Eric Robinson's Deep, Short Commentary on Philemon and Slavery
The letter to Philemon is hilarious. Paul writes, "Hey,
Phil, I'm always thanking God for you, cause your faithful and loving. That's
why I am confident that you'll do what I am about to ask you to do of your own
free will and not because I command you with the authority I have to give commands.
It's about Onesimus...he is my child now because I shared the gospel with him
like I did with you and he follows Jesus now too. I
know he used to be your slave, but he was useless to you that way, so why don't
you give him his freedom. I mean, if he owes you anything you can charge it to
me; just send the bill 'attention my Father Paul' to the prison I'm sitting in
for the sake of Jesus Christ. I won't even remind you that you owe me your life
because I shared the gospel with you too. I'm just glad to give you this
opportunity! Except you'll notice I sent Onesimus to deliver the letter even
though he is my very heart, though I really wanted to keep him so he could
minister to me in your name (it gets lonely in prison and I know how you want
to help). I look forward to your reply since I am confident you will do even
more than I am suggesting you do. Everyone says, 'Hi.' The grace of the Lord
Jesus be with your spirit." (By Eric Robinson on Facebook, by permission)
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