Sermon Title: Where Would You Be Without Jesus?
Sermon Text: Philemon
Sermon Date:
Have you ever thought about where
you would be without Jesus?
Seriously. What would your life
be like if you had never given your heart to Jesus?
Think back. If you are like me, you were in church on
your first Sunday of life so hearing about Jesus was second nature, if not
first. But perhaps your family weren’t
church-goers. Perhaps your first Sunday
was a few years ago, or when you got married, or went for someone else’s
wedding. Perhaps you spent years going
to church but not really understanding what it means to give your heart to
Jesus.
Patrick gave his heart to Jesus a
long time ago. Today’s baptism is
another step in his journey. Patrick is
a committed Christian who does regular bible study with a friend and has been
involved in high school and campus ministries.
Even though he has been at DePauw for three years and we don’t see him
much, we still count him as one of us….and Patrick, you might as well know it
now…you always will be. Being part of
And here we are back to the
question: Where would you be without
Jesus? I know what my life was like without
church for I spent my early married years not too committed to regular church
attendance. And instead of truly
enjoying doing my own stuff on Sunday, I spent most of it feeling guilty about
not being in church. And let me tell
you, guilt is a lousy way to spend the Sabbath.
And lest you say that Jesus and church are two different things, I’d
say, “sort of.”
Sure I could be a believer without
attending church but if this is the church of Jesus Christ, what did it say
that I’d rather stay home than worship him.
What did it say that I couldn’t find my way to give him a couple hours a
week in gratitude for my life and all the other good things I have?
Onesimus was forced to think about
this question. As was Philemon and
Paul.
Philemon
was married to Apphia. Father of
Arehippus. They opened their home to the
Christians whoo met for worship and teaching, a hundred miles or so from
Ephesus on the coast of modern Turkey in Colosse. At that time there were only a few hundred of
them in the region. Philemon was
converted to Christianity by Paul’s teaching and he also owned slaves. Onesimus was one of them.
Onesimus
is known to us as a slave and if we read between the lines, he comes across as
belligerent and unhappy; the opposite of his name that meant “Useful.” From Paul’s letter it sounds like that when
he ran away he took money or valuables with him. When you realize that the penalty for running
away was death, why not take a few goodies with you to pay for the trip? He ran off to the big city of Ephesus (or
perhaps Rome) where Paul is now in prison.
You
know Paul. The one who spent part of his
life hunting down Jesus’ followers to convict them. His name is linked with most of the epistles
in the New Testament and to be honest some people’s belief structure is more wrapped
around what Paul says than what Jesus says.
At
the time that this letter was written, Paul was in prison awaiting trial for
preaching a sermon that did some serious meddling – it cut into the social,
religious and economic fabric of the area.
Onesimus had heard at least one of his messages about the Messiah, Jesus
the Christ. And while we don’t know the
timeline, we can piece together that Onesimus knew Paul from when he taught at
Philemon’s home and now either their paths accidentally crossed or he already
knows Paul is there and goes looking for him.
Paul is in jail, not moving about the city, so Onesimus has had time to
learn more from Paul, to be of comfort to Paul and to grow as a disciple of
Jesus. And to be sent home to face the
music.
Paul
says the Philemon is indebted to him because he, Paul, led him and his family
to transformation in knowing Christ. We
don’t know what kind of master he was to Onesimus, but I think we can draw the
conclusion that he wasn’t a terrible slaveholder because Paul believes that
what he has asked of Philemon is possible.
But then there is that nasty piece of business that Onesimus ran away
from him in the first place. Why? Was it just because he didn’t want to stay
and pay off his debt or because he didn’t like the way he was being
treated? I don’t know but I know I
wouldn’t want to live the life of a slave either.
One
of the most difficult things Paul asked of Philemon was not just to accept
Onesimus back as a slave or servant, but much worse than that….he has asked him
to accept him as a brother. Don’t make
Onesimus pay for his sins (I suppose meaning the death penalty for running
away) but instead charge it to Paul’s account.
Just like Jesus did for Paul.
Paul didn’t have to pay for his sins of hunting down Christians, but
instead the very ones he hunted protected him and got him away from others who
wanted to make him pay.
Isn’t
this a wonderful story? Onesimus finds
redemption. Philemon gets to give back
and Paul gets to offer someone else a new life in Christ, just as Christ
offered new life to Paul and Philemon.
Where
would they have been with Jesus?
Onesimus would have been put to death.
Philemon might have grown old being bitter for his ungrateful slave. Paul might have risen up the ranks in the
fight against Jesus’ followers.
But
they gained so much more from meeting Jesus.
Did you? Was your experience in
meeting the risen Christ a transformative one?
Or was being baptized for you something you just did when you were 12?
I
didn’t appreciate what it meant to meet Jesus when I was 11. I gave my heart to Jesus in church camp and
felt good about it. Baptism was
wonderful, but did I have a clue what it would mean in my life? No way.
I had no idea that Jesus would come to mean so much to me and that I
would get the opportunity to share my love of him with others like this.
I
know that most of you have given your hearts to Jesus but I’m not sure what it
meant to you at the time. But the real
question is what does it mean to you today?
Does
it mean that you’d like to learn more about what he wants for your life and to
fall in love with him today as you have never fallen in love before?
Many
of us can talk about what our lives would be without the church. Some of us could say that it was the folks at
church that brought you to Jesus. But
I’m not so sure we can say as easily where we would be without Jesus. I hope you’ll think about it and fall in love
again.
Your
church may have been the agent of change but Jesus brought us together in the
first place. Let Jesus change you again
for the very first time.