Philemon - Introduction

Paul knew that he had to return Onesimus to his master, Philemon. In Paul’s day, the custom of slavery existed throughout the ROMAN EMPIRE. According to Roman law, a slave was the property of his master. But to return Onesimus to his master created a great problem for Paul, because according to law, runaway slaves were given a very severe punishment. Some runaway slaves were even put to death. Therefore, Paul wrote this letter to Philemon, asking Philemon to have mercy on Onesimus and to forgive him. On the one hand, Onesimus needed to repent and restore the stolen property. On the other hand, Philemon needed to fully forgive Onesimus from his heart. Both of them were now Christian brothers. Even though according to Roman law they were still master and slave, they were now, in fact, equal in Christ.

Slavery was indeed an evil and unjust system. In this letter, we see Paul’s method of overcoming this great evil: the method of love, repentance, and forgiveness between master and slave.

Paul could have kept Onesimus with him in Rome. Paul could have encouraged and helped other slaves to escape. He could have opposed slavery openly by breaking Roman law. But that was not his method. Paul’s method was to follow the law of love. The highest law is not man’s law, but God’s law—Christ’s law—especially the law of love (Mark 12:30-31). Love is a stronger force than all the laws of the world. In Christ’s love, master and slave become equal; they become one (Galatians 3:28).