It can be a hard thing to do the right thing. Can I get a witness? I mean it can be a hard thing to do the right thing because sometime doing the right thing is not very fun. Other times it can be a hard thing to do the right thing because doing the right thing is not easy. Still other times it can be a hard thing to do the right thing because doing the right thing means I may loose face with someone, or have to admit I was wrong, or have to humbly ask for forgiveness to restore a broken relationship. This is where I was when my youth pastor Jim sat down with me and said, “I need to tell you that I think you are making a choice that is hurtful and could lead you into sin.” Jim said this to me because in short I was acting self-centered and selfish. I was looking for my ticket out of Miami and the next big step in my life. I was given a lead on an opportunity that looked very promising. I had an “inside man” who could help pull some strings, there were lots of opportunities for what I was interested in, and most importantly the decision I was considering accomplished one of my goals - getting out on my own. The only problem was the price I was needing to pay. That price was willful disobedience to my parent. Jim had been a part of my angst in this decision for some weeks, patiently listening as I gyrated between the options and the future that I had mapped out for myself. As we talked, I let down my guard for a moment, and said, “You know Jim, I just wish my mom could understand how important this is to me. But I don’t care what she thinks, I don’t care what she says, this is my life and I am going to do it.” It was at this point that Jim leaned forward and said, “ I need to tell you that I think you are making a choice that is hurtful and could lead you into sin”. Then he floored me with this question, “Malcolm, what does the bible say your attitude should be towards your parents”? “Yeah Jim, I know that. But this is my future we’re talking about”. Jim said, “I know, but just tell me what the Bible says about our parents”. “Jim, this isn’t fair”. “So when it’s convenient for you the Word of God is to be obeyed, but when it’s not convenient the Word of God isn’t fair. Tell me what unfair statement God has made about your attitude towards your parents.” Through gritted teeth I said, “‘Honor your father and mother”. I could no longer escape the fact that Jim was right and I had some work to do in repairing a relationship, though I tried - believe me I tried. Discipleship to Jesus Christ, being a follower of Jesus, often means making difficult, unpopular, uncomfortable, hard choices in life. And it can be a hard thing to do the right thing many times. Why? We live in a world enslaved to sin. A world in which sin is typically put forward as not only the easy and expedient thing to do, but the right and compassionate, and desirable thing to do. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but it is hard to escape sins influence in our world. But we’re not left without hope. The Bible is clear that through faith in Jesus Christ - our slavery to sin his been abolished. As we saw last week, doing the right thing, even when it is a hard thing to do is the core of what it means that Christians are responsible to and for each other. What is the hard thing that Paul is asking Philemon to do? Paul is asking Philemon for two things: First, he’s asking Philemon to free Onesimus from being a slave so that Onesimus can come back to Paul to serve him. Look at verse 12, “I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13 I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel.” Second Paul is asking that Philemon receive Onesimus back into his household, no longer as his slave, but as a full brother in Christ and member of the new community that God is creating. We read in verse 15, “Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good— 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.” This is the real difficulty that Philemon is faced with. What to do with his runaway slave Onesimus, a man who most likely has stolen from Philemon, a man who has publicly embarrassed Philemon, a man who has perhaps caused other financial loss or household disruption while he has been gone - what is Philemon to do with him? As slave owner, Philemon had full legal rights to severely punish Onesimus, execution being the most common punishment. But on top of this Philemon has a social pressure to discipline and punish Onesimus in order to save face among his peers, and make sure that his other slaves and servants realize they can’t do the same thing and get away with it. Philemon is left with a hard decision to make and Paul trusts Philemon will do the right thing. But the plot thickens. In verse 10 we learn that Onesimus has become a Christian. Paul writes, “I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains”. Calling Onesimus his son means Paul has lead Onesimus to respond to Christ’s call to Christian discipleship, a call Paul has equally lead Philemon to as we see in verse 19, “...not to mention that you owe me your very self”. We are never told what Philemon’s choice was. The bible simply leaves it unspoken. But most of us at one time or another, will be faced with situation sin which it will be hard to do the right thing. Perhaps the hardest thing we can do is recognize that being a part of the church community means that Christians are responsible to and for each other. This morning I want to make three brief observations from this letter that can help us to make the right choice even when it is the hard choice. Observation #1: Christians being responsible to and for each other takes place within the new community of Christ, the church. It is within the community of the church that Christian experience is played out, practiced, and made real. We demonstrate our own responsibility to and for each other as Christians when we realize that Christian growth takes place within the church. Not these physical walls, but the actual community of Christians who have gathered to commit to and submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Remember that we looked very briefly last week at the fact this this letter was read before the whole church. Therefore, the church that meets in Philemon’s home all know the situation that Paul is talking about, they all know what Paul is asking Philemon to do, and they all understand the potential ramifications that could come as a result of Philemon’s choice. As I said last week, we need each other. We need to hear from each other, to be taught by one another, to be submissive and humble towards one another. These are the attitudes that are counter-cultural in our society, and unfortunately far to often in our churches. Yet these are the very attitudes that we are to have as we recognize the responsibility that we as Christians have to and for each other. Observation #2: Christians being responsible to and for each other choose to build up the church. How do we do this? First, we choose love over power. God’s new community is premised on love for the community of believers. In John 13:34, Jesus says “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Likewise, in vs. 8 Paul says to his fellow worker Philemon, “Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the basis of love.” This language is not false humility but rather one brother in Christ speaking to another. Paul acknowledges that he could use apostolic authority, but brothers do not throw titles around on each other. Nor are they to lord power over one another. This flies in the face of the model and teaching of Christ that we are not to lord authority over one another. We see choosing love over power again as we look at vs 14, “But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced.” Paul wants Philemon to understand that there is real choice involved here. Philemon truly has options before him. Paul understands that a forced choice is no choice at all. A forced choice would not create a lasting choice in one’s heart. A forced choice would merely lead to bitterness of being forced to choose something that is not believed or wanted. We need to be constantly reminded that we are to look not only to our own interests but also to the interests of others. Second, we need to recognize God’s sovereign work in our lives. God uses the circumstances of our lives for his glory and our betterment. Think about the story we have here. Onesimus runs from Philemon and encounters Paul. It could be that Onesimus was seeking Paul out, or that he simply meets Paul at some point. We don’t know. But God uses this circumstance for his own glory, which Paul captures in vs. 15 saying, “Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good”. God uses this first, to bring Onesimus to Christ, through Paul’s ministry, and second, to challenge the church to grow in the kind of mutually responsible community it is to become. When we are faced with difficult situations in our lives or in our church, perhaps God has brought these circumstances to us, or is allowing them to happen to shape us into the people he wants us to be. Because doing the right thing is a hard thing does not mean that God is not in it. Third, Christians being responsible to and for each other choose to build up the church by seeking reconciled and restored relationships in the church community. Paul says in vs. 17, “So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me”. Philemon is to treat Onesimus as he would treat Paul, and as Paul is treating Philemon - as an equal in Christ, a co-laborer in the gospel, as a loved brother. How will the world know we are Jesus’ disciples - by our love for one another. We need to constantly seek out reconciliation and restoration of relationship with one another as we are engaged in building the church community. Observation #3: Christians learn to be responsible to and for one another by looking to the example of Jesus Christ. To right the wrongs done to Philemon, Paul is willing to subject himself to Onesimus punishment and be a substitution for him. In vs. 18 we read,“If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back”. Can you imagine being willing to subject yourself to the bonds of slavery in another’s place? Can you imagine taking on someone else’s debts as your own? Can you imagine taking on someone else’s wrongs? Can you imagine taking on the punishment of someone else’s sin - when you didn’t deserve it? This is exactly what Jesus Christ has done for us, and what he calls us to do for one another. (Go down to table and call the servers forward) The community that God is creating, a community of redeemed men and women, made brothers and sisters by their common faith in Jesus Christ is a community built on practice, love, and sacrifice towards each other. It is a community built around the table of our Lord. We celebrate communion as a reminder of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross, but also as a reminder that we are family. God in his infinite wisdom chose a table to impress upon his people not only his great love for them in giving himself up for them, but also their need to love one another and be committed to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. As you come to the table today, I trust you will examine your own life. Take time to thank God for Jesus this morning, but also take time to thank God for giving you the community of his church. And if there is sin in your life that must be confessed, confess it. And if there are relationships among your brothers and sisters that must be reconciled, I strongly encourage you to do that today. Come, enjoy a meal with family.