TITLE: CHARGE IT TO MY ACCOUNT
SCRIPTURE: PHILEMON 18-19
The CREDIT CARD has become the SYMBOL OF AMERICAN BUSINESS. Matter of fact, some suggest it is the LOGO and SYMBOL of our Country. It is the FRATERNITY PIN of the average American. It is the PASSPORT to plenty for a great many today. Anything can be bought with a credit card - from a gallon of gas to a ten gallon bucket - from a sandwich to a steak - from a night's lodging to a weekend Resort.
Whenever I travel or shop, I ordinarily look at the entrance window or door of the establishment. There we will usually find a DISPLAY OF INSIGNIAS of all the different credit cards they accept. There are signs that say WE ACCEPT ALL THESE and down underneath they add WE ALSO TAKE CASH. Do you know that there are some organizations that no longer accept Cash only take Credit Cards or Bank Cards. When a purchase is made in any department store in the United States today, the classic cliché of the salesperson is "CHARGE OR CASH?" and there's a slight look of disappointment if it's cash. You're immediately under suspicion when you're carrying that stuff around. I don’t know about you but I grow rather annoyed whenever I use a $20 bill or higher and the Cashier will hold it up to the light to ensure it is not counterfeit. However; very rarely will they ever verify my identity when using a credit card.
In our text this morning, we find credit being extended. Paul the Apostle writes a letter and in essence he is saying – Whatever is owed, I don’t have Cash, therefore; I need you to Charge it to my Account. I am signing the slip now, put it on my credit card, so you will know that I intend to pay this debt. Behind the statement of course is a story.
Philemon is a short book of only 25 verses tucked between TITUS and HEBREWS. It’s so short that you’ll never find it by accident. You have to be looking for it or else you’ll never even see it. I think we can sum up what this book is all about by mentioning three names to remember.
• PAUL - He is an apostle and the author of this letter. When it is written, he is in prison in Rome.
• PHILEMON - He is Christian slave owner who lives in the city of Colosse in Asia Minor (present day Turkey). He is clearly a close friend of Paul. Perhaps Paul personally led him to Christ (the latter church met in his house or at least the text implies that, however; we can’t be sure. We do know that this current church met in his house, which means he was certainly a respected Christian leader.
• ONESIMUS - He is a runaway slave who came to Rome where he met Paul who led him to Christ. It is possible—though again we cannot be certain—that he met Paul through his friendship with Philemon and that’s why he sought him out in Rome. In any case we know that after Paul led Onesimus to Christ, he stayed in Rome, serving Paul with deep gratitude.
That brings us to the central issue of this short letter. Paul now has a converted slave on his hands. What should he do? He decides to send Onesimus back to Philemon his master. But Onesimus is now a believer in Christ–he left a rebel and now returns as a brother. Paul wants to make sure Philemon understands what has happened. That’s why he writes this letter.
This little letter is a masterpiece of PERSUASION. If you want to know how to write a letter to someone you need to CONVINCE - study the way Paul approached Philemon. In the end, his APPEAL IS IRRESISTIBLE. He begins by reminding Philemon of his prayers on his behalf. He also says, “I know how much you love all of God’s children.” This puts a positive face on what he has to say later.
Paul has decided to send Onesimus back to Philemon. This he does even though he would have preferred to keep him in Rome. But Paul respected the laws of the day, and also trusted in Philemon’s Christian character to do the right thing.. The Question, I can’t help but to ask - Would Paul have sent him back if he had any doubts about what would happen? We simply do not know the answer to that question. It is a question that has been debated by Theologians for centuries.
And that’s what the brief letter of Philemon is all about. Paul pulls out all the stops in just 25 verses. He touches every positive motivation he can use—appealing all the while to love and not to duty. What is it that Paul wants Philemon to do with his returned slave?
• Forgive him
• Restore him
• Receive him as a brother
Look my brothers and sisters, this book probably doesn’t turn heads because of the SUBJECT MATTER. It’s about a SLAVE and that still excites some emotions in us as people of color. Actually, it’s about a runaway slave named Onesimus who not only ran away, but prior to running he had stolen something from his master, Philemon and this lead to his motivation of running away to avoid being caught. There are some INTERESTING DYNAMICS going on in these short versus that probably make many, if not all of us somewhat uncomfortable. The Book of Philemon is very interesting indeed. It’s probably a book we hear quoted the least out of all the books of the Bible and probably one that we look at the least. It is a powerful book that also helps us set the stage for this BLACK HISTORY MONTH.
Paul identifies himself in this letter and also mentions Timothy. This is an important point here my brothers and sisters. In the present imprisonment, there were with Paul several co-workers. Among them was Timothy, who was one of Paul’s SPECIAL STUDENTS and HELPERS. It is Timothy whom Paul places, along with himself, in the forefront of the letter, as though Timothy had been instrumental in writing it. Perhaps he was, but there is something more important to note here.
• Paul was Timothy’s spiritual father
• Yet he here refers to him as a brother
• Showing the equality of all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ
• Not even an apostle is of higher rank than the one he led to Christ
• That equality applies to every child of God no matter what position is held in the administration of the body of Christ on earth
• Those who claim special rank in Christendom and lord it over others are not obedient to the Lord, at best, and are imposters, at worst
Paul now addresses Philemon as a “Dear friend and fellow worker” which shows there was a warm personal relationship already established between he and Paul. Paul knew that Philemon always went the extra mile, as every good Christian should. He was not just a brother to Paul and the head of a household of a Christian Family. In VS. 2 we find out that Philemon also held a church in his own home.
• Imagine having 15, 20, 30 or more people in and out of your home
• Imagine having to clean up and set up throughout each week
• Love of people to do that
When Paul first met this man by the name of Onesimus and found out that he was the runaway slave of a Christian he knew from Colosse, he recognized that his heavenly Father was at work. And so Paul went to work on Onesimus. He pointed out Onesimus’ sin of his actions and then he followed that up with the good news of how Jesus had already paid for that sin. As a result Onesimus was not only converted to the faith, he became a trusted and reliable helper to Paul, especially during this time of imprisonment.
Did I mention that the name Onesimus = USEFUL. Just as God guided and directed Onesimus’ steps to Rome, GOD STILL LEADS US TODAY. It’s no accident that we are here this morning. God brought us here to learn that, even though we often run away from Him and our responsibilities as:
• Children
• Parents
• Employers
• Employees
• Congregational members
• Like JONAH when God called and he ran as far as he could in opposite direction
• Like the RICH YOUNG RULER who came to Jesus and then refused him and walked away
• Much like the INVITED GUEST to the Banquet – just married, bought some land or cattle, we ask to be excused by God
• He has forgiven us and has plans for us
• Aren’t you glad today - Through the gospel God makes us useful again
HOW DOES GOD PLAN TO USE US? Let’s first see what plans he had for Onesimus. Although Paul would have liked to keep Onesimus on as a trusted servant of the gospel, he sent him back to Colosse. After all Onesimus was still Philemon’s slave and if he was TRULY REPENTANT of running away, he would return and take up his place again in Philemon’s household. Still, Paul wanted Philemon to know that he was sending Onesimus back a CHANGED MAN.
• From now on Onesimus wasn’t just Philemon’s slave, he was his brother in the faith and Paul wanted Philemon to treat him as such
• Paul went as far as urging Philemon to receive Onesimus as if he was receiving Paul himself (Philemon 17)
• Paul could have demanded these things because it was the right thing to do
• But Paul didn’t command, nor did he beg
• He simply expressed his confidence that Philemon would do what he had encouraged him to do and even more
This is where too many of us ere today. We try to get the membership to ACT RIGHT – to act like Christians based upon our PASTORIAL AUTHORITY. By RUBBING CONGREGATIONS NOSE IN THE WORD. That does not work. For the record, I believe WE HAVE TOO MANY BULLIES IN THE PULPITS TODAY. Only thing that can change the way we act as a body of Christ, as members of Perfected Praise Worship Center – is LOVE.
We have to get beyond HURT FEELINGS and DISGRUNTLED ATTITUDES and get down to the basics of Christianity – LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER. For Jesus told His disciples:
• They aren’t going to recognize you for your good looks
• They won’t notice you for the huge building you will build for worship
• They won’t honor you for the great choirs that sing at your church every Sunday
• They won’t recognize you for the amazing miracles you will perform
• They won’t commend you for the books you publish
• They won’t pat you on the back for the many conferences you host
• Jesus didn’t say they are going to know you are mine if you preach in a mega-church
• Jesus didn’t say they will recognize you for having one church in three locations
• Jesus didn’t say they will know you are my disciples because of your Bentley, BMW – personal jet
• No -- Jesus told them in ST. JOHN 13:35 "BY THIS ALL MEN WILL KNOW THAT YOU ARE MY DISCIPLES, IF YOU HAVE LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER”
That’s the POWER OF THE GOSPEL. Although Onesimus was a changed man, he still must have been nervous about going back to Philemon. After all Roman law gave slave owners the right to BRAND THE FOREHEAD OF RUNAWAY SLAVES – LOCK THEM IN CHAINS – OR SIMPLY EXECUTE THEM. Onesimus knew he deserved any one of these punishments because he had not just run away from Philemon, but had probably stolen from him as well. Paul must have sensed these fears and so he wrote to Philemon that he would pay for any damage Onesimus had done. This promise allowed Onesimus to go back and serve his master free of the fear of punishment.
• From Segregated to Integrated
• From Excluded to Included
• From No Rights to Equal Rights
Then there is a wonderful statement about God’s providence. Paul suggests that God allowed Onesimus to run away so that he would find Paul in Rome and be led to Christ and thus be sent back to Philemon—not as a slave but as a Christian brother. In these verses Paul does not explicitly tell Philemon to release Onesimus but he comes very close. In any case, we see here Paul’s amazing faith in the “Invisible Hand” of God moving through every part of human history.
SOMETIMES WE GIVE UP ON ONE ANOTHER TOO EASILY. Or we prefer the bombastic approach when something much more low-key is need. I’m thinking of a LETTER – PHONE CALL – LUNCH TOGETHER – BREIF WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT - a challenge to the downhearted, going out of our way to intercede for those in need. That’s what Paul did for Onesimus. He got involved, he took a chance, and he made a personal appeal to Philemon.
Because of this type of love – Onesimus was able to go back free of the fear of punishment. Do you see the parellels between Onesimus and us?
• Although we should be punished for our sins
• Jesus told his heavenly Father to Charge it to my Account – I will pay for those sins.
• Jesus paid for our sins on the cross so that we now can serve our God without fear of punishment
I can imagine that Onesiums held that letter from Paul in his hand. He kept it right there in the grip of his hand the whole way home. I bet he never let that letter out of his sight.
• So should it be with our letter from God
• This Book
• The Bible is our standing assurance that what we have believed is not in vain
• That though sin and the devil tried to disgrace us
• God saved us and set us free and wrote a letter to us reminding us along the way
• You are accepted – It has already been paid
I can imagine that Onesimus turns the letter over to Philemon and what Paul said in essence was that if Onesimus owes him anything, “put that on my account - Charge it to my Account ” In all the New Testament, you will not find a better illustration of SUBSTITUTIONARY ATONEMENT.
• What Onesimus owed, Paul volunteered to pay
• When Paul paid the debt, Philemon would be satisfied and Onesimus would be free of any obligation
• This is the gospel in human terms
ALL OF US WERE GOD’S ONESIMUS -
• We were slaves to sin
• Chained to evil
• Continually running away from God
• But Jesus went to the Cross
• Paid the price for our sins
• So that God’s justice was satisfied once and for all
--Although Jesus was without sin – He took our sins to the Cross – Charge it to my Account
--Although Pontius Pilate found no fault in Jesus – he found fault in us but Jesus said – Charge it to my Account
--He suffered, bleed and died – can’t you hear him say – Charge it to my Account
--On a Friday at a place called Golgatha –He died – Charge it to my Account
He took our ANGER - Charge it to my Account
He took our ARROGANCE – Charge it to my Account
He took our GOSSIP – Charge it to my Account
He took our DRUNKENESS – Charge it to my Account
He took our FORNICATION – Charge it to my Account
He took our LYING – Charge it to my Account
He took our DISOBEDIENCE – Charge it to my Account
He took our PRIDE – Charge it to my Account
Whatever SINS so easily beset us – Jesus paid it All
The songwriter caught a glimpse of this when he wrote:
I HEAR THE SAVIOR SAY – THY STRENGTH INDEED IS SMALL
CHILD OF WEAKNESS, WATCH AND PRAY – FIND IN ME THINE ALL IN ALL
JESUS PAID IT ALL
ALL TO HIM I OWE
SIN HAS LEFT A CRIMSON STAIN
HE WASHED IT WHITE AS SNOW
