Lord's Day - September 4, 2005
Scripture Passage of the Day: Philemon 1
Mark gave a brief introduction to Philemon ... then focused on Paul's prayer for Philemon in verses 4-7, asking the question: Am I a refreshment to the saints? ... to the church? ... to my family?
Craig presented two principles from this short epistle: (1) The principle of forgiveness/restitution ... forgiving those who have wronged us, and going back to make things right if needed. (2) The principle of equality. While the New Testament does not specifically forbid slavery, verses like Philemon 16 lay the groundwork for ending it. Verse 16 "brings us into an atmosphere where the institution of slavery would wilt and die."
Alan asked the question, How would I receive this letter if I were Philemon? Knowing what we know of Philemon, he must have received Onesimus back and written off the debt. How do I handle those who have wronged me? Alan also noted the principle (also seen in the Good Samaritan) of voluntarily taking the burdens of others ... especially fitting in light of the recent Hurricane Katrina destruction.
We meditated on verses 17 and 18 as a picture of what Christ has done for us ... "receive him as you would me" (we are accepted in Christ before the Father) ... "if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account" (Christ has taken our debt upon himself). We sang ...
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe.
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow!
Greg noted that based on the description of Philemon in verses 4-7, if Philemon were faced with a disaster like Katrina, he would certainly open his home and heart to those who needed help.
PRAYER BURDENS:
We spent much time discussing our church's response to the needs of those displaced by Katrina. We prayed among other things for God to bring across our path a specific family we could be a blessing to.
Chief Justice Rehnquist's death ... pray for America.
Josiah A. (5 year old with brain tumor)
Michelle M. (13 year old with serious cancer diagnosis)
Shirley W. (Alan met her this week) ... pray for her neighborhood ministry to children.
Lynn's parents as they return to Gulfport.
posted by Mark Frees @ 9:59 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
I just noticed this comment from the review of this service: "The principle of equality". I do not believe that this is a Biblical concept at all. In fact, I think the essence of it is very anti-Biblical. The new testament in many places enforces the idea that we all have unequal positions in life. God explicitly commands servants to be subject to their masters and masters to treat their servants fairly. To me, this is not an undermining of the relationship but a reinforcement of such. God also says we all have been given different roles and talents. He said that we should be subject to principalities. In fact, the Isrealites were lead by a King. The concept of a King is not one that can be associated with equality, but yet it is supported in the Bible. The Levites were also a form of leadership. Is it equal that one could only be born a Levite? In fact, the Bible in no way endorses a democratic form of government. That is definitely not equality. God did not create men and women with equal positions. Neither have better positions, but they definitely are not equal. God favors the Jews. It states that clearly in Romans. Is that equality? The concept of equality is foreign to the Bible. This is hard for us to accept somtimes living in the humanistic, politically-correct world that we do. Equality is a liberal, manipulated word used by humanist everywhere as justification for their agenda. Now, justice and goodness, yes, those positions are upheld by the scriptures. But they are far different than equality. God can justly deal with every individual in a unique way based on the set of circumstances in which God has put them. While I do noy like the concept of slavery, I definitely do not think it is a good idea to try and twist a scripture to show that it is wrong. Philemon verse 16 has nothing to do with slavery at all. Paul is simply asking the Christians to treat someone like they would him. Someone that they may have had issues with in the past. To try and use this verse to show that God supports equality is an undermining of so many other scriptures which support the exact opposite. I am not a Calvinist by any stretch, but I especially do not see how a Calvinist could think equality is anywhere in the Bible, seeing how under that belief system God has chosen not to save some people.
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