The Book of Philemon - Unity in the Gospel

For this reason, though I am more than bold enough in Christ to command you to do the right thing, yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love. – Philemon 1:8-9a

Philemon is a personal letter from the Apostle Paul to one of his co-workers, Philemon.  The purpose of this letter is to advocate for Onesimus, a runaway slave of Philemon’s.  Paul writes the letter while in prison and we learn that this is where Paul met and shared the Gospel with Onesimus.

This personal letter encourages us to see the ways that from the beginning, Christians placed an emphasis on the ways that the Gospel unites us.  The mutual love of Christian community is meant to overcome mistakes and fissures that create tension in our personal relationships.

Paul appeals to Philemon “on the basis of love”, highlighting the lens Christians are called to use for all discernment.  It is on the basis of love, that we have been forgiven by God and so it is on the basis of love that we forgive those who have wronged us.