For Love's Sake

  1. INTRODUCTION

    1. Christians, why do you conform to the word of God?

      1. Is it because you have to keep God's commandments to be saved?

      2. Is it because you fear the eternal punishment that you will suffer if you do not keep God's commandments?

      3. Is it so that you can be a good example to others?

      4. Is it because you believe that God's word instructs you in how to live well in this world?

      5. These motivations are valid, good, and true to the Scriptures, but none of them is the best and most effective motivation.

    2. In this lesson, let us consider Paul's letter to Philemon and learn that love is the best and strongest motivation for anything that we do in the service of God.

       

  2. SURVEY OF PHILEMON

    1. Philemon was a faithful Christian apparently living in Colossae during the first century.

      1. Paul's description of Philemon names him as a "beloved brother and fellow worker" (v. 1) who practiced love and faith toward Christ and all of the saints (v. 5).  Paul said to Philemon that "the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother" (v. 7).

      2. It is surmised that Philemon lived in Colossae by comparison of the letter to Philemon and the letter to the Colossians (compare Philem. 2, 10, 12, 23, 24 to Col. 4:7-9, 10, 12, 14, 17).

    2. Paul wrote to Philemon concerning Philemon's slave, Onesimus.

      1. Onesimus had been a slave to Philemon (v. 16), but he apparently had escaped and made his way to Rome, where Paul met him and converted him to Christ while imprisoned there.

      2. The name Onesimus means useful, and Paul uses this meaning in his appeal in verses 10-11:

        10I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment, 11who formerly was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me.

    3. Paul appealed to Philemon not through his authority as an apostle but on the basis of love.

      1. Paul chooses love over authority as his appeal in verses 8-9:

        8Therefore, though I have enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is proper, 9yet for love's sake I rather appeal to you -- since I am such a person as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus...

      2. The appeal that Paul makes to Philemon is that he would accept Onesimus back as a brother in Christ rather than a slave and that he would consider Onesimus' absence as a donation of service to Paul.  Notice verses 12-17:

        12I have sent him back to you in person, that is, sending my very heart, 13whom I wished to keep with me, so that on your behalf he might minister to me in my imprisonment for the gospel; 14but without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion but of your own free will.  15For perhaps he was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, 16no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.  17If then you regard me a partner, accept him as you would me.

      3. Notice how Paul implies that any debt owed to Philemon by Onesimus is offset by the debt Philemon owed to Paul in spiritual terms (vv. 18-19).

         

  3. FOR LOVE'S SAKE OR FOR SOME OTHER REASON?

    1. Many good works are done without love.

      1. Good works have intrinsic value to those who receive them, but those who perform good works are benefited only if their motivations are right.

        1. Jesus spoke of those gave alms not for love of God or others but in order to be seen by men (Matt. 6:1-4).  He said of them, "They have their reward in full."

        2. In Acts 5:1-11, the charity of Ananias and Sapphira resulted in their deaths because they acted with evil intentions rather than from the love of God and man.

      2. Paul shows the personal uselessness of good works without love in 1Corinthians 13:1-3:

        1If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  3And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

    2. Only good works that are done because of love fully meet the standard of God's will.

      1. Loving God leads to keeping His commandments, but we must be careful not to "put the cart before the horse."

        1. Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15).  Likewise, 1John 5:3 says, "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome."

        2. Loving God is synonymous with keeping His commandments, but love must come first. Love must be the reason, not the result.

      2. Loveless good works done under compulsion do not satisfy the will of God.

        1. For example, each Christian is instructed to give "just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2Cor. 9:7).

        2. Similarly, elders are told in 1Peter 5:2 to "shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God."

        3. Thus, we can give, serve, worship, or do anything else with the correct form, but if we do so only because we are compelled without love, then we fall short of God's purpose.

    3. Love is an enduring and transcending motivation.

      1. Notice 1Corinthians 13:4-8, 13:

        4Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  8Love never fails...13But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

      2. The harder life gets, the more likely it becomes that those who are motivated for reasons other than love will fall by the wayside. However, true love never fails regardless of circumstances.

    4. How can you become fully motivated by love?

      1. You must understand God's love for you.

        1. You can understand His love by considering the sacrifice He made for you.  Notice 1John 4:9-10, 19:

          9By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.  10In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins... 19We love, because He first loved us.

        2. Our love for God and others grows naturally when we understand His love for us.

      2. You must understand God's love for others.

        1. Understand His love for all Christians in the church, for "Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her" (Eph. 5:25).

        2. Understand His love for all, "for God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

        3. Understand His love even for His enemies, "for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (Matt. 5:45), and "while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son" (Rom. 510).

        4. If the God who loves you and whom you love also loves others so much, then how can you not also love them, even when they are your own enemies (Matt. 5:43-48)?

      3. You must understand what love does.

        1. Jesus set the standard for what love does.  "We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (1John 3:16).

        2. As we noticed before, 1Corinthians 13:4-8 tells us exactly what love does.

           

  4. CONCLUSION

    1. Paul appealed to Philemon regarding Onesimus "for love's sake" (Philem. 9).  It was the very best appeal he could make, which we can have confidence that Philemon accepted.

    2. God's word likewise appeals to us for love's sake.  Will we accept God's appeal for the sake of our love for Him and our love for one another?