For Love's Sake

There is a very small epistle
in the New Testament called Philemon. I preached this message some
time ago and someone was heard to remark, I didn't even know
where that book was in the Bible. Well, it's over by the book of
Hebrews in the New Testament. It's the shortest of Paul's epistles,
the book of Philemon. But this little book contains
some great lessons. And I want you to turn with me.
You open your Bibles now. I'm going to make some few introductory
remarks, and then I'm going to tell you a story from the book
of Philemon. Now, here's my subject. The title
of this message is, For Love's Sake, or For the Sake of Love,
whichever way you can remember it easy. For Love's Sake. Now, here's the story. You open
your Bibles to the book of Philemon. And let me tell you the background
of this epistle. There was a well-known man by
the name of Philemon who lived in Colossae. You remember hearing
of Colossae? That's where the church was to
which Paul wrote the book of Colossians, the epistle to the
Colossian church. Well, there was a man who lived
there by the name of Philemon, and he was a believer, a true
Christian. And he was known all around that
area in Colossae. In fact, There was a church which
met in his home, in the home of Philemon. Some say that Philemon
was one of the 70 disciples which the Lord sent out in Luke chapter
10, verse 1, when he sent out 70 disciples to preach two by
two. I don't, I'm not sure about that,
but that's what has been said. And also someone else said at
one time he was the bishop of Gaza. Well, evidently Philemon,
who lived in Colossae, had a great house and a great household,
and had a church that met in his home, and he had many servants,
which was common in those days. Well, there was one of his servants
whose name was Onesimus. I don't know how long Onesimus
had been in the household of Philemon, how long he'd worked
for him, but he was what you call a slave, a servant in the
house of Philemon. Well, Onesimus had embezzled
some funds. He'd stolen some property and
some money from Philemon, robbed his master. And he'd run away
from Colossae. He'd run away from Philemon's
house. And he fled to the city of Rome, to the great city of
Rome. Like I say, how long he was with Onesimus, I do not know.
But I do believe that it's true that he stole some funds or some
property or something when he fled, when he left the household
of Philemon and went to Rome. Because when Paul wrote later
to Philemon, he said, if he owes you anything or if he's wronged
you, then you can put it on my account. I'll pay back whatever
he's taken. So he fled to Rome. Now, the
third person that we meet in this epistle is the apostle Paul. And Paul was in Rome at this
particular time. Paul was in prison. Now, it was
a strange type of prison. Paul was confined to a certain
house, to a dwelling. He wasn't in a dungeon. He wasn't
in a public prison. He was in a home. He was confined
for a length of time to this home, and he had guards all about
him. But Paul was allowed in this
home, in this confinement, he was allowed to have people come
to see him. He wasn't allowed to leave. He
was in under guard, in confinement. But people could come see him.
And he had some friends there. Luke was with him. John Mark
was with him. Epiphas was with him. And Demas,
who later left him, was with him. These men were all there
with him. And Timothy was with him. And he could preach to people
who came to his house. And he had several friends that
came to hear him on a regular basis. Now, here's what happened.
And here's what led to the writing of this epistle. This is the
reason that this epistle was written and the reason our God
has preserved it for our instruction and for our teaching. Now, here
was Philemon, the wealthy man down in Colossae, who had these
servants, and one of them was named Onesimus. And Onesimus,
had stolen some property, stolen some money, and he had run away
from home. But he came, he came to Rome. And Onesimus, here's what I believe. I believe that like the prodigal
son, he came to himself. And he realized what he had done.
He had a good master, he had a good home, and he was well
cared for, and he wasn't mistreated. And here he was in a strange
city, And he'd stolen this property, and he'd already used it up like
the prodigal son. He came to himself, and he realized
how foolish he was. And he realized what he'd done
and what a condition he was in, and so he came to see Paul. He
said, How in the world did Onesimus the slave know Paul? Well, probably
through Philemon. I don't believe anyone could
have been with Philemon very long without hearing about his
friend, the apostle Paul, who preached the gospel, who was
the apostle to the Gentiles. But anyway, here was Onesimus,
the runaway slave, in Rome, and he came to the house where Paul
was in confinement, where Paul was preaching. And he knew Paul. And I believe he came to Paul
to get some help, to ask Paul if he had interceded for him
with his master Philemon. Well, anyway, Paul preached the
gospel to him, and this runaway slave, this thief, came to knowledge
of the gospel. That's what Paul said. Paul said
in verse 10, Onesimus is now my son, whom I have begotten
in jail. And he wrote to Philemon. He
wrote him this epistle. And he said to him, I would have
kept him here with me. But he said, not without your
permission. So I'm sending him back to you.
I'm sending this runaway slave, this thief, this embezzler, who
has come here to Rome and heard the gospel, and God in His grace
and mercy has brought him to a knowledge of Christ Jesus,
changed his heart, changed his life, regenerated him, made him
a new Christian Christ. I'm sending him back to you,
back to Philemon, to his master, and I want you to welcome him
and love him and receive him." Now, I want you to see this in
this letter as he As Paul wrote to Philemon, he gave this letter
to this runaway slave, said, take this to your master. And
you have it there open in front of you, the book of Philemon.
Here's the, this is the letter he wrote. And I want you to notice
in this letter, I think this is the key to all of this. I
want you to notice the many references in this letter, 25 verses, the
many references to the Lord Jesus Christ. There are 25 verses in
this epistle. And ten times, ten times, the
Apostle Paul mentions the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now
here's this Apostle, and he's sending back to his friend Philemon,
a wealthy man, a believer, a man in whose home a church met, a
godly man. He's sending back this man who's
wronged him, who's stolen from him, and who's embezzled his
funds. He said, Take him back and love
him and receive him and forgive him. Receive him as a brother.
But all the way through this epistle, Paul bases this on his
love for Christ, Philemon's love for Christ, Onesimus' love for
Christ. Paul bases everything he says
here, every request he makes, he's basing it on his relationship
with the Lord Jesus Christ. And all that he instructs Philemon
to do, to receive this slave is because he loves Christ and
Onesimus the slave is to be taken in as a Son of God as a brother
in the Lord now my friends who we are and What we are and what
we do and our motive for what we do is Because I love for Christ
and that's the basis on which Paul writes this letter to Philemon
It's like you said to the church at Ephesus. He said, be ye kind
one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as
God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you. He said, you be kind one
to another, you be tenderhearted, forgiving one another. On what
basis? Christ forgave you. Then in John
15, 12, he was telling his disciples, he said, a new commandment I
give you, that you love one another. On what basis? You love one another
as I loved you. That's the way you'd love one
another, as I loved you. He sat down by the fire talking
to the apostle Peter. After Peter denied him and led
the other disciples out on a fishing trip, the master came and appeared
to them after he rose from the grave. He said, Peter, do you
love me? Well, he said, yes, I do. Well,
he said, feed my sheep. And he asked him that three times,
do you love me? Every time, Peter would say,
well, Lord, you know I love you. And finally, he said, Lord, you
know everything, you know I love you. He said, well, feed my sheep.
And my friends, this is the key. This is the key to this book
and to understanding what Paul is saying here is a love for
Christ, our relationship with Him. Now, I want you to see that.
So take the book there, verse 1, and it starts out this way.
It starts out this way, and here's this letter from Paul to Philemon.
He says, he says, Paul, I'm the author of this epistle, a prisoner
of Jesus Christ. And Timothy, our brother, who's
with me, Timothy is with me, and he shares in this letter.
And I'm writing to Philemon, to my dearly beloved and fellow
laborer in the Lord. Now Paul starts this letter off
to Philemon saying, I'm a prisoner. But I'm not a prisoner of Nero.
I'm not a prisoner of the Roman Empire. I'm not a prisoner of
the powers of this city. I'm a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
I'm here because this is where my Lord wants me. I'm here because
it is the will of my master. It's like when Joseph gathered
his brothers around him down in Egypt after he had revealed
to them who he is. He said, I'm Joseph, your brother.
And they were frightened. They'd sold him into slavery.
They'd lied about his death. They'd mistreated him. They were
the cause, humanly speaking, of all of his troubles. And he
said to them, now don't be upset and don't be afraid. He said,
what you did to me, you meant for evil, but God meant it for
good. I'm here because God wanted me
here. And that's what Paul is saying. I'm a prisoner. Paul
was there, a prisoner in Rome. God led Onesimus to Rome. If
Paul had not been there in prison, Onesimus would have never heard
the gospel. He came to Rome and heard Paul. So Paul says, I'm
a prisoner in this house of confinement, but I'm here by the will of God.
Old Bishop Samuel Rutherford was in prison in Aberdeen years
ago over in England, in prison for preaching the gospel. And
in a very severe lockup, And he would write to his friends,
and this is the way he would begin his letters. He would write,
from the Lord's palace in Aberdeen. In other words, he regarded where
he was to be where God wanted him, a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
John Newton wrote, content with beholding his face, my all to
his pleasure resigned. No changes of season or place
would make any change in my mind. while blessed with a sense of
God's love, a palace, a toy would appear, and prisons would palaces
prove if God would dwell with me there." Paul said, I've learned
in whatsoever state I am to be content. So when he sits down
to write this letter to Philemon, he said, I'm a prisoner, but
not of Nero, not of Rome. I'm a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
And I'm writing to you, my beloved brother, in his name. And then
in verse 2 he says, And greet our beloved Athia, that was Philemon's
wife. And greet Archippus, our fellow
soldier in the church which meets in your home, the pastor of the
church. And then he says in verse 3, Grace be to you. And peace
from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm a
prisoner of Christ. And I pray that you might have
the grace of Christ and the peace of Christ. Those are the two
most treasured possessions that Paul could wish for his brother.
Grace. Grace to forgive. Grace to save. Grace to pardon. Grace to redeem. For by grace are you saved through
faith and that not of yourself. It's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. I pray for you, from God the
Father through Jesus Christ, His grace. peace Do you know
of anything more valuable than those two things? Do you know
of anything you'd rather have than those two things? grace
Or that we might come boldly before the throne of God's grace
in Christ Jesus and find mercy to help us and Grace in our time
of need and then to have peace peace and joy in the heart Not
many days ago. I visited in a hospital room
with a beloved friend, about 80 years of age. And there was
a possibility that perhaps the doctor said she would not survive
the night. So we went down to the hospital
room to visit with her and talk with her with what we thought
might be our last visit together. And as I bent over her in the
bed, I said, are you resting in Christ? She looked at me and
said, My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and His
righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame. I wholly lean on Jesus' name.
If it's God's will for me to live, I'll be happy to live.
If it's God's will to take me home tonight, I'll be happy to
go because I have peace, peace in Him. Let me tell you something.
Grace and peace And you know where it comes from? Our Lord
Jesus Christ. He said, My peace I give unto
you, not as the world giveth. Let not your heart be troubled.
Don't be afraid. My peace. That's just what Paul
is praying for his beloved brother. I've got some matters to talk
with you about, but I want you to understand some things before
we talk about these matters. I'm a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
And my prayer and hope for you is that you might have that grace
and that peace. God's given me. I pray it might
be grace multiplied. Look at verse 4 and 5. Paul said,
I thank God for you. I thank God for you, Philemon. Oh, how we thank God for faithful
believers and faithful brothers and faithful supporters. He said,
I make mention of you in my prayers. Listen to this now. Hearing of
your love and your faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus
Christ. Toward all his people look at
those verses Thank God for you. I pray for you and I've heard
I've heard of your love for Christ your faith in Christ and your
love toward all the people of God Did you get that Paul said
I've heard about you? I've heard about your faith and
your love and your works and your dedication My friends. I've always believed that a true
Christian does not need to wear a religious uniform to show he's
a Christian. I've always felt that a true
believer didn't need to wear a cross or a lapel pin which
says, I love Jesus, or a bumper sticker or a t-shirt, or carry
a sign saying, I'm a Christian. If he really is a child of God,
folks will hear about it. Folks will find out about it.
They'll find out about it and hear about it through his attitude
or her conversation or their works. And that's what Paul says
about this man. I've heard about your love for
Christ. I've heard about your faith in
Christ. I've heard about your love for
God's people. Then in verse 6, Paul says, Your works and kindness
is toward others. Point them, not to you, but to
your Lord, while they acknowledge that what is in you is by the
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see that in verse 6. People
acknowledge that what you are and what you give and what you
do is not because you are better in your nature, but because Christ
lives in you and dwells in you, and the good which is in you
is through Jesus Christ and your relationship with Him. Now look
at verse 8 and 9. Now, in these verses, he tells
Philemon, I'm sending back to you Onesimus. Whom I have begotten
in my bonds and I want you to receive him and love him and
forgive him now look at verse 8 Paul says I could command you
to do it I'm an apostle He says later you owe me your life and
I could command you to receive this man, but I'm not gonna do
it. Look at verse 9. I rather beseech you for love's
sake Because I am your friend and your brother I'm Paul the
aged and I'm the prisoner of Jesus Christ now what I ask you
to do you do it because you love Christ Because you love me and
because you love this dear man, and there you have it my friend
There you have the motive for all that we do Which is acceptable
to God? For all that we do that's acceptable
with God it's for love's sake It's for the sake of love. God
will accept nothing else. He'll accept no other foundation.
He'll accept no other work. Merit? No, sir. If we do things
for reward? No, sir. If we do it out of service? No, sir. Duty, responsibility,
restitution, tithe, whatever, do it because you love me. Paul
gives us that basis. The love of Christ constrained
me. I'll tell you, it was because
God loved us that he gave his son. For God so loved the world,
He gave His Son. That was the basis on which Christ
came, foundation. Christ, having loved His own,
loved them to the end. That's what took Him to the cross,
His love for His Father, His Father's will, and His love for
His people. And believers, Christ said, if you love Me, keep My
commandments, if you love Me. And when He sends this runaway
slave back to his master, He said, now Philemon, you receive
Him. You would receive me my own bowels
my own innermost being you receive this young man. You love him
You've received him not as a servant, but as a brother and you do it
For one reason because you love Christ You love his people and
you love me his servant. Now, that's the basis on which
you do it now look at verse 10 and 11 Paul said I have begotten
him in my bonds and In times past, verse 11, he was unprofitable
to you. I know that. He was no account. He was worthless. He was a thief. I know that. In times past, he
was no account. But now, it's different. He's profitable, listen, not
only to you, but to me. You mean a man like Onesimus,
a runaway slave, a thief, could be profitable to the apostle
Paul? Yes, on one basis, because of one fact. God's in him. Christ
is in him. That's what's happened. How do
you account for this? I'll tell you the grace of God.
This man met the Master. He didn't just meet the Master's
servant, Paul. He didn't just meet the Master's
doctrine. He didn't just meet the Master's people. He met the
Master. And the Gospel came into his
heart and changed him and made him a new creature in Christ
Jesus. Our Lord lived in his heart.
And because the Lord lives in this man's heart, there'll be
strong evidence of his presence. And Paul is confident. He's sending
Onesimus back to Philemon, and he says, now here comes a man.
He's not the same. He's not the same. He was unprofitable. He was worthless. He was no account.
But now he's profitable to you and to me and to all God's people. You watch him. He'll labor in
love and he'll work in faith Now verse 13 14 Paul said it
would have kept him here That he might help me in your place,
but I wouldn't do it without your willingness. I Wouldn't
do it. I wouldn't do it because your
benefit Should not be of necessity But willingly not of necessity. In other words, he said I'm not
going to keep this man here and write and tell you I'm keeping
him, and then you'd have to let him stay because I said to, no,
someone will send him back to you. Because I don't want any
service from you except that which is willing. That which
is willing. Somebody often says to me, if
you need anything, now ask me. No, they're not going to ask.
Let it be not of necessity, not of responsibility, but willingly.
Willingly. Now look at verse 15. I love
this. Perhaps, Paul said, perhaps.
He departed from you for a season that you should receive him forever.
Don't you know that morning when Philemon got up and called for
Onesimus to come and do his duty, and he was gone? And Philemon
was upset, and he began to check around the house, and some money
was gone, and some property was gone, and some gold and silver
was gone, and maybe some of his wife's treasures were gone. And
his heart was just broke. Here, one of his servants, one
of his employees, he'd had for years. Maybe the man's father
worked for him too. Maybe some of his brothers or
sisters worked for him. He was gone. And this property
was gone with him. And Philemon was heartbroken
and stunned. And then Paul sent this letter.
And here comes Onesimus back. He's got this letter. And Paul
said, remember Philemon, perhaps, He left you for a season. It
was a terrible time. It was a great trial. It was
a great heartache. But God was in it all, and God
planned it all, and He left you for a season that you might receive
Him forever. That ought to teach us not to
fret over some of these temporary things in life, over these trials
and sorrows in life. I had this experience one time.
One of my sons, 18 years of age finished high school
just 17 almost 18 and Left home. I didn't want him to go but he
left went to another state He and some more boys and they left
they were gone a long long time Two three four years. I don't
remember but it's a long time. I didn't see him for a long time
and Lived a rough life there, but finally came back home And
he came back home in a repentant nature and heard the gospel and
God saved him And now he's a pastor of a church and preaching the
gospel and that's what Paul is talking about here. Oh Nessa
was left home He left home but God was in it all and he went
down there to Rome and he heard Paul preach the gospel and God
opened his heart to receive Christ and he was saved and and Came
to know the gospel came to love the gospel and Paul sends him
back to Philemon says now you receive him for Christ's sake
Forgive Him for Christ's sake, and love Him for Christ's sake,
because perhaps, perhaps all of this, He was gone for a season,
was in order that you might have Him back forever and forever
and forever. Did you know that's so? All things
work together for good to them who love God, to them who are
called according to His purpose, for love's sake. That's the foundation
of all that we do with which God is pleased. and which God
will accept, and which He will use for His glory, for love's
sake. Well, I hope that was a blessing. Now, I'll tell you what. If you'd
like to have this message on tape, we have it. We'll mail
it to you. If you'll send $2, this will
cover our expenses to send it to you. We'll send you this tape
for love's sake from the book of Philemon. I'll have another
tape on the other side that I'll be preaching next Lord's Day
on the Savior of sinners. So here's the address. Send for
the tape. And we look forward to being
with you again on next Lord's Day. May God bless you, everyone.

For Love's Sake

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For Love's Sake

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