Take your Bibles with me again and go to Colossians 4. Colossians 4. We are almost done with this great book. We are at the end, and we are looking at a few of the characters that pop up there.

Today we are going to look at a man named Onesimus. Onesimus.

Are you in Colossians 4? Look at verses 7-9 with me:

[!bible] Colossians 4:7-9 - KJV 7. All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord: 8. Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts; 9. With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.

That's it. That's all this little letter says about Onesimus. It says almost the exact same thing it says about Tychicus. That Onesimus, like Tychicus, is a "faithful and beloved brother."

But then it adds "who is one of you." That's the only information in this whole letter about this guy.

But would it surprise you if I said that this whole letter may have been written as a pretext to get to this one line? Of all the people in the end of this book, Onesimus may have the most interesting story, and I can't wait to tell it to you, because it has so much to teach us about what it means to be a Christian today.

In order for us to understand this story, we are going to have to look at another book, a book written about about Onesisum, and we are going to have to put our time travel hats on and go back to Bible times.

Remember that Colossae was a little city in the middle of what today is Turkey. It wasn't an important place. In fact, Paul never went there. He was in the big city up the road "Ephesus" for two years. But he never went (as far as we know) to the little city of Colossae. But nevertheless, the gospel made it to Colossae and a church was established there.

Now, this was in modern Turkey, it was called "Asia Minor" then. But this was very much the Roman world. In fact, not long after this, Rome split and had two capitols, and one of them Constantinople (which is now Istanbul) was located in Asia Minor. It was very much a Roman world.

And because it was a Roman world, they had slaves. 2/3 of the people were enslaved. They weren't usually slaves for life. There was usually a set time period. They weren't treated like chattel slaves in the American south. But they weren't employees either.

They had almost no rights and they were regularly executed if they ran away before the terms of their enslavement were up.

But that was the world. That is how it was. There were slaves in the church and there were slave owners in the church. Both groups were regularly addressed in the New Testament. And the writers of the New Testament weren't trying to change that overtly. They may wanted to change that, and certainly some of the teaching of the New Testament ultimately ended slavery, but it was like enviromentalists today who might want to get rid of all the fossil fuels but they still have to travel by planes, trains and automobiles run by them. Slavery was an unavoidable reality in the world Paul lived in.

In the church of Colossae there was a slave owner named Philemon. We have to talk about Philemon to understand the point of Onesimus.

Turn in your Bibles to the book of Philemon. It's called a book. It's really just a short letter. It's right after the book of Titus. 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon.

This letter almost certainly was delivered at the same time as the book of Colossians and they go together. They explain each other. So we are going to look at this little letter today.

Let's read the first seven verses:

[!bible] Philemon 1:1-7 - KJV

1. Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,
2. And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:
3. Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4. I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,
5. Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;
6. That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
7. For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.

So Paul is writing this letter to Philemon and there are a few things that stand out here in the first several verses:

First, Paul and Philemon knew each other. In fact, it's most likely that Philemon got saved under Paul's ministry in Ephesus. They are friends. Paul knows his Appia and Archippus, who were probably Philemon's wife and son. They have a close relationship.

So close that Philemon is one of the people Paul prays regularly for. So close that Paul calls Philemon "his brother."

In fact, if you look at verse 6 where Paul talks about "the communication of thy faith" that is an interesting phrase. "Communication" there is the word "koinonia", it's a word that is usually translated "fellowship" or "partnership." So the idea here is that Philemon's faith is a partnership, they are in this thing together.

Philemon is a model Christian. He loves God. He loves the people in the church. He is an encourager and refresher to the church. He was obviously a great supporter and friend of the apostle Paul.

Look at verses 8-9.

[!bible] Philemon 1:8-9 - KJV 8. Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient, 9. Yet for love’s sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.

Paul is really pouring it on here. He is reminding Onesimus that he is old. He is reminding him that he is in prison. But Paul hasn't gotten to the point yet, but we see it in verse 10:

[!bible] Philemon 1:10 - KJV 10. I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:

Onesimus. That's the point of the letter.

Onesimus. So let's fill in the story.

Onesimus belonged to Philemon. He was a slave for Philemon. Apparently, Onesimus stole some money from Philemon and ran away.

Now, our temptation might be to be like "Yeah man, go Onesimus, stick it to the man!"

But that is not how this would have been thought of then. Running away from your master could have been a capitol offense. Very often runaway slaves were killed for running away.

If they weren't killed, the common thing to do was to take a hot iron and brand them with the letter F on their forehead or, if they stole money, to brand them with the letter CF which meant "beware of thief!"

This is an image of a collar that was found on the body of a buried slave. The inscription on the collar says "I have run away, hold me and return me to Zoninus and you will receive a gold coin."

During the time Philemon and Onesimus were alive, there was this wealthy roman named Secundus who had 400 slaves. One of his slaves murdered him.

At his trial, the judge ordered the execution not just of the slave who murdered Secundus, but of all 400 of his slaves.

So, Onesimus had a master who was a good man, a godly man, a loving man. I don't think Paul was lying here. But for whatever reason Onesimus wanted out and he stole money from Philemon and ran away.

He probably went first to the big city of Ephesus and then, to put more distance between him and home, he went to the even bigger city of Rome where he could blend in with millions of people there and hide out.

But God had other plans. You see, somehow, while Onesimus was in Rome, he ran into the apostle Paul, who was there under house arrest. And as Paul was preaching the gospel, Onesimus trusted Christ and became one of Paul's biggest helpers.

Look at verse 11.

[!bible] Philemon 1:11 - KJV 11. Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:

Paul is saying "I want to talk to you about Onesimus." Now, Onesimus means "useful." I'm sure when he stole money and ran away, Philemon and his friends probably had a good joke about "Useless Useful who ran away." It's possible that Philemon maybe even wrote a letter to Paul and told him about this.

But here Paul says "He was useless to you before, but now he is useful to both you and me."

Keep reading.

[!bible] Philemon 1:12 - KJV 12. Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:

Paul said "I'm sending him back." Onesimus had to go back. That was what was right. If Paul kept him, and the government found out, they both could have been executed. But it was wrong what Onesimus did. So Paul is sending him back.

But he says "Philemon, I want you to receive him as my own bowels, I want you to take him back as a part of me. Take him back as someone who is close to me."

What is Paul asking here? He is asking Philemon not to kill him, not to permenantly burn the letters CF into his forehead, not to punish him, but to forgive him and to receive him back.

Skip down to verse 17. Look at this:

[!bible] Philemon 1:17 - KJV 17. If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself.

Paul is really laying it on here. He is putting his whole relationship with Philemon on the line.

Keep reading...

[!bible] Philemon 1:18-19 - KJV 18. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account; 19. I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.

Paul didn't write his own letters. He had very poor eyesight and he dictated them to someone with better handwriting. But when he got to this part of the letter he took the pen in his own hand and he wrote "If he took anything from you, I will repay it, put it on my account."

I believe Paul had every intention of keeping his word here. I also think that what most likely happened is Philemon forgave the whole thing.

Now, back in Colossians 4. Can you imagine the shock when Onesimus shows up. I mean "We have a special speaker in church today, he's bringing a letter from Paul." And everyone is excited.

"Wait a minute, isn't that Onesimus? Isn't that the slave who ran away from Philemon? What is going on here?"

And Paul says:

I'm sending you Tychichus to be a comfort to you

[!bible] Colossians 4:9 - KJV 9. With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.

Not Onesimus the runaway. Not Onesimus the theif. Onesimus the "faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you."

Now, what can we make of this story? How does it apply to us? Let me give you three thoughts very quickly.

First, Onesimus reminds us that Jesus put our sin on His account.

Paul said to Philemon - put Onesimus' sin on my account. Put everything he owes you on my account. I will repay it. I will take care of it.

And when Paul did that, he was acting like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Because the Bible teaches that every one of us owed a debt we couldn't pay. We sinned before God, and that sin seperates us from God and brings God's judgment.

Even if we could draw a proverbial line in the sand right now and never sin again, we still have to pay for the sins we've already committed.

• Every lie.
• Every time we were disobedient to our parents.
• Every decision we made without God.
• Every ounce of our jealousy.
• Every ounce of our hatred and prejudice.

All of it is a debt that we cannot possibly pay.

You all heard this week how president Trump was convicted of 40 felonies. (That's ridiculous by the way.) But in the courtroom of God, we have been convicted of far more than 40 crimes as we have broken God's law over and over again.

But here is what the Bible teaches us, Jesus took our sin on Himself and He paid our sin debt at calvary.

[!bible] 2 Corinthians 5:21 - KJV 21. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Jesus didn't just say "Put that sin on my account" Jesus took that sin on His body and took our punishment. He traded us His righteousness for our sin.

Listen, if you are a Christian today, it's not because you are perfect - but because Jesus was perfect for you and because He took your sin on Him.

But you have to believe! You have to stop trying to pay your own debt and let Christ pay it for you. You have to stop trying to settle your own account before God and trust in Christ.

Have you trusted Christ as your savior?

Onesimus' story is just a little reminder, a little picture of what Jesus did for us.

But I think there are two other lessons from this story we need to learn.

Second, Onesimus reminds us that God graciously changes us through the gospel.

Onesismus was the useless servant. He was a thief. He was a runaway.

But when Onesimus ran into Jesus, when Onesimus ran into the gospel, God changed Onesimus. God turned him into someone who is useful.

Imagine this man voluntarily taking the journey back to Philemon, back to Colossae, knowing full well that he could be executed, that he could be mistreated, that he could be permenantly disfigured. Knowing full well that people could remember what he had done and resent him.

But he goes anyway. he goes willingly. Why? Because he is not the same man. God has changed him.

In much the same way that Paul isn't the same man - Paul was at one point rounding up Christians to be killed and now he is preaching Christ.

I was thinking the other day about this guy I went to high school with. He was a nasty bully. He used to mock me mercilessly when I was in 7th grade. He would go into my locker every day after lunch, crumble up a bag of chips, and dump them all over my stuff.

He was just awful. Do you know what he's doing today? He's a faithful missionary in Argentina. He's a different man, he's a different person.

Church, when we trust Christ, the gospel changes us.

• That's how John Newton can go from slave-ship captain to preacher of the gospel. When he sang "Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me." He really meant it.

[!bible] 2 Corinthians 5:17 - KJV 17. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

God changes us. I hope you are not the same person you were before you met Christ. I hope God has transformed you from useless to useful.

That is the point.

Onesimus went from useless to useful. From theif to beloved brother in the Lord. From runaway to "one of you."

And that brings me to my last point.

• First, Onesimus reminds us that Jesus put our sins on His account.
• Second, Onesimus reminds us that God changes us.

Third, Onesimus reminds us that the church should be a place where we give people the same forgiveness and grace that God gives to them.

What was Paul expecting when he wrote this letter and sent Onesimus back to this church? How was he expecting Onesimus to be recieved?

He was expecting him to be forgiven. He was expecting this church to show him mercy. He was expecting them to treat his past as under the blood - the same blood that their past was under. He was expecting them to show him grace and welcome him into their church not as a runaway, but as a brother.

That is how the church is supposed to work.

You see, it is one thing for us to say "I believe the gospel, I believe that Jesus saves sinners and redeems them and changes them." It is one thing to say "we are all one body in Christ." But it is quite another thing when we know people, and we know their sins and we know the hurt they have caused.

But that is supposed to be how the church works.

I mean, look back at chapter 3. Look at verse 13-14.

[!bible] Colossians 3:13-14 - KJV 13. Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 14. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

The church is supposed to be a place where supernatural forgiveness happens. It is to be a place where supernatural love is shown.

Paul said in verse 11 that the church is a place where there is no bond or free, but we are all in Christ.

Listen, it's one thing to say that - it's another to live it. But that is what we are called to.

We are called to show each other supernatural grace and forgiveness because we recognize that we have been shown supernatural grace and forgiveness.

Let's imagine for a minute that we could put your darkest moments on the screen here for everyone to see. Is there any of us who has nothing to be ashamed of? Is there any of us who hasn't hurt people? Imagine we could show your heart to everyone - the horror.

But all of that has been taken by Christ and every one of us is worshipping together not as perfect people, not in our own righteousness, but in the righteousness of Christ.

• I love this story of Onesisus - because really, it should be all of our stories - we should be able to say that our crimes and our sins have been taken care of by another - by Jesus Christ.
• We should be able to say, that by the grace of God, we have been changed. We have been restored by Christ.
• We should be come together as redeemed sinners and show each other the grace God has shown us.

Have you trusted Christ today? If so, has God changed you?

If He's changed you, are you showing others the mercy that God has shown you?

That is our call. Let's stand together for invitation and prayer.