1
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Paul Asked for
Forgiveness of Onesimus
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2
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(Philemon
1:17-18)
So
if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.
If
he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me.
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3
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In a place called
Colosse, a man named Philemon lived.
This man was very rich so he had many slaves.
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4
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One day, Paul was
telling the gospel and by chance Philemon heard Paul.
At that moment, the Holy Spirit opened the heart of Philemon so he accepted
Jesus. Philemon was very thankful to Paul for telling the gospel to him.
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5
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After returning to
Colosse, Philemon helped Epaphras, who built the church of Colosse and served
God very eagerly. He was also eager in telling others to believe God. Moreover,
Philemon was a very good church member. He cared for others through using
what he had.
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6
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One day, Onesimus, a
slave in Philemon's house, ran away. It is not clearly written in the Bible
if Onesimus stole his master's money or did a worse thing but it is sure that
he did a very big wrong thing to Philemon and he ran away because he was
afraid.
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7
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During that time,
slaves were properties of the master so if a slave ran away and was caught,
the slave would receive a big punishment. Onesimus ran away until he reached
Rome. Anywhere he went, Onesimus was worried because he was hiding from his master.
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8
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One day, the Apostle
Paul was telling the gospel of God and by chance, Onesimus heard Paul. In
that place, Onesimus heard the words about the gospel of Jesus and accepted
Jesus in his heart.
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9
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After accepting Jesus
in his heart, Onesimus became a totally different person.
He repented of the wrong thing that he had done to his master Philemon.
And from that day on, he helped the Apostle Paul's work in telling the
gospel.
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10
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The Apostle Paul
treated this Onesimus very preciously. Onesimus became a very helpful person to the Apostle Paul.
The Apostle Paul trusted this Onesimus so much that he called Onesimus as his
son in the faith and even called Onesimus as, his very heart.
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11
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But the Apostle Paul
thought that it was not right to keep Onesimus with him since Onesimus had a
master. So the Apostle Paul decided to send Onesimus back to Philemon. For
Onesimus, the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to Philemon. The Book of Philemon
is that letter.
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12
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For Onesimus, Paul
wrote to Philemon like this.
"I appeal for Onesimus, who became my son in faith while I was in
prison. Formerly, he was a useless slave to you but now he has became very
helpful to both you and to me. I am sending him, who is my very heart, back
to you."
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13
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"So
if you think me as your friend, please welcome him as you would welcome me.
If he has done any wrong thing to you or owes you anything, charge it to
me."
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14
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The
Apostle Paul asked Philemon earnestly to forgive and to accept Onesimus
again. Paul
did his best to make Philemon forgive the wrong doing of Onesimus, therefore,
Paul became the mediator between them and reconciled Philemon and Onesimus
back together.
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15
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We
are also like Onesimus. God
is our owner but many times, we don't follow God words and make God's heart
sad. Like how Onesimus ran away, we also have a bad habit of going far from
God.
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16
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But Jesus died on the
cross for our sins and everyday, Jesus is praying to God for us. Everyday,
Jesus is asking God to forgive our sins and asks God to never give up on us.
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17
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Like
how Onesimus was changed, we should also stop our bad habits of committing sins.
If you will accept Jesus in your heart, the Holy Spirit will help you to live
a changed life. I hope you can become faithful people who will follow and
obey the leading of the Holy Spirit to make Jesus happy.
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