Subject: Slavery - Philemon

Philemon 1:10-11 (ESV Strong's)
I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.)

Subject:  Human bondage - Slavery

The story of Philemon could be repeated, in Paul's day, numerous times.   The most common normative of the day may have been slavery.   It would not be hard to find evidence that more than 70% of people, during this time period of Roman rule, were in a slave-owner relationship.   That was the way it was.  The church did not ignore slavery, but saw the power of the Gospel vs. the power of the government to change what was broken in people to change how they treated each other.  Paul looked at slavery through the lens of the Gospel.  He probably didn't ignore slavery, only seeing it as a societal institution not needing change via political strategies; but rather as a societal institution that would be and could be transformed through the power of the gospel.  As those who were caught in the bond of this societal normative (at the time no one thought differently) began to come to Christ, the power of the Gospel would change their view of the slave and master positions ... The power of love, found in the gospel, would and could change heart, soul and station.  Today most believers look at the power of government and the laws within our constitution to change the social ills of the day.   Most will fight for and should fight for the "rights" of others via the law.   However, the power to change the way people behave in these social challenges is not found in legal standards and constitutional law, but through the Law of Love as laid out by Christ.   Some would say that Christ did not speak about slavery.   He simply acknowledged it as a social norm.  He even used slavery in a few parables, but didn't condone it or speak out against it (see Luke 12:47-48).   But, Jesus did speak to slavery in His death.  He came to solve the very essence of slavery: Sin!!  He knew that the power of God's love via the gospel message, He would provide, would be all that is needed to solve slavery and any other social disjunction.   We ought to continue this.  Paul preached the gospel to Philemon who's slave, Onesimus, ran away.  Philemon was not to stake his legal claim on Onesimus, he was implored, by Paul, to practice the Law of Love.