‘Philemon Christians’ – A Modern Problem
The patient was a lovely lady who was also church warden of her local village Anglican church. At the end of a consultation I asked her how the church was going.
“It is not easy. We are getting smaller and older.”
“I am sorry. Tell me, do members of the church talk about the Lord Jesus to others in the village?” I asked.
“Good gracious me no! We don’t even talk about him amongst ourselves.”
Philemon was a pillar of the local church in Colossae. He had a large house and had slaves. He was well off. He had become a Christian and hosted a church in his own home.
Paul wrote to this friend after a slave, who had run away, had become a Christian, possibly in Rome. In this personal letter Paul urges Philemon to accept Onesimus back into his household as a fellow believer.
Philemon was known to be a stable Christian who understood the Christian faith well.
“I always thank my God . . . because I hear about you faith in the Lord Jesus . . .” Philemon v. 5
He was also very caring for those in the local church,
“ . . . and your love for all the saints.” Philemon v. 5
He sounds like a great Christian with a good reputation in these two areas, but then comes a not so subtle challenge from the apostle,
“I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith . . .” Philemon v. 6
He was clearly doing well in the first two areas of the Christian life but was not doing so well in sharing his faith. Possibly he had a status in society that he did not want to lose. How hard it is to put living and speaking for Christ before our own reputation.
What does ‘active in sharing your faith’ mean? The word used for ‘sharing’ is ‘koinonia’, having things in common. Early Christians were renowned for practising this sharing to a far greater degree than the society around them. Paul is reminding Philemon that followers of Jesus must share what we have with a kindness that may not be deserved. This will include sharing the message of forgiveness with others. Surely it means a longing to be used by the Lord Jesus to help others see Jesus and hear about the salvation that God longs for them to receive. It must include a willingness to ask questions that will help people think about their relationship with the Lord Jesus. It will include inviting those we meet to events where the gospel will be explained. Primarily it will involve praying daily for opportunities to direct people to the Lord Jesus. We know, just as Christ knows, whether we are active in this area.
A Christian who is unconcerned for those without Christ is himself in serious need of help. Even atheists understand this. Penn Jillette is an avowed and vocal atheist. His is one half of the the famous comic illusionist act, ‘Penn and Teller’. One day a polite but impressive man tried to share the Christian good news with him. This is what Penn had to say about the experience,
“I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytise. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there is a heaven and hell, and people could be going to hell, or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward . . . How much do you have to hate someone not to proselytise? How much do you have to hate someone to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? If I believed, beyond a shadow of doubt, that a truck was coming at you and you didn’t believe it, and that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that!”
Archbishop William Temple commented:
“No-one can possess (or rather, be indwelt by the Spirit of God) and keep that Spirit to himself. Where the Spirit is, he flows forth; if there is no flowing forth, he is not there.”
Jesus himself said,
“ ‘Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.” John 7:38-39
Many doctors today have Philemon’s problem. We have our reputations, incomes and status to worry about after all. If we are honest many of us are rather ashamed of speaking up for Jesus so we rarely get involved in this aspect of being a Christian. We are happy to talk about ethics but not salvation through Christ. To the Philemons of this world Jesus said plainly,
“Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” Luke 9:24-26
The question for all Christians is not should we talk about Jesus but how should we!
BVP
