Slavery in the Bible: Philemon

INTRODUCTION

Tucked within the pages of the New Testament is a rarely visited letter written by the Apostle Paul to Philemon. It’s about Paul encountering and converting a runaway slave named Onesimus. This slave belonged to Philemon whom Paul knew and likely also converted to Christianity. 

Paul’s method of addressing Onesimus’ plight is uncomfortable for us today given our obsession with the more militant tactics of today. However, Paul’s enduring lesson shows us the importance of focusing on the transformation of heart that comes with  commitment to Christ.

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PAUL’S LETTER TO PHILEMON

The Apostle Paul’s letter to Philemon is his shortest letter in the New Testament. He wrote it while in prison in Rome around the same time that he wrote Philippians, Ephesians, and Colossians. It’s the only personal letter in the New Testament. 

Philemon is obviously financially well off since we know that he has a large enough home to host one of the church meetings. He is also a slave owner. Some have leveled the accusation that the New Testament condones slavery and they frequently attempt to use this letter to make their case. But this is a fundamental misunderstanding of Paul’s interaction with Philemon through this letter. He’s doing something larger and more effective than most people realize.

PAUL’S AUTHORITY / PHILEMON’S CHOICE

Basically, we have here the story of a slave, Onesimus, who runs away from his master and then meets Paul in Rome. We don’t know for sure if he sought Paul out or if it was God’s providence. We do know that Paul brings him to Christ and he comes to be of great value to Paul in the service of the Lord. But Paul sends Onesimus back to his master Philemon.

NOT EMPTY HANDED

Onesimus doesn’t return to Philemon empty handed. He carries this letter with him. In this letter Paul does everything he can to impress upon Philemon that he should free Onesimus and accept him as an equal, as a brother in Christ. At that time the apostles had authority in the church based on their instruction and commissioning by Jesus directly. 

This includes Paul because he encountered and was sent by the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. Yet Paul chooses not to use his apostolic authority directly. He makes several appeals to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus. He did this for the purpose of getting Philemon to CHOOSE to do the right thing and free Onesimus. PAUL WAS NOT JUST LOOKING TO COMMAND THE CHANGE OF PHILEMON’S BEHAVIOR; HE WAS SEEKING THE CHANGE OF PHILEMON’S HEART.

HOW DID PAUL GO ABOUT THIS?

Let’s look at how Paul tried to influence Philemon.

Philemon 1:11 
“Once he was useless to you, but now he is useful to both you and to me.

This is actually a play on words because the name Onesimus means “useful” in the Greek. But Paul is also making the point here that the work of spreading the gospel is far more valuable than anything else we do.

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This makes Onesimus far more valuable as a fellow worker in Christ than as a slave working in Philemon’s household. In other words, we as the church must make sure our priorities are straight. The fruits of the earthly work that we do here will not last. But what we do for Christ is eternal. We as churches today must continually ask these questions of ourselves: 

Are we going to use our limited resources to run around inside this building trying to perfect a finite organization, or are we going to take the gospel beyond these walls and bring God’s eternal message of hope to those who are in desperate need of it?

Are we going to pursue militant earthly social justice at all costs or are we going to seek to change the heart of our culture by the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit.

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP

Philemon 1:12 
“…I am sending my very own heart.”

Paul leverages the personal relationship that he has developed with Onesimus. He tells him that he is basically a son to Paul now. This is more powerful than it first appears. I imagine Paul’s Apostolic position likely made this like working with the boss’s kid? That can be a little intimidating sometimes. Especially when they tell you to take care of them or to show them the ropes. I imagine this has to be how Philemon felt when he read this.

If that weren’t enough, Paul says in Phlm. 1:13: “I wanted to keep him with me, so that in my imprisonment for the gospel he might serve me in your place.” Paul is using every persuasive argument in his arsenal to influence Philemon. We don’t know that Philemon did anything wrong, like abandoning Paul or refusing to come work with him. But it seems clear that Paul was at least implying that there was a gospel need that Onesimus filled at his side that Philemon was either unable to fill, wouldn’t fill, or no longer could fill himself.

FINAL PUSH TO PERSUADE

Paul has given Philemon a lot to think about up to this point, but he wasn’t done with him yet. He took it up a notch.

Philemon
“For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a time…”

He in essence claimed that it was possible that the temporary loss of Onesimus may have been God’s plan to accomplish a greater work. Onesimus was saved, Paul was assisted, and Philemon was getting back a fellow worker and brother in Christ.

Philemon 1:17 
“So if you consider me a partner…”

Paul leverages his friendship with Philemon against him by claiming that he should comply with his request if he considers Paul his friend. Now I don’t necessarily suggest that we use this method when dealing with our friends and family on a daily basis. But we must remember that He was doing something special and powerful at this time, and that Onesimus’ future hung in the balance. So, in this situation Paul left nothing unsaid.

PAUL OFFERS TO PAY ONESIMUS’ DEBT

Paul even goes as far as to offer to pay for anything that Onesimus owes Philemon. 

Philemon 1:18 
“If he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account.”

Now, we don’t know if he is referring to lost work that Onesimus would have been responsible for, or if he took things of value from Philemon before or during his escape. But Paul is imitating Christ here in that he is willing to take on his debt that Onesimus might be free. Even with this generous offer, he is not done working on Philemon’s heart. 

He throws out that Philemon owes Paul himself. Likely this means that Paul is the one who converted him. Paul is attempting to elevate his authority with him even further by asserting that Philemon may not have been exposed to the soul saving message of the gospel without Paul. This elevates his right to ask this of him. That is for Philemon to accept Onesimus, not as a slave, but as an equal and brother in Christ.

PAUL RAMPS UP THE PRESSURE EVEN MORE

Philemon 1:21-22
“Since I am confident of your obedience...” & “meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me…”

Paul ramps up the pressure by telling Philemon that he “assumes he will do the right thing” and, oh by the way, I am coming there to check on the situation myself. So, Paul really puts the screws to Philemon, so to speak, to get him to do what’s right.

SLAVERY

Many of us struggle with why he would take this risk with Onesimus because we believe slavery is morally wrong. So why send him back at all? Is he accepting or even supporting of slavery? Let’s address this with two points. 

1) When we think of slavery we typically think of the brutality of American slavery where people are kidnapped and sold into forced labor against their will. They face mistreatment and violence. Some of this did occur in the ancient world, particularly when one people conquered another. However, this is not the type of slavery we typically see in the Biblical accounts. 

Original Greek Word: Doulos

The word used for slave in the Greek is “doulos” which can also mean servant. This slavery is a form of indentured servitude. These cultures didn’t have a welfare system like we have grown accustomed to. When someone couldn’t pay their debts there was no bankruptcy court to discharge them. So, they entered into indentured servitude or slavery until their debt was paid or for a predetermined time frame. This protected the welfare of both the debtor and the person owed the debt. 

While this still was not a desirable situation, it was actually a form of social safety net for many of these cultures. For example: when we see that the Old Testament Law made rules about the Israelites keeping slaves, we see that, unlike any other culture that existed, they were limited to 7 years and then they could be set free unless they chose to stay with their master. Oftentimes they did stay because, as we see in Abraham’s household, they were treated like a part of the family. This was a radical change in favor of the one who owed the debt when compared to the cultures around them.

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ONESIMUS’ CONSENT

2) Something that seems to be universally overlooked is that Onesimus returned to Philemon of his own accord. Paul didn’t bind him and send him back. He returned willingly.  So, Paul didn’t act unilaterally against Onesimus, but in cooperation with him. It’s obvious that Onesimus also believed that this was the right thing to do at that time and in that situation.

CHANGE OF HEART

Also, the larger thing that Paul is doing is attempting to change Philemon’s heart. He could have saved a lot of time and effort by just commanding him to free Onesimus or by not sending him back at all. But what would that have accomplished? Onesimus might be free but he would be a fugitive for the rest of his life and what about Philemon’s other slaves? If he remained unchanged, this would be an isolated event. 

But if Paul could change his heart, this may change his attitude towards all his slaves. Think about it, if Onesimus was unsaved with Philemon but was reached by Paul, it is safe to say that likely Philemon was not giving his slaves the gospel. Therefore, he may not have had a healthy view of them. Perhaps this deal with Onesimus would not only change Philemon’s heart toward him, but perhaps would cascade to the saving, elevating, and even the freeing of his other slaves.

WE MISS THE POWER OF THIS

I think we often miss the power of this today. We seek to force change in people’s behavior without seeking change in their heart. Paul didn’t advocate slavery by sending Onesimus back, he hoped to undermine the foundation of the entire institution the same way that Jesus and His disciples changed the world…by exposing them to the transformative power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

We never change people’s hearts by punching them in the face. This is why I am not a fan of making social justice the central mission of the church. Our central mission is not the earthly. It is, has been, and always will be the eternal. Our mission is to go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that Jesus has commanded us (Matt. 28:19).

I’m not saying that equality and worldly justice aren’t important. I’m also not saying that the church shouldn’t be involved in the social political world, because it should. But if we take Paul’s example here, and the example of Jesus in the gospels, we can change society from the bottom up. We get from Paul’s letters that he would rather be a prisoner and have the saving power of Jesus in his heart than to be a free man who is lost. Jesus also says in Mark 8:36, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”

CHANGE SOCIETY

Our goal is in fact to change society, not for society to change us. We need to stop allowing culture to be light into the church and start letting the light of Christ shine through the church into the culture. And we do this by standing by the scriptures which encompass the teachings of Christ and His Apostle that He personally trained and commissioned to bring His truth to the world. It is a false notion to believe that the Bible is not relevant for today. Jesus says Himself in Matthew 5:18 that not one letter will pass from His law.

THE MOST TRANSFORMATIVE POWER

The most transformative power in this world is the Holy Spirit. Rom. 12:2 tells us “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” It is the Holy Spirit that will renew our minds. If we allow Him to transform our hearts, we can then be an example and a messenger to those who desperately need Him.

Looking at Paul’s example we realize that there is a time for us to band together and stand for what is right in this world. But it will not succeed long term unless we share the gospel with them and bring them into the fold of Christ so that they too may be transformed by His Holy Spirit and the values that He teaches in the holy scripture.

OUR OWN OPINION OF RIGHT AND WRONG

Sure, we all may have our own opinion of right and wrong but, as Christians, we must be committed to seeking God’s idea of right and wrong. We find His idea in His holy word. If you truly love your neighbor and care about justice, you will do everything in your power to help as many people as possible fall on the right side of God’s justice, before it’s too late. This is how we as the church of Jesus Christ make the biggest impact in the world we live in. So, I call on you to go out and change the world around you with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Blessings