There are a lot of great songs about how we are no longer slaves bound with the chains of sin. “Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)”, “He’s a Chain Breaker”, and “Break Every Chain” come to mind. These songs remind us that through faith in Jesus Christ it is now possible for us to obey God and overcome sin in our lives. We have a whole new identity as children of God, and He no longer sees us as slaves but as beloved family members.
What the book of Philemon teaches us, however, is that it is hard to see ourselves and others that way. We are constantly tempted to look at other people and see the person they used to be, and we often do the same thing to ourselves. In just one chapter Paul writes to the house church hosted by Philemon and reveals a powerful story of transformation and potential reconciliation. The story goes something like this…
Philemon owned a non-believing slave named Onesimus, who was a pretty worthless servant, no doubt unmotivated by his lack of freedom and faith. Philemon was a new Christian in the church of the Colossians, and he was also a slave owner. One day Onesimus ran away. We don’t know the next part of the story, but somehow he ended up serving Paul, who was under house arrest in Rome. He became a believer and was powerfully transformed by the Holy Spirit into a passionate servant of Christ. Finally, Paul discerned it was time to send Onesimus back to Philemon with a note we now call the Book of Philemon.
What did the letter say? Paul explained that though he could order Philemon to receive Onesimus back, he was asking the slave owner and Christian to wrestle with the question himself and arrive at his own conclusion. By law Onesimus should have been executed as a runaway slave, or at best be accepted back to days filled with endless labor and sleepless nights in chains. However, Paul asks Philemon to consider elevating Onesimus to the full rights of a brother in the church. What a challenging request!
We don’t know how the story ends, but it illustrates the principle this article started with. It is hard for us to accept former spiritual slaves as full brothers and sisters. Maybe you know a believer who used to be cruel to you or others, or maybe he/she was well-known for various sins. Have you allowed yourself to accept that person fully, as God has, or are you waiting for them to slip up and prove all the doubters correct? What about yourself? As you continue to struggle against various sins in your own life, maybe even some that trace their beginnings to the time before you knew Jesus, have you begun to doubt if you will ever be free?
What would church be like if we saw each other and ourselves as God sees us? What if we allowed ourselves to full accept our new identify as His children? We’ve tried to fight against sin with the weapons of shame and fear and judgment for way too long. All that does is add another layer of chains on top of the old ones. Only the truth can set us free, and the truth is the moment we place our faith in Christ, we are no longer slaves! Begin today to allow yourself to see the good in others and in yourself!
Cory Grimm
P.S. While I was finishing up this article, a woman came in and told me how she helped someone get a vehicle this past weekend, and two days later they were picked up (again) for drunk driving. She said sadly, “I should have known better,” but I encouraged her, “At least you believed it was possible for the person to change!”