I Missed the Main Point on Sunday

Has this ever happened to you? Let’s say you’re a bit of a professional or expert in a particular area. You’ve studied extensively, you do this thing as your full time job, and others would look up to you as a trusted resource. And yet someone comes along and asks a question or makes a point that suddenly seems blindingly obvious, but one that had simply never crossed your mind? That’s what happened to me on Sunday.

I preached on the New Testament book of Philemon (if you missed it you, you can watch it here). I spent a lot of time unpacking the cultural and historical context, which I’m told was helpful. I made some applications about how to wisely encourage others, as well as about how the Gospel needs to be applied to all of life. I talked about how we see the Gospel transforming the lives of people like Philemon, Onesimus, and Paul in this letter to live in significantly counter-cultural ways. However, a couple of people pointed out to me afterward (helpfully, not critically) that the story of Philemon isn’t just a story about the Gospel changing the way people live. It shows us a picture of the Gospel itself. As soon as I heard them say it, I realized, that’s the main point! That’s huge! And I completely missed it.

Onesimus, remember, has run away from home. He’s preparing to return, but we can imagine a lot of anxiety. How will he be received by Philemon, the master of the household? He has to take a step of faith, trusting in Philemon’s character. In a similar way, people have, at various points and in various ways, run away from God. Some of those people have a desire to return, but they might be asking the question, how will God receive me? Will I be accepted? Can I truly be forgiven? Some of them may fear that they will be punished severely and at best, relegated to a second-class position in the household. The Gospel says, however, that if we return to the Lord, our greatest fears will not come to pass. No, something better than we expected will take place instead: we will be received, we will be forgiven, and we will be given our true and lasting freedom. That’s because, just as Paul offers to pay the debt that Onesimus has incurred, Jesus Christ has paid the debt we have incurred through his death on the cross. The result is that we are not welcomed back as slaves, but as partners in the Gospel. In this way, even though the details are different, the real life story of Philemon and Onesimus has some similarity to the famous prodigal son story Jesus tells in Luke 15. The wayward son comes home expecting a cold reception. Instead, a party is thrown for him, the fattened calf slaughtered, and the son clothed with the father’s best robe. The father’s response (and Philemon’s anticipated response) makes no sense from the logic of the world, and yet it is the character of our God to eagerly embrace runaway sinners who return to Him. You can put your faith in Him. He’s made that clear through the faithfulness of Jesus all the way to the cross.

It’s beautiful, isn’t it? And this is not just a one and done thing. The Father’s desire to give us freedom is something we increasingly live into as we follow Jesus. We will need to take that step of faith many times in life, trusting that even though we’ve gone off track again, we can return to God with truly repentant hearts, trusting that He will not turn us away. So on that note, one ministry I’d love to recommend to you is Freedom Session. You can read more about it here. If you want to experience freedom, if you want to work through some of the things keeping you in bondage or holding you back from putting your full trust in Jesus, Freedom Session is a great way to do that. It begins in less than a month here at The Bridge, so check out that link and consider registering.

In any case, I’m grateful for the riches of the Scriptures. It’s amazing that even after spending hours reading commentaries and praying through a passage, there are still things- sometimes really big things!- that I’ve missed (though that might equally be a testament to my own dullness). I’m blown away that every bit of our God-breathed Scriptures ultimately points to His plan of redemption that culminates in Jesus. And I’m so, so thankful that I can return home, knowing that God’s desire is to welcome me, forgive me, and break the chains that keep me from knowing and loving Him.