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enough, he ask« Philemon to charge him w ith the account. The Roman law is thu s described by Dr. A. T. P ierson: “Roman Law gave the slave no rig h t of asylum, b u t conceded one righ t, th a t of appeal. He m ight flee to his mas te r’s friend, not for concealment bu t for intercession. The owner was absolute, bu t m ight be sought through a friend whom he counted as a p artn er and th e slave, who fled thus to an intercessor did not incur th e guilt and pen alty of a fugitive. Again, th e Roman Law pro vided for th e slave’s manum ission: he m ight be adopted by his m aster as a son and so be freed.” P aul says to Philemon, “You owe your life to me, and I feel sure you will respond to this, my requ est.” W hat an opportunity is th is to search our own h earts and make th e applica tion. Do we not owe all th a t we are and have to Jesus Christ? Were, we no t in S atan ’s bonds and bound for S atan ’s doom when Christ in grace released us? Did He not pur chase us a t a g reat price?, Have we the h ea rt to deny this? Shall we not gladly acknowledge it, and pu t our selves a t His disposal for service? Shall we not give our Lord joy -in our daily service, as bond-servants, saying to Him, “ I delight to do th y will, O my Lord” ? Would it be too much for us to offer our l'fe ’s blood for such an one as He? Cannot we refresh th e soul of our Lord by th e su rrend er of our all to Him, and en ter in to th e sweets of, fel lowship w ith Him in all things? (4) P a u l’s P a rtin g Benediction, vs. 22-23 He gives the salu tation of his fellow- prisoners. P au l had as hum an a h eart as any man who ever lived. He never lifted him self above his fellows. He was always one w ith them . He had a rich heritage as a resu lt of his service. His closing words are full of loving salu tation to th e b reth ren beloved in th e Lord. How much they depended
upon each o ther in those strang e dark days during which they gladly toiled and suffered and in which all of those mentioned probably paid the penalty of a m a rty r’s death for th e ir faith. PRACTICAL POINTS t ( l ) Philemon was a precious pro duct of th e preaching of Paul. (2) The fellowship of believers is founded upon a fam ily tie,— they are one in Christ. (3 ) Love is a principal th a t has a draw ing power. (4 ) Onesimus, th e runaw ay slave, found safety in th e arm s of Christ. (5) An ungodly, profitless (useless) man may become a godly, profitable (useful) servant of Christ. (6 ) Christ can say to us, “Thou owest to me th ine own self.” (7) P aul was enriched by his rig h t eous deed in retu rn in g Onesimus to his master. v. 9. F o r love’s sake. Note th a t th e apostle was a perfect gentlem an.— Cole ridge. v. 10. My son. A m iserable, un profitable slave COMMENTS FROM and r u n a w a y MANY SOURCES th ief had become Keith L. Brooks a child of God, born ag a in ; and th e loving servant of th e Lord presses him to his bosom and calls him “my child” and speaks of him as being now profitable to him and to Philemon. Oh, th e wonders of divine grace!— Gaebe- lein. I beseech thee. P au l had learned this aspect of love’s m inistry in i the school of Christ and is endeavoring to deal w ith Onesimus as Christ had dealt w ith him. His own sins had all been laid to th e account of th e Lamb who died, and in v irtue of His name he found him self a free man. W hat r e sponsive love should all th is invoke!— Holden. Onesimus. Was a slave of Philemon and apparently had stolen som ething from his m aster or been guilty of some dishonesty (v. 18) and had fled to Rome, th e refuge of run aways in those days. He went to hear P aul preach (Acts 28:30, 31) and probably sought a private interview and was converted and th u s became P au l’s
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