You accept the salvation offered by Jesus freely and step from death into life. And then what? What do you do about your past? How is life different now? Because he had accepted Jesus as his Savior, Onesimus was forced to face these questions and decided that the best choice was to return to a life that he had escaped from. However, he had a friend named Paul who could make his way smoother and help him to unravel the tangled life that he was living. The Letter to Philemon is Paul’s attempt to make peace between two brothers-in-Christ who were at odds with each other.
Author and Setting
Paul wrote this personal letter while he was a prisoner in Rome. The recipient was a rich Christian named Philemon of the city of Colossae. Philemon was one of Paul’s converts to Christianity while Paul was residing in the nearby city of Ephesus. The two men were drawn together by ties of love and brotherhood because of this past relationship. In his letter, Paul refers to himself as being an old man. Paul’s exact age at this time is unknown but Acts 7:58 says that Paul was a young man at the stoning of Stephen, and about 28 years had passed since that event. Based on these calculations, Paul would have been in his late fifties or early sixties. Paul may have been emphasizing his age and circumstances as a prisoner in order to elicit the sympathies of Philemon. Paul had a big favor to ask, and he wanted Philemon to cooperate. The third character in this letter is Onesimus. Here is where the situation gets messy. Onesimus was an escaped slave; more specifically, he was Philemon’s escaped slave who had stolen money from him. Through Paul, Onesimus had converted to Christianity also. Thus, Paul was trying to find a way to reconcile his two sons-in-Christ.
Background
Slavery was commonplace in the Roman Empire. The penalty for an escaped slave who was caught could be death. We are not informed as to how Onesimus became a slave or whether his master had been a Christian at the time, but either way, these two Christians had become embroiled in a situation that had both legal and moral implications that could bring disgrace to the church, as well as loss of life, if not handled correctly.
Onesimus had stolen money from Philemon and fled to Rome, maybe hoping to be lost in the mass of people of all stations living there. How had Onesimus encountered Paul in that massive city? Did Onesimus need help and seek out Paul? Onesimus may have heard of Paul previously when Onesimus was serving in Philemon’s household and known that Paul would gladly share food and shelter with someone like him. Or was their meeting providentially arranged by God, a coincidence that was not truly accidental? However it happened, that meeting changed Onesimus. He met Jesus and became a new person.
Onesimus was then faced with the dilemma that confronts all Christians. How do we reconcile our past lives and mistakes with our new life in Christ? Can we start with a clean slate, or must we return to our old messy situation and try to live as a Christian within less-than-ideal circumstances? While the answer differs with each person, in Onesimus’ case, there were legal ramifications, as well as moral ones. Unless Philemon granted him freedom, Onesimus would always be living in the shadows as an escaped slave. The only way forward was to return to his former master in submission and trust God to bring about the best possible future. It was in this situation that Paul wrote his letter requesting that Philemon forgive Onesimus and possibly grant him freedom. There was a custom in the Roman Empire for a person of higher social status to intercede with a person of lower status on behalf of a debtor. Thus, Paul’s letter of request for forgiveness on behalf of Onesimus would not have seemed outrageous to Philemon. On the other hand, Paul’s letter did not fit the mold of a simple formulaic request. It breathes with love for both Philemon and Onesimus. It radiates Paul’s desire for the best for both men.
Organization
Paul identifies himself in the salutation in verses 1-3. Then in verses 4-7 he commends Philemon’s walk with Jesus. Paul makes clear that his letter does not condemn Philemon in any way. Verses 8-20 contain the appeal for Onesimus, including the benefits of forgiving and receiving the returning slave. In verses 19-20, Paul legally takes on any debts that Onesimus might owe to Philemon. Verses 21-25 contain the closing statements, including the hope that Paul might be free to come stay with Philemon in the near future.
Controversy
The letter to Philemon raises some controversial issues for Christians. Philemon, a Christian in good standing, owned slaves. Paul does not directly condemn Philemon for this circumstance. True, it was part of the fabric of society and Paul had stated in another place that, if possible, slaves should strive to obtain freedom (1 Corinthians 7:21). However, Paul was sending Onesimus straight back into the slavery that he had escaped from. How was this moral? Sometimes, the path to freedom involves returning to slavery. As long as Onesimus was labeled a slave, he would be limited to living in the shadows, but if Paul could persuade Philemon to grant freedom to Onesimus, the former slave would be truly free and able to safely choose his course in life with no need to hide and flee from the law. There is a tradition that says that Onesimus eventually became the bishop of Ephesus. If so, his decision to return to slavery and trust God for his freedom paid off. It might also explain how this personal letter to Philemon was preserved while Paul’s other personal letters are lost to us now.
Conclusion
Becoming a Christian does not erase your past. Life in this world is messy, whether you are a Christian or not. There are times when an outside Christian must stand between two feuding brothers-in-Christ with tact and love. Paul’s letter to Philemon is an example of such a situation. What should Christians do about their past lives and mistakes? Should they return and stay, make amends and leave, or ignore the past? The answers are unique to each individual life. The letter to Philemon does not provide a one-size-fits-all answer to these questions. Instead, it is an example of how one situation was resolved in a manner that benefited all the participants. It is the ideal that we should strive for in the disorderly, painful, dark situations we become enmeshed in during our complicated lives on this earth.