Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Philemon

2 minutes to read

The gospel of Christ is the gospel of forgiveness of sins and reconciliation. We all sinned and were God's enemies and under his wrath, but our beloved Lord Jesus Christ came to forgive our sins and reconcile us to God. He made us friends and children of God through his life, death and resurrection. But Christ doesn't just reconcile us to God, he also transforms the relationship we humans have with one another. In His body, Jew-Gentile, free-slave, male-female all become one. We see the Apostle Paul clearly teaching this in Galatians 3:28 and Ephesians 2:12-14.

We, believers, have now become preachers of the gospel of reconciliation and play a leading role in bringing about reconciliation between humans as well. We are the blessed peacemakers whom Jesus talked about in the Sermon on the Mount. And this is what the apostle Paul does in his ministry. We see a living and heart-touching example of this in Paul's letter to Philemon, in which he seeks to reconcile Philemon and Onesimus.

Onesimus was Philemon's worthless slave, who had stolen money and run away from him. In God's wonderful providence, he met Paul in his imprisonment, heard the gospel from him, and was saved. Paul sends this Onesimus to his master, Philemon and begs him to forgive Onesimus for his sin. Paul makes a very powerful argument and says that it was God's sovereign will that Onesimus be separated from him for a short time in order to be saved and be with him forever (for eternity). Paul encourages Philemon to receive Onesimus with great love and respect, not just as a slave, but as a brother in Christ.

Our sins against God are infinitely greater and deserve an infinitely greater punishment than our brother's sins against us, but through Christ, our sins are forgiven and we are reconciled to God. Must we also not forgive and be reconciled to our repentant brothers and sisters (Luke 17:3-4; Matthew 6:24-25; Romans 12:18)? May God help our churches grow in this grace.