We continue our series through Philemon. Last week we looked at A Praying Community based on verse 4 of the text: “I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers.” We identified the text as a prayer. And we examined the various aspects of prayer in the text. Of the things we spoke about, the most pertinent is that we must pray for one another as believers. And I hope we have prayed for one another. Have we? This is not optional. It is a biblical charge. James 5:16
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
Praying for one another is one way by which we bear the burdens of one another as commanded by Paul in Galatians “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2). Remember that last week, I showed we would look at a broad subject of Marks of The Christian Community. When God saves us and puts us together in a community as a church, how do we conduct ourselves? We have already identified one mark as A Praying Community.
Today, we will identify ourselves as A Loving Community. And we do that under three sub-headings: Loving Christ, Loving One Another and A Good Report Of Love. The text we read obviously speaks about love. It speaks about love in what I call the two faces of the love coin. Loving Christ and Loving One Another:
Because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have towards the Lord Jesus Christ and the saints (Philemon 1:5).
Do you see that? Love and of the faith towards Jesus Christ and the saints. What Paul identifies in Philemon must be present in our midst. Philemon’s life is something we can all learn from.
Loving Christ
While preparing for this sermon, I realised that the Monday after today will be Valentine’s Day. And I was wondering how many people will think this theme “A Loving Community” has anything to do with the occasion. No, I haven’t chosen this theme because of Valentine. I have chosen this theme because we are going through Philemon, and the place we have gotten to speaks of love. But why not, if by God’s providence, our theme meets with the occasion, why not?
Valentine day is predominantly about romantic love. But valentine’s day love pales compared to the love of Christ. There is no love greater than the love of Christ. If anyone seeks true love, the love of God displayed in the death of Christ for sinners is the purest. John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
The greatest love ever displayed in human history is this love God displayed in Christ. Love gives, Love sacrifices, love seeks the welfare of one another and Christ displayed the greatest of all these attributes of love. He died for sinners. He died for unworthy people like you and I to reconcile us to God and save us from our sins.
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13)
Here, brothers and sisters is the greatest of love. And what must we do with this love? We must respond by loving him back. Naturally, because of sin, nobody loves Jesus anyway. We only love Jesus because he first loved us and displayed his love towards us. And the Bible is very clear on this:
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:9-10)
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8)
Philemon we see is one who loves the Lord: “because of your love and of the faith you have towards the Lord Jesus Christ.” The only reason we are all gathered here or I want to believe so is because we love Jesus; don’t we? He has saved us from our sins. He has cleansed us from our sin. He has reconciled us to God.
Like Jesus asked Peter 3 times, I ask you:
Do you love Jesus?
Do you really love Jesus?
Do you really, really love Jesus?
Perhaps you may wonder what we are talking about because you haven’t experienced the love of Christ to understand and even respond by loving him back. Well, I invite you then to examine all I have said so far. That Christ died to save sinners. That Christ gave himself up to manifest God’s love. He died for sinners so that anyone who will believe in him will not perish. Without faith in Christ, we are enemies of God and candidates for eternal damnation—-hell!
We love him by believing in him. We love him by having faith in him: “of your love and of the faith you have towards the Lord Jesus Christ”. You cannot love the one you have not believed in. You cannot love the one you have not trusted. If all this sounds strange to you, I call you to look further into it. Love for Christ also manifests as obedience to his commands and teachings. We cannot love Christ and live our lives anyhow.
If you love me, you will keep my commandments (John 14:15)
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
People, we cannot claim to love Christ and live our lives anyhow in sin and disobedience. We cannot love the world and claim we love Christ. No, there must be a distinction between us and the world. Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Paul asked in Romans 6:1. Then he answered himself; God forbid!
Christians live a life of obedience to the teachings of Christ. What he commands us to do, we do. What he commands us not to we, we abstain from. And one of the clearest commands of Christ is Loving One Another.
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you (John 15:12).
Loving One Another
A love of Christ must manifest as a love for one another. Remember, I said at the beginning there are two faces of the same coin: Loving Christ and One Another. Let’s look at the text again: because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints.” Reading this we see clearly the two: Loving Jesus and Loving One Another—-and for all the saints. Philemon didn’t just love Jesus. He loved the saints as well.
And this clearly is a fulfilment of a biblical mandate. In many places in Scripture, our love for God must manifest or display as a love for our brothers and sisters. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment is; he answered it is love for God and love for neighbour (Matthew 22:36-49)
John puts it directly when he said, how can you love God who you don’t see and hate your brother who you see? This truly is an irony. If we love God, that love must manifest in loving our brothers and sisters. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot[a] love God whom he has not seen (1 John 4:20).
How can we show love to one another? Verses 6 and 7 are instructive:
And I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good things that is in us for the sake of Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.
What we read here simply points to Philemon’s generosity. The phrase sharing of your faith in the original language is fellowship, and it has a wider use which may mean meeting together, encouraging one another, helping one another, sharing the gospel, etc. In the context here in Philemon, it is speaking about generosity by Philemon. He shares his faith by his benevolence. And Paul prays that this sharing of his faith will become effective. Philemon’s generosity will bear fruit and through it, the believers will grow in their knowledge of Christ: “that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.”
We know in the text that Philemon has opened his house for a church to worship there. This is the highest form of generosity Philemon has extended towards the saints, to give them a place to worship. Christians are called not only to love Jesus, but to show that love in loving one another. And we see this clearly displayed in Philemon’s life
A Good Report Of Love
How did Paul know of Philemon’s love and faith towards Jesus and to all the saints? The answer is in the text: “I hear” We must not gloss over that phrase. It’s very important. Mind you, at the time of writing this letter, Paul was in prison, so someone may have given him a report about Philemon. And it was a good report. If we are to ask those who know you about your life, would they testify he is a Christian who loves the Lord and loves people? Your work colleagues, your neighbours, your classmates, your family members, all of us here; will the testimony about our Christianity be a good report?
Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good work and glorify your father in heaven.
If truly you are a Christian, then these three things must be clear in your life. You must love Jesus, you must love the brethren and you must have a good report from those watching. If these are not present in your life, reassess your life; whether you are a Christian.
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