Title: New Life (Phm 01:8-21)
Content We have a desire to change every moment.
That desire is exposed more strongly with each change of year. It means that you have a strong desire to change your life and faith for a better life.
We expect to change from our present self to a better life, but our problem is that we don't know how to do it. What we must do to have a new life is what we think about today.
Among the many characters we see in the Bible, those who are often remembered are those who lived great lives by faith in the Bible. But today we are looking forward to a new life, and it is Onesimus, a man who pays little attention. The short book of Philemon is the epistle Paul wrote to Philemon for this very Onesimus.
We will now try to find the principle of change in our life through the life change of Onesimus.
Onesimus was Philemon's slave. Onesimus wanted a change in his life. Onesimus longed for a free life from a life of slavery, and now he makes a decision. Onesimus steals his master's property and runs away to Rome.
The Bible does not record how Onesimus lived in Rome. It is only recorded from the situation in which he met Paul. The social morality of that time was that the relationship between master and slave was an absolute relationship. Roman slavery law did not treat slaves as human beings. It was a great sin for Onesimus to steal his master's property and run away. As slaves of that time had unique marks, it is speculated that Onesimus always lived a precarious life as a fugitive.
Onesimus had expected and decided to change himself, but in the end, only the status of a sinner was added to him. His life, which he thought would be different if he left Philemon and changed his circumstances, turned into a worse life. At this time, the Bible says that he heard the gospel through Paul. From here, Onesimus' life experiences a change in a way he did not expect. We now need to compare the life of Onesimus with ours through the text.
I. The Beginning of Onesimus' Change
Where did Onesimus' real change come from?
Perhaps it can be said that the change began when he himself longed for a new life. I would never have been able to make a decision in any form without a strong desire for change. Onesimus was eager to make a change in his life. It was the intense desire that made him start a new life whichever way he lived it. The problem was that the way to solve that desire was based on his own thoughts and judgment, and as a result, he was burdened with the greater burden of life as a sinner. His attempts at change were unsuccessful. Rather, he led a more anxious and tense life.
The life of change Onesimus tried ends in a complete failure. Then he met Paul and was introduced to Christ by him. And now, as a Christian, he experiences a change without realizing it. Changes in Onesimus' life were going on without his knowledge. The important thing is that his true transformation began at the moment he accepted Christ.
Ⅱ. The changed life of Onesimus (Pm 1:8-21)
This is the content of today's text that allows you to discover the changed life of Onesimus.
The apostle Paul now appears as an intercessor to solve Onesimus' life problems. Here we will find the intercession of Jesus Christ.
Paul writes to Philemon to settle Onesimus' problems. Onesimus' problem solving had to start from the wrong start. Onesimus' aspirations were understood, but in the wrong way.
The result of Onesimus' determination with all his powers with a desire for personal change was that he had a more miserable human experience as a failed human.
However, the moment he believed in Jesus Christ and lived a life of obedience to his words, he easily experienced a change in his life he had never thought of. Perhaps Onesimus did not believe that if he believed in Jesus, there would be such a bonus in his life. will be He must have admitted his failure and despaired of his sinful life. And after hearing the gospel of forgiveness and love, he decided to believe.
Onesimus' problem is now Paul's problem. Paul appeals to Philemon's faith.
As a result, we see a dramatic drama through Onesimus' life.
And through his life, we can hear the message God wants to deliver to us.
Now 1995 has begun.
We must be different now.
I believe the Lord's intervention in Onesimus' life is the same for us. The problem will be whether we should give up on ourselves and obey the Word as Onesimus experienced.
We must have a strong desire to anticipate change. You must have a desire to change from your reality. But if that desire is tied to one's own selfish desires, then, like Onesimus's experience, we will experience a greater misfortune of carrying sin. A change that benefits no one is destruction, not change. If we don't break free from that ego, we'll never experience the changes we expect. If we are expecting change, first of all, we must come before Christ. Confessing your self-righteousness and desire, you will have to admit that the Lord is the master of your life and confess your sins. And with His forgiveness and obedience, we will experience that our lives are being changed by the Lord's guidance, not our own.
Dear brothers and sisters!
I want to teach you how to live your life, so that your life will be rich in the promises of the Lord on this earth. Wouldn't you rather believe and obey God's Word than your experience, knowledge, and environment?
So, I urge you to experience a life that is enjoyed not in your own way, but in the Lord's way in 1995. I pray.