion. Grace always takes the initiative. Yes, I chose God, and I still
do. Thank God, I still do. But I
chose God because God chose me. Yes, I came to Christ, but Christ
came to me before I came to him. Yes, I sought the Lord and I'm
still seeking him, but the Lord sought me before I sought him. The Spirit gave us life. We didn't
give ourselves life. "'Tis not that I did choose thee,
for, Lord, that could not be this heart would still refuse
thee, but thou hast chosen me. For sovereign mercy called me
and taught my opening mind. The world had else enthralled
me to heavenly glories blind. My heart owns none before thee,
for thy rich grace I thirst, this knowing. If I love thee,
thou must have loved me first." Now secondly, I want us to see
that the grace of God rules and overrules all things to accomplish
its purpose. Let's read Romans 8. I had to pause a minute. There's so many texts I could
refer you to. But turn over to Romans chapter
8, verse 28. I know you can quote it by memory,
but read it with me. We know that all things work
together for good, eternal good, to them that love God, to them
who are thee called according to God's purpose. Our Lord Jesus
Christ said in John 17, too, Thou hast given me power, authority,
dominion over all flesh, that I should give eternal life to
as many as thou hast given me." Now, what those two passages
tell us is that God, in his almighty grace, rules and overrules all
things for the accomplishment of his purpose of grace. Babiestas. I haven't known you too long,
a little while. But I've known you long enough
to call your attention to something. Meeting folks that you meet,
being raised where you were raised. Hearing what you've heard, going
through what you went through all your life. In all that you
ever experienced, the bad and the good. In all that you ever
learned, the bad and the good. In all that you ever did, the
bad and the good. It was God's purpose to bring
you right where you are now, and not only there, but to his
throne in eternal glory. Do you see that? Oh, child of
God, if you ever see what I'm talking about, it's going to
cause you to stand up and take notice of what God's doing. It's
going to cause you to rest in his good providence. It's going
to cause you to rejoice in his grace and goodness. Onesimus
had no right to rob his master, he had no right to run away,
but God was pleased to make use of his sin to accomplish his
purpose of grace toward him. In the wise arrangement of divine
providence, Onesimus' evil deed brought him to the place where
God was determined to be gracious to him. Look here in verse 15,
Philemon verse 15. Paul says, for perhaps, for perhaps,
and listen to his reasoning. He's writing to Philemon, he
says, perhaps this is the reason why it all happened. Perhaps
this is the thing that was in God's providence and purpose
all along. You know how we will say, well,
perhaps this is providential. Or perhaps this is what God was
doing. You look back at some trial,
some difficulty, some heartache in you, Oh, now I can see it. Now I can see it. This is what
Paul says to Philemon. Perhaps he therefore departed
for a season that thou shouldest receive him forever. I know we have to be careful
here, but grace had a purpose to accomplish in Onesimus' departure
from Philemon's house. Onesimus did exactly what he
wanted to do. He freely exercised his free
will and chose the path of wickedness which free will always chooses.
But still, God had a hand in the whole affair. This is what
the old Puritans used to call prevenient grace, grace that
goes before and prepares the way for God's saving grace. madly ran the sinful course of
his own free will in rebellion to God. And if God had let him walk in
the path he had chosen, then it would have ended in hell.
If God had let you walk the path you had chosen, it would have
brought you to ruin, eternal ruin. Ruin in this life and ruin
in the life to come. If God had let me walk in the
path that I had chosen with deliberate forethought, in the path that
I had chosen with malicious rebellion against God and against all that
I knew to be right, if God would let me go, I'd be in hell today,
or somewhere between here and there. But God intervened for
Onesimus. God's purpose of grace could
not and would not be overturned. God said concerning Onesimus,
I'll be his God and he'll be my child. And so Onesimus must
come to Rome. It's necessary in the purpose
of God that Onesimus hear the gospel from Paul's lips, that
he be brought down to a position of humiliation so that he would
be willing to hear the gospel and ready to receive the gospel.
In order for these things to come to pass, somehow Onesimus
at Colossae and Paul at Jerusalem have got to come together at
Rome. Well, Onesimus is going to surely
perish then. Onesimus is in Colossae. Paul's
at Jerusalem. Onesimus is running in rebellion
as a thief, hiding from the law. Paul is in Jerusalem preaching
the gospel to the people of God for the glory of God. They'll
never get together. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. You left out one thing. God. You left out one thing. God.
Well, how are they going to get to get together in Rome? I'll
tell you how. The Lord God said, and called
his old dog, the old serpent, into his service. I saw an illustration
of this the other day. It is Satan's nature to devour,
and he hates the people of God. He'd have you in hell, Merle
Hart. It's his nature to do so. but he's under God's dominion.
Christ defeated him. And he can do nothing but that
which is good for God's elect. Nothing. Earl Cochran, pastor
over at Mabscot, has got a herd of sheep. Some fella called him up and
asked Earl, said, is my dog on your place? And Earl said, well,
if he's been here, he's here. because I kill them if they come
around here. And his dog's no different. He's got a sheep dog,
just like this one across the hill over here, black and white
border collie. It's trained to herd sheep. It's a well-trained dog, but
it's in that dog's nature to kill them. It's in the dog's
nature to kill them. Earl doesn't let that dog near
his sheep unless he's standing there beside him. Then he'll
Guide the sheep and herd the sheep, gather them where Earl
wants them. He'll obey Earl's orders. But all the while, he's
nipping at their heels. He's nipping at their heels,
wanting to get to their throats. That's the way God uses Satan.
He's nipping at our heels, nipping at our heels, wanting to get
to our throats. But let me show you how it happened here. Satan
tempts Onesimus just at the right time. and persuades him to steal
his master's goods. Reckon how many times he had
seen that purse before. Reckon how many times he had
taken a fileman's wife's jewels and put them away in her chest
and thought, man, I wish that was mine. Reckon how many times
he thought to himself, I wonder, I wonder if I could get away
with that money box. But just at the right time, He
was tempted to steal. And then Satan, at about the
same time, unwittingly, not knowing what he was doing, only out of
his own malice for God's sake, but at the command of God's purpose,
raised up an angry mob to have Paul arrested at Jerusalem. Do
you see that, Bob? Acts chapter 21. He had this
angry mob to have Paul arrested, and having robbed his master
of his goods, Onesimus was filled with fear, and he ran away down
to Rome. Paul, having been arrested by
the Romans, declares, I'm a citizen of Rome, and I appeal to Caesar. They said, well, send you to
Rome. Well, wasn't that a stroke of luck? Wasn't that a marvelous,
fortuitous event? No. It was the hand of God's
sovereign rule bringing his servant and his chosen one to the appointed
place of his mercy. Oh, I love it. At last, on the
appointed day, Onesimus comes before Paul, and Paul preached
the gospel to him in the power of the Spirit. and Onesimus was
saved by God's almighty grace. I don't know how they got together. One commentator said that they
were thrown in the same prison cell. Said Onesimus spent all
of Philemon's goods and he began to join himself to some thieves
and he was cast into prison. He looked up and there was Paul.
Maybe that's where it happened, I don't know. Mr. Spurgeon suggested
Onesimus had been like that prodigal he had spent all, and he began
to be in want. Woman was on her way down to
hear Paul one morning, and here sat Onesimus all huddled up in
a corner, trying to stay warm. And she looked at him and she
said, son, looks to me like you need some help. He said, oh,
ma'am, I need some help. There's nobody willing to do
anything for me. You see, I'm a thief. I'm a wanted man. I don't dare
go to the law. I stole my master's goods. And
I came down here in Rome, and I had a big time spending his
money, but now I've spent it all. And I haven't got another
thing. I haven't got a dime in my pocket. I sure wish that somebody could
help me." She said, well, I don't know. I don't know if they can
help or not, but I know a man. I know a man who can tell you
what to do. Come with me. And so she took him down into
that little cell where Paul was allowed to preach to those who
came around. And Paul looked on his face and,
well, I've seen that face somewhere before. And Onesimus looked at
Paul. I remember you. Oh, you're Onesimus. What are you doing down here,
son?" And he told him. And Paul preached
the gospel to him, just like he had done so many times before.
But you see, when Onesimus was in the comfort of Philemon's
house, and he had plenty, And after all, you know, he was the
trusted servant, and he never stole anything. He was, while he was at Philemon's
house, buddy, he was too good to be saved. Too good for God. Too good for God. So he didn't
pay any attention to what Paul preached. He talked to somebody
else. He's not talking to me. But now,
God in his public brought Onesimus down to nothing to lift him up
with his grace and mercy. That's the way of God's grace. Onesimus and Paul came together
face to face at the appointed time and the appointed place
for the appointed purpose. And I'm here to tell you, my
friends, it is still true that God moves in a mysterious his
wonders to perform. He still plants his footsteps
in the sea and rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable minds
of never-failing skill, our God treasures up his bright designs
and works his sovereign will. God, when he intends to be gracious
to a sinner will always bring the object of grace and the messenger
of grace together. Always. God never passes by the
appointed means. He's determined to save sinners
by the preaching of the gospel. And whatever it takes, whatever
it takes, at the time of his appointed mercy, God's going
to bring his chosen one to hear the gospel from the lips of the
And maybe that's the reason he brought you here today. This is a word of comfort and
encouragement for some of you. Your sons and daughters break
your hearts through their rebellion, their waywardness, and their
unbelief. This is God's appointed means
of grace. Now I'm going to tell you, it
might be hard to, no it's not hard to lay hold of, it's not
hard to lay hold of. It's far better, far better to lose those children
for a season and gain them for eternity than to keep them at home in
self-righteousness and lose them for eternity. Far better. Some of you are like myself. Your past is something that you
would much rather forget about than remember. And I wouldn't want anybody to
have to go through the kind of hell I put myself and my parents through. Unless, unless that's God's appointed
means of mercy. For I'm telling you, I'm telling
you that all that I did and said and experienced
in my wicked rebellion, sin, and unbelief was used of God, overruled by
him. Yes, he didn't cause me to, he
didn't cause me to be a rebel, but he overruled my rebellion
to bring me to faith in his soul. That's the way of his grace.
That's the way of his grace. Aren't you glad to know that
the grace of God rules and overrules all things to accomplish his
purpose? Grace is always on time. It's usually just in the nick
of time, but it's always on time. I was seeking the Mary clay in a pit where there's no standing.
But he reached down and lifted me up and set my feet upon the
rock, Christ Jesus. How did God save you? That's
just how he did it. That's just how he did it. By
his free grace. God saved me by his free grace
and called me to faith in his son altogether. without anything done by me,
without any merit on my part. And my friend, the grace of God
is always successful. Always. God's grace cannot be
defeated. It cannot be thwarted. It cannot
be overturned. It cannot be successfully resisted. God chose Onesimus. God redeemed
Onesimus. God sought Onesimus, God called
Onesimus, and God saved Onesimus. Well, you mean to tell me, Pastor,
that God's elect don't resist his grace? Oh, I don't say that
at all. I do. You did, too. First time I heard
his voice, I hardened my heart in unbelief, just like you. And
the next time, and the next time, and the next time, and the next
time, and the next time, and the next time, until I heard
his voice. And then there was no will to resist. There was no will to rebel. There was no will of unbelief. There was no will against God,
but suddenly, by the power of his grace, God made me willing
to come to Christ. That's what grace does. Grace
preserved Onesimus, grace provided for Onesimus, grace protected
Onesimus, and grace led Onesimus all the days of his life. even
in his redemption. Look over the page here, verse
14 of Hebrews 1. What are the angels? What are
the angels? Are they not all ministering
spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of
salvation? While you were over in Puerto
Rico, buddy, angels of God watching over you while you had no interest
in God Almighty. While you were growing up in
the streets of Ludlow up there, Bob, angels of God watching over
you. Raised in the midst of Catholicism
with no regard for God or for Christ or for anything else,
angels of God watching over you. Our moral heart reigns down here
in Harrisburg in moral, religious atmosphere, but with no regard
for God. Angels of God watching over you.
Our year, you were running the streets in your drunkenness, in your
rebellion. lifting his fist against God's
throne. Couldn't strike out at God, but
you struck out at everything representing God. The angels
of God watching over you, protecting you, ministering to you, because
you were chosen of God and heir of salvation. And at the appointed time, grace
conquered this man's heart. Onesimus was finally made a new
man in Christ. He who was once unprofitable,
unprofitable to God and unprofitable to man, was now made profitable
both to God and man. Grace takes useless things and
makes them useful. Look at verse 11, I'll let you
go home. pull this thing off. Look at verse 11 here, which in time past was unprofitable,
was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and
to me. had been useless to violence,
uselessly, unprofitable. But God did something for them,
and now it's profitable, useful. God by his grace takes the useless, worthless, unprofitable, things, like you and me, and makes us profitable. Profitable. Imagine, profitable
for the glory of God. Profitable to God's church. Oh,
what a wonder that God would take such worms from the dung
heap of humanity and make you the salt of the
earth and the light of the world. That's what he's done for you.
God Almighty has taken this unprofitable wretch of a human being and by grace beyond my utmost
stretch of imagination. God makes this piece of flesh
profitable to give, profitable to the kingdom of God, profitable
for his glory. Oh, what a change the grace of
God makes. Here's Onesimus, a trophy of
God's grace. Here's Don, a trophy of divine
grace. Here's a showcase of God's trophy. Oh, may it please him this day
by his grace to conquer your stubborn will and make you a
trophy of his grace. Amen.