Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1921-12-09

CnltI among YOus let MIN De your 9tfN~
ant-Matt- 20:27. y
REFERENCE MATERIAL-Deut I5:12-
Is; John 1sl4, IS: Cor. 1922; Col g
PRIMARY ToPIc-The Story Of Run
away Slave. 3 ~ tt.s-s ..ff,, s.ss +
JUNIOR TOPIC-Pauls Kindness to .
Runaway Slave fR ~ iiis ~. 1901
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC (
Paul Pleading for Slave.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
The Social Teachings Of the Letter. to
Philemon.
This Is a private letter. Philemon
was a member of the church at Colos-
sc. Onesimus, his slave, wropged him,
.Serhaps stole from him, and fled to
Rome. There he came under Paul's
influence and was converted. Paul
sent OnesImus back to Philemon with
this letter. This Is one of the most z
tender and beautiful letters ever writ 3
ten. and the first anti-slavery petition !,
ever penned,
4 The ssIutation wv. 1-3).
His aim was to touch Philemon's
heart, so refers to himself as pris-
oner, and links Philemon to himself
as a fellow-laborer In the Gospel Of
truth. He makes mention Of Apphia,
Philemon's wife. and Archippus, the
son, whs had already enlisted as fel-
low-soldier.
u. Phiiemon's Reputation (vv. 40.
Paul paid fine tribute to Phiiel
mon reminding him that he never 8
prayed without bearing him up before i
God. This Is a fine example Of tact
on the part Of the minister.
/. His faith and love toward the
I Lord and an saints (v 81 II was
his hope and desire that this faith
might bear fruit In Christ Jesus. !,
2. His ministry to the saints ". Dss
Philemon was generous In his help to
the poor saints. A.
III. Paups Request wv. S-16). a9s
He requested Philemon to receive
back Onesimus. the runaway slave, a.
brother in Christ. 1919 n
1. He beseeches instead Of COM
mands (vv. S-10). Though conscious Of =
his right to enjoin, he pleads as the
prisoner OF Jesus Christ for loves
! sake.
2. He makes his plea on the
grounds OF grace (vv. 11-14). He
admitted that Onesimus had been unu
profitabie-had forfeited all claim
upon Philemon. and that on grounds
Of justice his plea might we'll be re-
jected, and yet Onesimus was begot-
ten In his bonds ". 1O)-was In d real
sense part Of his own suffering ma
ture w.. 12)-he ventured to suggest
that he should be accepted. I, Though.
0nesimus hitherto had been unproft-.
able to his master. now was profitable
to both Paul and Philemon. Paul
would gladly have retained him as .
personal attendant but sought first \
his friends permission. atra
3. Paul desired that Oneslmus. be
received back not as a slave, but as
brother In Christ (vv. Is, 16). Here
is the real fugitive slave law. Paul
never attacked slavery, though 1t was
contrary to Christianity. and therefore
hateful to him, but emphasized prin-
ciples which destroyed 1t. The estab-
lishment Of Christianity changes the
whole face of human society. The
wise thing to do is to get men, and
women regenerated and thus trans
form society instead Of seeking change
by revolution.
In Pauls request you can hear the
pleadings of Christ for us sinners. ALI
Ten have broken loosegone astray--
and have become Improbable. We
are reconciled to God through the in
terceding Of Christ. He has made US
profitable. We have been begotten IN
His bonds--through His passion, ag-
ony of heart. we shall be changed.
IN. The Basis Upon Which Onesius-
" ls to Be Received wv. 17-2D.
| The debt of guilty Onesimus is to I,
be put TO the account of Paul. and the
merit. Of Paul is to be put to the acsss
count of Onesimus. This Is fine H.
/ lustration of the atonement of Christ.
Whatever wrongs we have committed /,
debt incurred--all our shortcomings
are debited to Him. Jesus Christ, on h
behalf of the whole universe. has. said Z
to God: Put that to my account; I
have written with my pierced hand;
will repay Ohesimus wis taken
back. not as runaway slave but !
beloved brother in Christ. f''H'
/ ~. Paul Requisite Lcdoing tvv 22-
25). 81 ski.i
He expected a speedy release from
Imprisonment and purposed to sojourn
with Philemon. In all probability this
was realized. ~ nat a welcome he
~fr<f T..
saying to every one Of His redeemed