Marks of a Biblical Church

Our Heavenly Father, we thank you and we praise you, and we come to you this morning in and through the matchless name of Jesus Christ, your son and our Savior. We thank you, Lord Jesus, for your love for us. We thank you for leaving heaven to come to this vale of tears, so that you might seek and save the lost like us. We thank you for your compassion.

We thank you for your love, and we thank you, Lord, for the love that went all the way to the cross, to the grave and rose again. And we pray, Lord, that you would continue to save people here in California through the Ministry of Cornerstone Fellowship Bible Church. We pray, Father, for fruit to abound to your glory and we pray that you would continue to save people in the United Kingdom. And in Northern Ireland, we pray, oh God, that you would save, and we pray for those on the island of Madeira who are trapped in dead religion and dead works.

Oh God, would you be pleased to send servants back with the gospel once again like some 150 years ago? And would you cause there to be fruit that abounds to your glory? Lord bless these men, bless their training, equip them, I pray. And Lord, help them be prepared for the work of the gospel that you have prepared for them.

And now, Lord, we open your word to be instructed by you, and we pray that your spirit would brood over this congregation. We know that your word will not return void. And so regardless of whatever our own desires are and plans for the sermon, we pray that you would speak to each heart. And that you will accomplish your purposes in men, women, boys and girls, so that all might hear, believe, and obey the gospel and bring you glory through it.

So would you receive our prayers and our praise for your glory's sake. Amen. Thank you, brothers. Let me invite you to take your Bibles and open with me to the Book of Philemon.

In the Book of Philemon. I have been preaching through a series in our church in rugby through the book of Philemon, and I would like to direct your attention to this, the shortest of Paul's epistles. And for our time today. As we consider from this book of Philemon, a number of important subjects that emerge from the text of scripture.

if I had the time, I would desire to preach the entire series, 7 messages so far, 8 messages, and so I'm going to try to do that in 40 minutes. And if I don't finish, I'll, I'm gonna cut it, pastor. We, we won't stay for all 7 sermons, but It's important that we understand the content of what happens in the book of Philemon because, and, and, and not just for academic purposes and not just for biblical education purposes, but because you need to know what happens in the book of Philemon if you don't already know because it is intended to impact you in this church.

God has given us His word and and said that his word will not return void and as a missionary from over in Western Europe, I, I have come to help the pastors as they seek to expose you to the need of the gospel, not just here in California which about, but the need of the gospel around the world.

And perhaps some young person or retired person, God is going to speak to you today to get you thinking about how you can be more involved with spreading the gospel. For some it's going to be supporting missions for the first time in prayer. For others, perhaps God has blessed you with material goods that you'll be able to share so that the gospel can be spread around the world, but for some of you, perhaps God will call you and place a burden in your life to be trained and, and, and discipled and prepared to go out to bring the gospel maybe here in California, maybe back to my home, stay in New Jersey.

Will someone not go to my people in New Jersey while I labor in the United Kingdom?

Will someone not go bring the gospel to my unsaved family? Or perhaps God will lead you to join us on the mission field and bring the gospel to Western Europe. And by now you have opened to Philemon and I'm going to read our text verse 8 down to verse 19. we really could read the entire letter, but for time's sake, I, I will begin reading in verse 8 down to verse 19.

And Paul says to, writes to Philemon, therefore, though I have enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is proper, yet for love's sake I rather appeal to you. Since I am such a person as Paul, the aged. And now also a prisoner of Christ of Christ Jesus. I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment, who formerly was useless to you.

But now is useful both to you and to me. I have sent him back to you in person, that is sending my very heart, whom I wished to keep with me so that on your behalf he might minister to me in my imprisonment for the gospel. But without your consent, I did not want to do anything so that your goodness would not be in effect by compulsion but of your own free will. For perhaps he was for this reason, separated from you for a while.

That you would have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you. Both in the flesh and in the Lord. If then you regard me a partner. Accept him as you would me.

But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, I'm writing this with my own hand. I will repay it, not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well. Yes, brother, let me benefit from you and the Lord.

Refresh my heart in Christ. From about 8054 to 8058, the apostle Paul made his third missionary journey. And in Acts chapter 19 verse one, Paul records, or Luke records that Paul came to Ephesus preaching the powerful gospel of Jesus Christ. We learned from Acts chapter 20 verse 31.

That Paul spent a total of 3 years. There's a reference to him spending 2 years, but in Acts 20:31, he says that he ministered in Ephesus for 3 years. in Acts 19:10, we read what Luke records in that verse which says as a result of his ministry so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, that is from the apostle Paul through his ministry at Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. That's an important statement.

All the residents in Asia heard the word of the Lord and It's not today's Asia as we might think of China and Taiwan or North and South Korea, Japan, India, Philippines, Singapore. The Asia in Acts 19:10 is the Roman province, which roughly corresponds to modern day central to western Turkey. Many people think and scholars believe that during Paul's 3 year ministry there in Ephesus, and that a number of churches were founded as a result of his ministry there. Men were sent out, families sent out from his minist.

History there in Ephesus to the surrounding area, places like you would see, read about in Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 3 like Smymyrna and Pergamum and Thyatira and Sardis and Philadelphia and Laodicea and other places like Heropolis and like Colossi. And his ministry there in Ephesus reached many people, it was a port city, an important city, and many people would bring their wares from their business to Ephesus to buy, trade and sell and to see their goods carried across the ocean, and this was a strategic city, the city of Ephesus, and many people, including the person to whom Paul is writing in the, in the letter that we're reading today, this man named Philemon, who is considered To be a wealthy businessman from the town or the city of Colossi, which is about some 100 miles away, and in whose house the church met.

This wealthy businessman apparently made his way with his business to Ephesus, according to some speculation, came into contact with the gospel through the apostle Paul's preaching at Ephesus. He, his wife, and his son We were powerfully saved by the gospel of Jesus Christ, and when they returned to their home city in Colossi, they began opening up their home to others who had believed this gospel and the church was planted by someone we believe his name is Epaphras, who's mentioned in Colossians chapter 1 verse 7.

He too was probably saved under Paul's ministry and went back and he was the founder probably of the church there at Colossi. And while Paul is writing this letter of Philemon, he's in a under house arrest in a Roman prison. You can read about that at the end of Acts chapter 28, and he's writing these letters, we call them the prison epistles, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon. And this particular letter had to, it was his shortest and his most personal letter that Paul had written, and it dealt with a very important situation dealing with a runaway slave named Onesimus.

When you read through this letter as, as I have and some in our church have, some have said that Paul, he, does he treat Philemon really well or does he use his authority and his position and there's these questions that as you read Paul walking a tightrope between, between doing what's right and, and things that might be suspect, but, mark it down that his motives are pure. His, his words confirm what his intentions are, and, we learned that he is writing back to Philemon on behalf of this runaway slave named Onesimus, whom he had led to Christ in the city of Rome.

It is said that 1/3 of the city of Rome, was made of slaves and, and many of those slaves were runaway slaves. And Onesimus, according to information that we read in this letter, apparently had run away from Philemon and Colossi and had either stolen money or stolen some things of value to help pay for his his exodus from from Colossi as he made his way to Rome and we don't know how, but some way, somehow, some way, Onesimus ran into the apostle Paul while Paul was under house arrest and Paul led him to Christ.

But he wasn't the only one who saved under Paul's ministry. This man named Philemon was saved under Paul's ministry as well. And so Paul writes this letter back to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus. This intercession is the one word that best sums Paul's writing of this letter we call Philemon.

Intercession best describes why Paul wrote to Philemon. Intercession best describes what Paul wrote to Philemon. Intercession best describes how Paul wrote to Philemon. Paul's intercessory goals in this letter are forgiveness and reconciliation.

Paul sought the pardon and reconciliation of this runaway slave Onesimus, who had become a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and Paul was returning Onesimus from Rome back to Colossi to his owner who lived in the city of Colossi. This was no small step for a new believer, this new believer named Onesimus because if Philemon wanted to, he could have Onesimus' life taken like that. In verses 1 through 3 of the letter Philemon, we read the salutation which introduces us to the writer, the recipients, and that gives the Christian greeting.

In verses 4 through 7, we see Paul's praise and prayer for Philemon.

And it is out of Paul's intercession for Onesimus that there emerges not only a clearer picture of life in the early church, that is the first century Apostolic Church, but what emerges is a clearer picture of life in a biblical church. We can spend our time looking and being trapped in history, we can talk about slavery. But the big thing that I see as I read through Philemon is, what does this tell us about the church in the first century and, and by way of example that we are to follow the apostles' doctrine and teaching, what does it tell us about the church we ought to be?

And so as a missionary and as a church planter of a church that's just 5 years old, still in its infancy, seeking to win people to Jesus Christ, we want to make sure that we are going to be a church that's a biblical church, that we're rooted and grounded in the truth and not in a sterile way.

but in a way that, exemplifies our love for Jesus Christ, that love that was first shown to us. We want to make sure that our church is, is not known for all the things that perhaps it could be known, but known for what God says our church should be known for. And my desire for you, this morning is to help you evaluate yourself as an individual and your church. And to see if you are the church God wants you to be.

And perhaps today will be a day of affirmation and today will be a day of rejoicing and praise to God that you are that church or perhaps along the way, there may be things that you realize that we're not really where we should be on that, like our church. We're, we're not a perfect church. We're perhaps like you, a church in progress, but the church is the people, not the building. And so my desire for you is that you will know what the marks of a biblical church are so you can evaluate yourself and evaluate your own church to see what church cornerstone Fellowship Bible Church should be.

There are 6 marks of a biblical church found in verses 8 through 19 that I would like to share with you this morning. and, the first of those marks of a biblical church, we could say it this way, in a biblical church, authority and love are prayerfully balanced. This is how I would summarize the content of verses 8 through 10. In a biblical church, authority and love are prayerfully balanced.

You see, that the word, the idea of authority is found in verse 8 in the word order, where Paul says to Philemon, though, therefore though I have enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is proper, he's referring to his authority in the church, even in the church, he didn't plan, plant, and he hadn't even visited yet. Apparently. And there, there were those who hadn't yet seen his face. And and this word order that he's mentioning, he could have ordered Philemon to respond to Onesimus, this returning slave who had wronged Philemon.

He could have ordered him with his apostolic authority to do this and to do that, to let Onesimus go, to make it, to send him back to Rome to help Paul. He could have done so many things in ordering Philemon simply because Paul as an apostle had an authority to direct the church. But in a biblical church, authority. And love are prayerfully balanced.

we see order highlights the aspect of authority, but love is found in two places. In verse 9, notice if you will, where Paul says, yet for love's sake, that's the first reference to love. He says, I rather appeal to you. And that expression appeal to you is an aspect of love, at least that's how I understand this word.

The reason why he's actually appealing is because he loves Philemon and he doesn't want to strong arm Philemon into doing something against his will. So in these two places, love is found, and in a biblical church, authority and love are prayerfully balanced. It's not the only time that love is found. In verses 5 and 7, Paul notes Philemon's love for Christ and for the saints.

Some people might say that Paul is buttering up Philemon before he gives him his request concerning Onesimus, and some people say that his, were his motives pure. Now in verse 8, here in verse 8, Paul speaks about his own love. Paul already noted his love for Philemon in verse 1 when he called him my beloved fellow worker. Paul has already in an affectionate way affirmed his love for his earlier convert Philemon, this wealthy businessman.

And called him my beloved fellow worker and so he, he speaks to him and when he uses this word, I appeal to you, he uses it in verse 9. He says, rather than commanding you what to do, I'm going to appeal to you, and he mentions it again in verse 10, I appeal to you, Paakalo, it means appeal or beg. It means that it's a Greek word that means to implore or plead or urge, exhort depending on the context. Paul's appeals, by the way, characterize his ministry.

He didn't strong arm people. He didn't push them against the wall and say, I'm an apostle around here, you need to listen to me. He appealed to the people to whom he led. In Paul's writings, Pallo occurs more than 50 times, and he uses this word appeal in all of his letters except one, the letter to the Galatians.

Paul uses this word appeal. I appeal most frequently in 2 Corinthians where he uses it 18 times, and we know that the, the church at Corinth was a, was a church that was struggling with overt sin, repetitive sin, ungodliness marking the marking the congregation, and there were many things to correct and many things to stop and many things to change. And so I, I find that it's interesting that in a place where change is very necessary and, and very needed in, in, in that immoral church, that rather than rather than yell at them or put them up against the wall or strong arm them, he's constantly appealing.

It's his favorite way of urging them on to make changes for the glory of Christ.

He powerfully employed the use of this word appealing. church leaders and church members need to get this lesson about balancing authority and love. And church leaders sin when they abuse their authority, and we have all seen and heard of churches where that has taken place. Yet we also know horror stories of church members who regularly abuse their authority, or perhaps I should say those placed in authority over them.

And so the abuse of authority takes place and on both levels, those who are in authority and those who are supposed to be under authority, and there's sin on both sides many times. And in a biblical church, authority and love are prayerfully balanced. it takes men of God to know when to exercise authority and how to exercise that authority in a loving way like appealing. There are times to take strong and direct stances against division in the church, particularly and other sins that threaten the existence of the church.

and there are times to do what Paul does so frequently, to appeal, to soften the exhortation and appealing and seeking to win your brother, not the argument, but win your brother or your sister. And it's not just the leaders in the church that have to understand this, but it's also the congregation. The role and responsibility of the leadership of the church only becomes harder when people begin to repel rebel in the church against the leadership because the people in the church want their own way and they're willing to sin to get it.

Summary then in a biblical church, authority and love are prayerfully balanced as Paul demonstrates here, his authority and his love for Philemon secondly, In a biblical church, spiritual children are loved by their leaders.

That's how I would summarize verses 10 through 12. In a biblical church, spiritual children are loved by their leaders. Though lost in most English translations, I want you to see how Paul front loads his appeal in verse 10 with emotion. Now for some people, particularly of of the reform persuasion like myself, they might see emotion as a threatening aspect of their humanity.

I'm glad that, that you're, that you're recognizing that. We are not intended to be Vulcans who have emotions but don't demonstrate them. We, we have mind, will and emotions, but we are not to be controlled by our emotions, are we? We're supposed to be gripped by truth, driven by truth, under truth, under God's word, led by God's word.

someone said to me just this last week at the shepherd's conference, well, you're, you're an American, you're very emotional. He's a British man. And let me just say that We need to make sure that our emotions aren't in the driver's seat. We need to make sure that God's word is in the driver's seat, that Christ is on his throne, and that our service for Christ is not just out of duty and and and ticking the boxes, but out of love for him.

that I've listened to the sermons on the web. I've, I've read the book. that you're very well taught. And so, and I also understand that this is probably not a problem for many of you, but maybe for some of you it is.

Spiritual children are to be loved by their leaders and in verse 10, Paul front loads his appeal with emotion. If I were to, and I'm gonna literally translate verse 10 in a stilted way but so you can see it, Paul says, I appeal to you for my child of whom I became a father in my imprisonment, Onesimus, that's how it reads. He front loads the emotional aspect before he names Onesimus. If he mentions Onesimus upfront, he runs the risk of having Philemon be distracted by Paul's, by, by the mention of Onesimus thinking about Onesimus has wronged him and missing the import of Paul's appeal.

He's trying to win Philemon to his view. So he says, I appeal to you, that's the first element. For my child, this is a personal family matter of whom I became a father. Paul, you said that you were, Paul the agent earlier on in this letter and you became a father while you were in prison?

This is amazing. One Onesimus. I, I know Onesimus. Do you see how he front loads, I appeal, my child.

I became his father, I'm in prison. All of those words, 5 places there, 4 or 5 places is there could be heightened emotion. And Paul is doing his best to begin to pave the way for Philemon to see it from his perspective. He says, for my child, child here refers to one who is dear to another but without genetic relationship and without distinction and age, right, is what the lexicon says.

And by the way, Onesimus is not the only person that Paul calls his child. Paul often spoke affectionately of those he won to Christ as his spiritual children, like he did in Timothy, like he spoke that way about Titus. Like he spoke this way of the Believers in Galatian churches in Galatians 4:19, my little children for whom I am again in anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you. He spoke this way, affectionately and endearingly to the whole Corinthian church, First Corinthians 4:14 to 4:15.

And Paul wasn't the only apostle to speak affectionately of his spiritual children like Onesimus and like Philemon. The apostle John spoke that way and of his disciples and 3rd John 4, I have no greater joy to hear my children are walking in the truth and I understand some believe that to be his his physical. Descendants is, is, is literal physical children. A lot of people believe that to be spiritual children.

Jesus spoke this way affectionately of his love for his disciples in many places, but Mark 10:24, the disciples were amazed at Jesus' words, but Jesus said to them again, children, How difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God. And what Paul was saying to Philemon was, I'm a father again. I'm a father again. We just had a baby born and we're celebrating the baby born, just before the, just before coming up here.

Praise God. Children are gift from the Lord. And so our spiritual children. So our spiritual children.

I was there for all 5 of my children being born and as gross as it was, I did cut the cord. And, amazing, amazing to witness the birth, life coming from life. It's just, it still amazes me, and my wife, what an amazing woman. But have you ever been there?

When God gave birth, spiritual birth to a man, woman, or young person and saving them. Have you ever had that privilege? It's an amazing birth to witness. Just like watching your physical children come into the world, you're absolutely helpless to do anything.

You have to stand and see the salvation of the Lord. Yes, you have a part to play. I do in sharing the gospel, but it is, it is Christ who saves. It is the, the Father who draws.

It is the spirit that regenerates. Jesus said, all that the Father gives to me shall come to me, and he that comes to me, I will in no wise cast out, as Claudio said and reminded us, what are you waiting for? Some of you have heard the gospel time and time again, and, and perhaps, That the gospel is true. that God is holy.

You are a sinner and you have no hope but in Christ. And I say to you, like I said to Claudio, what are you waiting for? Behold, now is the acceptable time. Now is the time of salvation.

Don't put it off. While the Spirit of God is speaking to your heart, humble yourselves. He will not turn away from you. You draw near to Him He will in no wise cast you out.

And These spiritual children, Paul says, Onesimus. I, is my child, my spiritual child. He's gonna tell Philemon later. Remember, you are too.

And you owe me even yourself. Onesimus in verse 10, it's the only time Onesimus is mentioned by name in this, the shortest and most, most personal letter of the apostle Paul, but Onesimus, formerly he was useless to you, but now he's indeed useful to me. We know that there's a play of word play on words going on between useless and Onesimus. Onesimus means useful.

And what he was saying, useful used to be useless, but now useless is useful. And in a greater way, no longer as a slave, but much more than that as a brother, dearly beloved, not only to me but to yourself as well. And you, your leaders, your spiritual leaders, your elders and your pastors and, and those who would ever aspire to any spiritual leadership, you need to love like Christ loved. He said, no greater love is anyone than this than a man lay down his life for his friends, and you are my friends if you keep my commandments, if you do my word, paraphrase at the end there.

And if you're gonna be a leader, if you're gonna be like Christ, you're gonna have to love like Him, and not just the Ephesians 5 love to your wife, someone who's gonna love you in return, but those who aren't going to love you in return. Where, where, where there's no reciprocation. He says, Paul said, I'm sending him back to you, that is sending my very heart. Do you, can you feel the emotion here?

Sending back my very heart? It's like Valentine's Day. With someone he led to faith in Jesus Christ. In a biblical church, spiritual children are loved by their leaders and let me hasten to add, because we live in a wicked, godless society and age, this is not a love that is immoral, this is not a love that is sexual or sensual, but a godly love, a spiritual love and affectionate, sacrificial, yes, a love that gets emotional over the welfare of their spiritual children.

Love should characterize the relationship of the leaders to the members for whom they care. In many churches, church members are treated like clients and or consumers. The relationships between the leaders and the people of the church is like that of the customer service department at a grocery store or department store. what that's like.

If you have a problem while you're in the store, you go to the customer service desk to complain about this and ask, where's this? I don't see this on the shelf. And why don't we have that and can you order that? I want to get that and And that's how sometimes the leaders are treated, and that's how sometimes the leaders treat you.

And, and on the balance, to, to, to, to weigh this out properly, I should also add that many of the Lord's people treat their leaders as persons who handle complaints and problems when the customer is not happy. Or the customer couldn't find what they're looking for. I want this in church and I want that in church, and I didn't get that what I wanted. Where is it?

My friends, the Lord's Church is not a business, it's a family. It's the family of God. Christ saved you not just to take away your sins, but to adopt you in his family so that you can spend forever with him in the Father's house. Salvation is much more than the forgiveness of your sins, my friend.

In a biblical church, spiritual children are To be loved by their leaders and they're to love their leaders. And that's what you see coming through here. Paul loving Onesimus and loving Philemon and he's, he's someone who's spiritually significant in both of their lives and he's trying to love both of them and trying to bring together two people who are going through, who are, who are really separated over a significant issue. Thirdly, in a biblical church, God's glory is more important than personal desires.

That's an important one. You might not like that one. But in a biblical church, God's glory is more important than personal desires, and that's my summary of verses 13 and 14. Paul's personal desires are expressed in two ways in verse 13.

He desired to keep Onesimus, that's his one desire, so that, and he desired Onesimus to serve him. He wanted to keep Onesimus and he wanted to keep him so Onesimus could serve Paul. In verse 13, Paul says, I wish to, but in verse 14, Paul says, I will not. Paul's decision to say I wish to, but I will not exalts God's glory in three ways.

First of all, personally, he wished to keep him, he would have been glad to keep Onesimus so that his needs, so that Paul's needs in prison under house arrest might have been better attended to, but personally, and while that appealed to him personally would have helped him personally, he didn't want to do anything that would be unrighteous. His, so personally his decision exalts God's glory and, and legally his decision not to keep Onesimus but to send Onesimus back to Philemon, legally he said I would not, I don't want to do anything without your consent.

And Paul's decision exalts God's glory. Thirdly, morally, and when he says not by compulsion but by your own accord.

Personally, legally, and morally, Paul's decision exalted the glory of God. He did the right thing for the right reasons, though his personal needs were great. This is an illustration in verses 13 and 14 of a normal crossroad that you face many times as well, where good desire, where a good desire can be transformed into a sinful idol. At what point can a good desire become a sinful idol?

Well, the answer when you're willing to sin to get it. How many people seeking a wife or seeking a husband. Desperate to be married perhaps in their younger years and, and willing to sin to get it, or maybe it's a business relationship or a promotion or material thing. Good things that God has given to many people can easily be turned into an idol.

A lot of times those, even those good things separate people and they love those things more than they love God. Verses 13 and 14 speak of the powerful life struggle of surrendering to our selfish desires or doing what is right. I would have been glad to keep them, but I won't keep them. Don't miss the normal human struggle of wanting something that's not yours.

Paul experienced it. He faced it right here with Onesimus. Don't miss the intense internal struggle he faced. I don't mean that it was long or even that Paul may have wavered.

I don't mean that at all. I do mean that Paul puts into words the struggle that is common to man and is internal and powerful because it deals with the heart of man, that is the desires of man's hearts and every one of you came into this place today with one desire or another. Perhaps many of them The point is that Paul's legitimate desires were not greater than the principle of living for God's glory. It was seven years earlier that Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 10:31 where he said, whether you eat or whether you drink or whatever you do, that's whether you keep Onesimus or not, that fits in whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

He wrote that 7 years earlier. And he's living consistently with that principle of living for the glory of God and keeping Onesimus, when he rightly belonged to Philemon under Roman law, would have not been to the glory of God, he would have broken the law, he would have done something that's not right. Because Paul was living out the principle that God's glory is more important than his own personal desires. Let me ask you something.

Is that true in your own life? Is God's glory more important than your own personal desires? Are you willing to sin to get what you want, like James 4 says. What is the source of quarrels among you?

Now, I don't know anything, bad that's happening in the church. None of that has been shared with me. If there's anything negative whatsoever, I have no idea whatsoever. I am just someone who's over from, from England, preaching the gospel and, and exposing men to truth and sharing what the Lord's doing in the United Kingdom.

But listen, if there's one thing I know from being saved since 1985, is that the Lord's people, we are prone to sin. We're prone to fight for what we want. And listen, it may be a good thing that you want. But it may not be what God wants for you or for the church.

Or for your family. Are you willing to exalt God's glory and prioritize and elevate and prize glorifying God more than pleasing yourself? You need to ask yourself that question. You can either be a great asset to the church or a great liability depending on how you answer that question.

And by the way, If you're desiring something more than the glory of God, you need to repent. He wants you to love him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. What is the glory of God? Piper said, quote, God's glory is the radiance of his manifold, infinitely worthy and valuable perfections.

Typical Piper, isn't it? Glory and glorify are related words in the 1646 Westminster confessions reads, the chief end of man is to glorify God and joy him forever. But what does it mean to glorify God? Again, Piper wrote, quote, Glorifying means feeling.

And thinking And acting in ways that reflect his greatness that make much of God that give evidence of the supreme greatness of all His attributes and the all satisfying beauty of his manifold perfections, glorifying God is the ultimate absolute all pervasive reason for being everything we are and doing everything we do. Oh, I don't have time. I'm looking at the clock and I don't have time. I just need to tell you some ways in which scripture says we can glorify God, you can glorify God, and, and when God is glorified, John 14:13, God is glorified when he answers prayer.

God is glorified when spiritual fruit is abundantly produced in a believer's life. John 15:8. God is glorified when our, when your troubled hearts submit to God's purposes and will. John chapter 12 verse 27.

God is glorified by completing the work God wants done. John 17:4. God is glorified when hostile unbelievers are saved after watching the good conduct of persecuted Christians. First Peter 2:12.

God is glorified when the Holy Spirit moves among believers, Jesus is glorified. Jesus is God, as John 16:14 says. God is glorified when believers live sexually pure and holy lives. 1 Corinthians 6:18-20.

God is glorified when believers suffer patiently for being a Christian. First Peter 4:16, God is glorified by the death of his faithful servants, John 21:18-19. Listen, in a biblical church, God's glory is more important than personal desires. Fourthly, in a biblical church, God's providence heals painful wounds.

That's my summation of verses 15 and 16. God's providence heals painful wounds in a biblical church. Providence is that superintendence of care which God exercised over his creation, writes Buck, or as the theologians have said, when we speak of God's providence, we mean that God, first of all, he upholds all things. Second, God governs all things.

Third, God directs Everything to its appointed end. 4th, God does this all the time and in every circumstance, and 5th, he does it always for his own glory. Those 5 pillars, you might call them connected with God's providence. Now I never knew.

in my undergraduate days in the Midwest studying in Bible College and my bachelor's degree in pastoral studies in Bible, I didn't really, really wasn't taught about the sovereignty of God. Until I came to Grace Community Church in Los Angeles and, and went to seminary. and, oh, I could tell you stories. about those early days, but the sovereignty of God has been one of the, the most, life changing truths and doctrines that, that, I've ever been exposed to.

It's changed my understanding of salvation. It's changed my understanding. Of my circumstances. It's changed my understanding of disappointment like, like going to the wrong address for Sunday school this morning and being 30 miles away and realizing that the gated community at which we were at was not where the church was at.

And God's providence here in this letter is used by the apostle Paul to begin healing a, a profound painful wound in verses 15 and 16, and I see God's providence mentioned in two words that you might miss. The words At least in the ESV I'm using the NAS so let's see if it's there. The words in verse 15, perhaps, is it there? Perhaps It's in the ESV there it is in verse 15 for perhaps.

And the word that Ha ha You're gonna have some explaining to do in the study groups this afternoon, Pastor Tom, aren't I, Mike? And I'm gonna be called on that one. How do you get the providence of God out of perhaps? Do you see what he does?

He said, he, he looks, he, he gets Philemon to look at Onesimus' departing and even wronging him from a different perspective than the normal earthly linear perspective, the horizontal perspective. He, he gets a little higher and says, look, get a little higher and look from this perspective, perhaps. Perhaps he was for this reason separated from you for a while. That is apostolic optimism.

And then he uses this word. This word perhaps is not a big word. It's, it's not a flashy word. It's not a difficult word.

Perhaps is a positive word, it's a, it's a key word, it's a hope-filled word, it's a healing word, it's a memorable word. The lexicon says that perhaps it is used to express contingency ranging between probability and bare probability. It's possible. Do you see what he's doing?

It's, it's possible that this has happened. Remember Joseph. And his brothers got so concerned after Jacob had died and they started saying, hey, Dad said, you need to forgive us before he died, for what we did to you. It, it nearly brought him to tears that they thought he was a lot like themselves and he had already learned that it was God who had sent him to Egypt.

Not his brothers He had a higher perspective of the situation. He was looking at it from, from a higher vantage point than the normal person. And in a biblical church, God's providence is appealed to to heal painful wounds. That word that is that word that we know as Hinna.

It deals with, it could be translated a number of different ways depending on the context, but in this context, it, it, it refers to maybe there was a purpose in it. That's what Providence is. God is working all things together for your good and his glory if and love Christ and are called according to His purposes. Perhaps introduces.

A different perspective. Than just the human 1 to 1, and trying to understand God's providence easily staggers our feeble minds, not, but not considering God's providences. Providence can easily result in discouragement, depression, or despair. I wonder if you, how many of you are under a frowning providence of God right now, some trouble in your life, and all you can see are the circumstances around you, and you need to step up a little higher.

You need to look at your circumstances from the promises of God. He who did not spare his own son. But delivered him up for us all. How will he not with him freely give us all things?

I don't understand. I don't understand how God causes all things to work together for good, and let me just hasten to add, not all things are good. He never says that. But all things work together for good.

For the believer If you're not a believer, that promise isn't for you. You're on your own. You should despair You should be depressed. You have no hope.

You need to look to Christ. You need to turn to him. So that you might know the joys not only of sins forgiven, but the promises of God intended for his children. Thinking about God's providence will strain the limits of our minds, but God's providence functions as a powerful means to heal painful wounds in a biblical church.

God's providence is a soothing balm to hurting hearts, not only individually but God's providence ought to be a regular part of the reconciliation process within families and the church, because the reconciliation process, the process of forgiveness, does anyone ever have conflict in your family? Anyone ever have conflict in this church? This whole letter is about how to deal with conflict, reconciliation, forgiveness, bringing people back together again. And notice how wise and how gentle Paul is in introducing God's providence.

Fifthly, In a biblical church, forgiving the repentant is expected, verse 17. In a biblical church, forgiving the repentant is expected. Archibald Hart said that forgiveness. is surrendering my right.

To hurt you For hurting me I, I sometimes would call verse 17, overcoming the sin of Jonah in the church. I hate the Assyrians. what they've done to my people? Wipe them out, God, wipe them all out.

I knew you were a gracious God, a forgiving God. I didn't wanna come. I wanted you to destroy them. And some people are like that when it comes to being sinned against, aren't we?

We think that when people sin against us, it's the, it's the greatest grievance the universe has ever known. what he said against me or what she said against me. I shouldn't be treated like that. I'm the pastor of the church.

I'm an elder in the church. I'm a missionary for the Lord. Or I'm a Sunday school teacher. I've been coming here 15 years.

I'm a founder member. I'm the treasurer. No, in a biblical church, for forgiving the repentant is expected. There's no pound of flesh in the economy of God.

How often should I forgive my brother? Well, I know some people who when they say that they forgive you, you really wonder. Is that how you forgive? I forgive you, but I don't ever want to see you again.

We laugh at it. But, there's a lot of people who approach forgiveness that way. It's a box to tick, to say I've done the right thing. My heart's not in it But I did the right thing.

I ticked my box. Let me tell you. Forgiveness without reconciliation is a sham. When you are forgiven for your sins, you are reconciled to God.

And he takes you, he doesn't send you away and say, all right, now that we got that out of the way, you can go and live and do whatever you want to, and I might call in with you from time to time. He says, no, in my father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, and I go to prepare a place for you that where I am, there you may be also. Forgiveness Biblical forgiveness.

is demanded for the person who's repentant. Now, where is that in, in verse 17, I contend in advance to you that Onesimus coming back from Rome to Colossi and Philemon is a, is in itself a mark of genuine repentance. Why? Because that's a capital offense, what he's done.

He's been saved and And can you imagine as he's writing this letter? As Paul's writing the letter to Philemon, maybe, I don't know, Onesimus, was he standing behind Paul as he's, no, no, make it a little bit stronger there, Paul. no, it's gotta be stronger. there's a lot riding on this, Paul.

I could die, Paul. Say how much you really love me, Paul. Tell him to let me go, Paul. No, not yet.

I'm writing this letter, I, who knows what happened. But I, I believe that why would Onesimus go back if he wasn't a changed man? He could have been forever on the run trying to preserve his life. for someone who's truly saved, there's a real true change.

There really is. Repentance brings with it and demands restitution. It always, it always leads to the sanctification or holiness of the person saved. You show me a person who say that they've been saved and there is no progress.

Of grace and holiness in their life and my dear friends, if that describes you. Examine yourself to see that you're in the faith. Peter says, if, if these qualities are yours, if you don't just pray a prayer, sign a card, attend a church, and are increasing, he says, That's the safe place to be. The, the spiritual fruit is in existence and increasing.

And in a biblical church, forgiving the repentant is expected. He says, Receive him as you would receive me. Now how can Philemon receive Onesimus, whose sin probably stole from him, as we'll see in just a moment. How can he receive him as he would the apostle Paul?

If he wasn't willing to forgive him. One of the big mistakes, we're being trained in biblical counseling at our church, and to go through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors so that we can provide people in our church and in the in, in the churches, the fraternals, the 50 to 100 churches, small little churches in our area to provide them with an alternative to secular psychology. Men who say that they believe in the sufficiency of scripture and they say, well, if a person has a question about the Trinity, we can help them, but if their marriage is falling apart or they're depressed, we don't know what to do, we refer them out.

And so we are, we are looking at this, we are looking at and being trained in, in, in this aspect of biblical counseling.

And this aspect of biblical counseling. It's, it's been, it's been amazing, it's been so painful to go through it as a student because before you can counsel others, you have to counsel yourself. And forgiveness We, we, we must forgive. We He says, receive him as you would receive me.

He's speaking about This word received means to extend a welcome to. Romans 15:17, therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God. That's what Paul says to Philemon, to how to treat his runaway slave. Welcome him like you would me.

Wouldn't that be hard? Someone said every man should have a fair sized cemetery in which to bury the faults of his friends. Notice I didn't say in which to bury his friends. That's how some people like to treat the offenses of their friends.

Yeah, just come on over. I've got a spot for you. Romans 12:17 says, never pay back evil for evil to anyone. DL Moody is quoted as saying, those who say they will forgive but can't simply bury the hatchet but leave the handle out for immediate use.

I forgive you. Oh, wait a second. I say it again, forgiveness without reconciliation is a sham. I had a pastor come to me.

And said, Our church wants to seek reconciliation with you. And probably the most painful experience I've ever had in the ministry. He said, we're trying to preach about reconciliation in the church that, that you had to leave, but we realized we've not even been reconciled to our former pastor. And there's a cloud that's hanging over the church.

Now this man wasn't there when all of that yuck happened. And he said, what will it do? What will it take in order to bring about reconciliation? And I said Just repentance.

We're, we're, we're praying and waiting. We're ready to forgive. We, we want to forgive. In our hearts it's, it's there to take.

And he went back and talked with the 2 or 3 people. That was a reference to and he came back in later and said, I'm sorry, they're not willing to do that. He said, can't we just, pretend like it didn't happen and move on. He said it's not like we're gonna be preaching in each other's churches.

Your church is going well. We're just looking for it to turn the page. It's not like we're going to be seeing each other all the time, and I said, why not? Why aren't we gonna see each other all the time?

if we're gonna be reconciled, if we're, if we're gonna repent and we're, we're gonna forgive, why, what's gonna separate? Why, why would we be separated? when God forgave you, did he separate you from himself? No, when he forgave you, he brought you to himself.

I asked the preacher, I said, try that in your marriage. The next time you fall out with your wife, honey, I forgive you, you're in that room now, you're sleeping over there and I'm sleeping over here, and we may bump into each other every once in a while. Is that the forgiveness we're talking about? Forgiveness without reconciliation is a sham, my friends.

It's not biblical forgiveness. It's not biblical. Finally, this is really the message I wanted to preach and I've already gone over my time, so should I maybe preach next year this, this passage? I'll can I just give you the heading?

In a biblical church, believers imitate Christ. Verses 18 and 19. A pastor said to me in Southern California when I was going to seminary, I visited his church, small church. He said, everyone's known for something, Tom.

And he said to me, Everyone's known for something. Some men are known for wandering eyes. Some men are, are known for athletic ability. Some men are known for music talent.

Everyone's known for something. Tom, I wonder what you're gonna be known for. Paul was known for his love for Christ. In these 25 short verses, he refers to Jesus Christ or the Lord or Christ 10 times.

He, he's taken up with Christ. He can't get enough of Christ. his dealing with Philemon is about Christ. I it's all about him.

He, he imitates Christ and he tells others, imitate me as I imitate Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1, be imitators of me as I am of Christ, but more than imitating the apostle Paul, we are to imitate Christ himself. Can you think of any elements of the gospel that might be on Paul's mind as he writes verses 18 and 19? Where he says if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account.

Can you think of any gospel implications that he might be thinking about there? He's wronged you, owes you. Have you ever wronged God? Do you owe God?

Has anyone named Christ laid something that you did sinfully to his account? Paul's under house arrest. He has a lot of and he's under arrest for the gospel. Paul is imitating Christ and is pleading with Philemon.

And he gives us an example of a way to imitate Christ in his, in some of his most important works of salvation. He imitates, he imitates Christ's work of mediation in this whole letter where he's mediating and by the way, it's not uncommon for a mediator such as we saw with many years ago when you have mediators go from the United Nations over to Israel and the mediator themselves is killed. Believers can imitate as Paul does here though they cannot duplicate what Christ has done in his mediation, they can imitate him and Paul does just that.

He's not meddling when he writes, he's mediating.

Second, though they cannot duplicate what Christ has done, believers can imitate Christ's work of imputation. That's what he's done here. If he owes you anything, lay that to my account. If he wronged you or owes you, those deal with financial implications and as, as we've already indicated, he says, charge that to my account in verse 18, reckon this to me, literally, charge this to me.

Put that on my tab. Double imputation as we see in 2 Corinthians 5:21, for our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that he might become the righteousness of God. Apply that to my account. Isn't that what Christ did when he took our sins in his body on the tree?

And thirdly and finally, believers can imitate, though they cannot duplicate what Christ has done, believers can imitate Christ's redemptive work. Verse 19, I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it. I will redeem the debt that is owed.

There's gospel implications here, aren't there? And some of us, we can miss it if we're not looking. I will repay what's owed. Do the same time that the letter for Lehman was sent.

The letter of Colossians was sent as well and in Colossians chapter 2 verse 13 and 14, Paul says, and you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. The same church that meets in Philemon's house is reading about a debt that Jesus has paid, and Paul is saying to Philemon, just do what Jesus did.

There was this certificate of debt, but one has written with his own hand that's found there in Colossians 2:13.

We, we have the hymn, don't we? He paid a debt he did not owe. I owe a debt I could not pay. I needed someone to wash my sins away.

And now I sing A brand new song. Amazing Grace. All day long, Christ Jesus paid the debt. That I could never pay.

In a biblical church, authority and love are prayerfully balanced. Spiritual children are loved by their leaders. God's glory is more important than personal desires. God's providence heals painful wounds.

Forgiving the repentant is expected. And believers imitate Christ. Are these marks you can clearly see in your life and the life of your church? Are any of these marks absent from your life or from the life of your church?

As you Seek to be a biblical church here at Cornerstone Fellowship Bible Church. Will you pray for us that we too will be a biblical church that loves and lives for the glory of Christ in these, in these ways? I'd like for you to bow your heads with me for prayer. In just a moment the men are going to come and In just a moment we're going to worship the Lord in our giving.

But first, let's respond to the Lord in prayer to what we've heard. About the marks of a biblical church, our Heavenly Father. We thank you and we praise you for the Church of Jesus Christ. We thank you and we praise you for the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of the church.

The one who loved us and gave Himself for us. And I pray for Cornerstone Fellowship Bible Church. That all of these marks will not just be found in seed form, but they will be well developed. They will be strengths in the church and those that are not.

That today might be a day of evaluation. And a day of help for not just the leaders of the church. But for its members Lord, we've been thinking about your redemptive work and the sacrifice that you've made for sinners like us. You held not back your very best, but laid down your life so that we might hear, believe and obey and be saved.

We could never repay you. All we can do is thank you for loving us with that love. And now as we return to you, a portion of what you've blessed us with, it's, it's all yours to begin with. We owe nothing It's all yours.

Take it and use it for the advancement of the gospel both here in this place and around the world, so that your name is honored and glorified, so that from the rising of the sun to the setting of the same. Your name will be praised among the nations. We ask for your glory's sake. Amen.