Faith and Love: The Foundation for Paul's Appeal (Philemon 1-7)

[Sung Psalm: 66]

In Paul's letter to Philemon, the apostle calls a master to free his slave.

Some have wondered why Paul did not appeal to OT law. After all, Deuteronomy 23:15 says that "you shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you." And yet Onesimus has escaped from Philemon and has sought refuge with Paul.

In our Politics and the Kingdom of God study, we have had some opportunity to reflect on how the OT law applies today – and now in the book of Philemon, we can see how Paul applies the law.

He doesn't simply say, "Hey look, Moses says I shouldn't return him!" After all, the Mosaic law was given to Israel – and under Roman law, Paul was obligated to send Onesimus back. So what we see here is how Paul applies the equity of the Law – the principle – to a Roman situation.

Paul submits to the governing authorities – he sends the slave back to his master – but along with the slave, he sends a letter that is designed to convince Philemon to set Onesimus free.

If Paul had attacked the institution of slavery – insisting that slavery was morally wrong – and threatening to excommunicate Philemon if he refused to emancipate all his slaves, Paul would have turned the church into a revolutionary institution.

But while Paul thinks that freedom is better than slavery – Paul does not think that the gospel should be subordinated to political ends. There are lots of problems in every society.

Rather, Paul wants us to see that our new identity in Christ also brings a new community in Christ. We are a family. Our old ways of thinking about "family" will be challenged by this.