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We'll look at the book of Philemon this morning. Why Philemon, you say? Such a weird sermon to do in this time of the year. Well that's because as a church we've been going through the book of Colossians. And the book of Philemon is very related to the book of Colossians as you will soon see, God willing.

Well, it is a very short and personal book. The apostle Paul wrote to this man called Philemon and this is a book about generosity and about magnanimity. Being magnanimous, not being petty, not being small minded - that's what this whole book is really all about.

What is the meaning of the word 'magnanimity'? Well, the Latin word that gives us the English word 'magnanimity' - magnanimitās, which is a combination of two words: magna, which is big, and animus, which is soul or spirit. So in essence, being magnanimous means you're not small minded but you're big hearted. That's what this word is all about. So this is the virtue of being great of mind and heart, refusing to be petty.

I was in the land of New Zealand for the past two weeks or so. And we were driving; you can't travel in New Zealand without, I guess, driving. So we drove and I drove a big van. I usually drive a small car but in New Zealand you've got to drive a big van and we were at this particular place where I had to park. And because I saw someone was coming out, I was rather 'ganjiong'. I'm sorry if you don't understand the word 'ganjiong' - it's a Singaporean vernacular, I was a bit nervous. And so, being in a big van, being a bit nervous, I was careless and I backed up and I, you know the story, bumped into a car. Bom!

"Oh no! Oh no!" Everybody in the car started to shout. I ran down the car, I rushed towards the, the car and I was, I saw someone emerge from the car. The lady came out from the car. She was sitting in the car, I think scrolling through her phone and I, I'm sure it must have shocked her.

Wooow.. what happened? I was parked here, nothing's wrong and someone banged me. So she came out of the car, I ran to her, I.. I was saying, "Sorry, sorry, sorry!" I..I.. I just kept profusely saying sorry.

And I feared the worst. I feared that she would be nasty and mean. Maybe like Singaporeans, huh..huh..huh.. huh.. huh. And she would take this opportunity to exploit! You know how it is: you bang my car, wah... very serious ah! My..my neck very pain ah, there's a whiplash injury ah and I would have to pay through my nose.

But when I ran to her - well, this is the car that I knocked into - but I, when I ran to her, she smiled and I said, "I'm so sorry!"; she says, "It's okay. It happens." [laughter]

I looked at the car, I..I..I, well from the angle I came, I..I.. I couldn't see where it was damaged. I didn't care so much about our van but was concerned about hers.

And then she looked around and she said, "Yah, there's a bang here."

You see that dent? Well, I didn't quite register that that was the dent but anyway, I said, "I'm so sorry."

She said, "Is okay. Why are you here?"

I said, "We are here for holiday."

"Oh, how is New Zealand for you? You enjoy yourself?" [laughter]

I mean, I, this is like a culture shock! I was expecting her to scold me!

How.. "No, it's fine." We asked, "How will we settle this?"

She says, "A certain amount, usually that's what the panel beaters would charge." And we said, "Well, let's ex.." She said let's exchange numbers and she will let us know what it requires. But she was so nice. She's such a sweet lady. Her name is Emma.

Well, of course that bugged me for a while because I'm not sure, maybe she's a smiling assassin. [laughter]

Smile, smile, then... then later wah, send me the bill; 'jialat' [hokkien, sapping strength; describing being in trouble or a terrible situation] y'know, I don't know how.

Couple of hours later, she sent a text to my wife. She, she got the number from my wife. She exchanged the numbers. And this is what she sent us. [silence then laughter]

Create suspense, right? Because when my, my wife told me, "Ey, she sent a text!" - that's the suspense I had!

Well, she wrote, "Hi Winnie, it's Emma here from the car park. I checked with my husband and he told me that the dent on our car was from him last week [laughter], when he backed into a fence. So it looks like there was no damage from your vehicle, so please don't worry about any repairs. Have a lovely holiday. Kind regards, Emma." [applause]

Winnie wrote back, "Hi Emma." Sorry, it can't be seen so clearly but let me read it to you. "Hi Emma. Thank you for letting us know and really appreciate your kind understanding."

"You're welcome. Enjoy NZ. Emma."

"Thank you. We are, and NZ is truly lovely in terms of place and people." [applause]

New Zealand Tourism Board should listen to this. [laughter]

Emma demonstrated to me what it means to be magnanimous, to be generous, refusing to take advantage or to even exact justice, even though she could have.

Today we are going to look at Gospel magnanimity. What is Gospel magnanimity? It's simply the virtue of being great of mind and heart, a refusal to be petty because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We're going to learn about Gospel magnanimity, not between Emma and Jason, but between three people - the apostle Paul, this man called Philemon and this man called Onesimus. I know their names are complicated but just take it to be something like between James and John and Mark, something like that. It's just that their names are longer.

So this story begins with Philemon. Philemon is a household patriarch in those days who owns slaves. He's probably a quite well-to-do man. He happens to have this slave named Onesimus. And Onesimus somehow had something against his master or did something wrong against his master. He might have stolen, he might have cheated his master, or he may simply have run away from his master. So that's what we see.

He ran - Onesimus, the slave - ran from Philemon, his master. And he ran until he met, he ran into the apostle Paul in prison. Apostle Paul, the ever-faithful Gospel witness, shared with him the Good News of Jesus Christ. And now, amazingly, Onesimus becomes a believer of Jesus.

Onesimus served Paul whilst he was in prison. And then, after a while, Paul said, "Onesimus, you need to go back to your master, Philemon." So he sent Onesimus back on his way to Philemon. So now that he's back, the apostle Paul also sends a letter to Philemon saying, "Please forgive and receive Onesimus back to yourself."

I'm so glad in those days they don't have a phone. Because if they had a phone, the conversation would be over and nobody would know what happened. But because Paul wrote this letter of Philemon, we now understand the contents of what he said and how that should encourage all of us in Gospel magnanimity.

So let's look at the text. It's a very straightforward, simple text. 25 verses, we'll cover it in no time in this one sermon.

Paul began with greetings. 'Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus and Timothy, our brother, to Philemon, our beloved fellow worker and Apphia, our sister and Archippus, our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ' [v1-3]. Typical Pauline greetings. Grace, peace to you. Something to note - this is a letter from Paul and Timothy, just like Colossians.

And it's written to a group of people: to Philemon, to Apphia, to Archippus and to the church. So this is not just a letter to one man, even though the content is very much directed to one man, Philemon, but it's really to this group of people, to the local church that is meeting in your house, Philemon.

In those days, people do not gather in an auditorium like this. They gather in homes, home churches. Just like in Colossae, there are people who will gather at Nympha's house. Now we read, they are meeting at Philemon's house as well.

So this is a personal letter to Philemon but it's not private, it's public. Everybody should know that this is what Paul the apostle is urging Philemon to do, to receive and to forgive Onesimus. So that we all learn about Gospel magnanimity.

So now, after the greetings, the apostle Paul praises Philemon. He appreciates Philemon. He wants to make sure they are on the right terms, they are having that confidence and assurance. Philemon is having that assurance that Paul loves him and is for him.

So Paul says, "I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers," [v4]. Philemon, I love you. I, I'm praying for you and I want to thank God for you because I see wonderful evidence of salvation in your life. The work of God in your life - 'your love and your faith or your faithfulness towards the Lord Jesus and for all the saints' [v5]. I see that in you 'and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective' [v6a].

The word 'sharing' here is the word 'koinōnia' in the Greek, which means the partnership, the communion. And I am praying, Paul says, that the communion, the partnership together in the Gospel will be very 'effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, and the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you' [v6b-7].

So, Paul is very tactful and sensitive. He gives honour where honour is due. Clearly, Philemon is a good man, a godly man, a loving man, a lovely man. And Paul says, "I want to assure you of my love. I want to have a good rapport with you right from the word go. Because after this, I'm going to send you my request." And in verse 8, having established this rapport, he says, "Accordingly now, let me make this request. Let me make this plea for Onesimus."

'Accordingly, even though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required' [v8]. So Paul says, "I'm an apostle. I actually have the authority to tell you what you should do. But I refrain from it, I do not want to command you to do what is required. I do not want to compel you because I prefer to appeal to you for love's sake."

I love you. I love you and I do not want to force you. I want you to have that freedom, that joy of making this godly decision. So, 'for love's sake, I'd rather appeal to you' [v9a], to implore you, to plead with you, to beg you. 'I, Paul, an old man . . .' [v9b]. Uh, you can't refuse that, can you? I, Paul, already 'lao leow leh'. In Hokkien here, we say 'lao kok kok' - very old, rickety old man. I'm an old man, and not only that, I'm a prisoner. How could.. uuh..? That's the response - Uuh! How can I say no to my spiritual father, Apostle Paul?

So Paul says, "I plead with you. 'I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus'" [v10a]. Onesimus is not just a slave. He's not a worthless slave. He's not someone who is useless. He's my child. I led him to faith in Jesus Christ. God gave me this wonderful privilege to help him in the Gospel. And now, in a sense, our hearts are so knitted together. He's like my son, 'whose father I became in my imprisonment' [v10b]. Unique Gospel opportunity when Onesimus came into the prison and I shared with him the Gospel.

'Formerly, Onesimus is useless to you' [v11a], he's a no-gooder. Maybe because he ran away and did not get to serve Philemon. 'But now, he's indeed useful to you and to me' [v11b]. He served me in prison. And he will be useful to you because he's a changed man. 'I'm sending him back to you, sending my very heart' [v12]. Uh, he's so precious to me but I will send him back to you. Why? Because I would, even though 'I would be glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf' [v13].

Wah, this one. Philemon, you should actually be here one, you know. But never mind. Since you can't be here, I'm glad that Onesimus can do so on your behalf. But never mind, I'm also going to send him back to you. I'm sending you my very heart. I'm an old man, I'm a prisoner, but never mind. I mean, that's how he's, he's writing it, isn't it?

'but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord' [v14]. I would love it for you to make that choice yourself.

'For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever' [v15]. Maybe this is the way God works. You, you thought this is a bad thing, my slave ran away but it might be a good thing because now he's converted, now he's become a Christian, you might have him back forever, 'no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother ̶ ̶ especially to me, but much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord' [v16].

So, Philemon, because of the koinōnia of the faith, 'if you consider me your partner,' not just because I'm an apostle, 'receive him as you would receive me' [v17]. Welcome him, love him, treat him well. Don't give it to him.

"If he has wronged you at all," Paul says, "or owes you anything, charge that to my account" [v18]. So Paul is not saying, sweep everything underneath the carpet. He says, "If someone needs to pay, let me pay. Onesimus probably has nothing to pay you but I will pay. Charge it to my account, I will absorb the debt."

'I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it ̶ ̶ to say nothing of you, of your owing me, even your own self' [v19].

You know, Paul, quite a sharp guy ah. You wouldn't want to negotiate with him too much, he reminds you of what you owe him. Now, I don't think this is financial in any way, this is spiritual. I, he probably is saying, led you to faith. You owe me everything. Well, but even if you do want to exact some payment, I'm glad to do it, put it to my account.

'Yes, brother, I want some benefit,' some favour, some goodness, 'from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ' [v20]. I hope you cheer my heart in Christ. I hope you'll not disappoint me.

'Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say' [v21]. Wah, you say like that, very hard to say no already lah. [laughter]

'At the same time, prepare a guest room for me,' for whilst I'm at it, get ready a place because, 'I'm hoping that through your prayers, I will be graciously given to you' [v22]. Probably saying, you know, I'll meet up in the future, will be so much sweeter and satisfying if you receive Onesimus well.

But if you don't. . . 'Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke' [v23-24]. Remember these names? They were the names mentioned also in Colossians. That's why we know Colossians and Philemon are very related letters.

'The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit' [v25].

What is this letter all about? Well, I think this letter teaches us the art of letter writing, the art of persuasion, the skill of getting people to do what they should do. I mean Paul is great at it but I don't, well, you should, I think we can learn, take a leaf from this page. I..I, this book, I don't think that's the main lesson, I think the main lesson is about Gospel generosity or magnanimity.

There is a rift between two brothers. And the apostle Paul comes in, comes somewhat like a mediator. And Paul says to Philemon, "Phil. . ." Huh, I'm not sure he'll call him Phil but I say, "Phil, forgive and receive Onesimus like how you will receive me. Be generous to him, be magnanimous toward him. He has been useful to me in the Gospel. He's very dear to me in the Gospel. He's now your brother in the Gospel. For our partnership in the Gospel, forgive and receive him."

I read about this young man. His name is Nicholas. Young man, of course, the one in the middle. Six years ago, when he was 25, Nicholas was driving in the United Kingdom at a speed of 160 kilometres per hour. That's very fast; I'm not sure what's the limit there but 160 is fast. But not only that, he was driving under the influence of alcohol. He had just the equivalent of 10 shots of alcohol. Driving 160, he came to a bend, lost control of his car, and it crashed into a concrete road divider, thereby killing his girlfriend who is beside him.

He expected the worst when he went to speak with his girlfriend's parents, Fernando and Elizabeth, these two who are beside him. Instead of railing at him, the couple says, "We forgive you." And it was not just a one-liner, because they kept in touch on phone call daily after that. And when Nicholas had no place to stay in the United Kingdom, they opened up their home to receive him into their home, into their house.

Nicholas was eventually sentenced to jail for two years. But every week without fail, Fernando and Elizabeth would take a 100-kilometre journey to visit him in prison and to assure him, they forgive him and love him. Nicholas, he says, "Growing up, I didn't understand what unconditional love looked like. With Fernando and Elizabeth, I'm completely undeserving, but they still do..."

As it turned out, Fernando and Elizabeth are followers of Jesus Christ. In fact, they were missionaries from Costa Rica to the United Kingdom. What an interesting thing, isn't it? Most of the time, we think missionaries come from UK to elsewhere, but times have changed. People are coming back to where the Gospel is needed. He went on to say, "I really, really see now what unconditional love means."

How did the parents feel? Well, Fernando, he said, "When Nick asked me for forgiveness, he asked with his whole heart. He was in tears. He hugged me and cried, 'Please forgive me.'"

Who wouldn't? Your daughter has been killed by him. "Should I kill him? Should I say something bad?"

"Then, I felt that response from God to say, 'I forgive you, son. I forgive you.' God forgave me and loved me, and so I forgive Nick."

Well, Nicholas subsequently married. His wife remarked this. She said, "This is what heaven looks like, where we are not bonded by blood of man, but by the blood of Jesus. This is real heavenly love. I don't think I've found it anywhere else. It affects how I love my enemies and my family."

See, Fernando and Elizabeth demonstrated Gospel magnanimity. To forgive, not just unwillingly but generously. And to receive Nicholas to their own. Right now, they view Nicholas as their son. They lost a daughter but they said, "We have a new son." And when Nicholas and Yvonne, his wife, had a child, Elizabeth will be the one helping to take care of her grandson, as it were. [applause]

They love because God loved them.

Yesterday I was here, not just for the APIIS graduation but earlier on in the morning for a wedding. The couple chose a simple verse and it was 1 John 1, 1 John 4:19: We love because He first loved us. I preached a sermon, but you know, it was after I preached the sermon that I realized something that was, that I, I didn't quite see it as clearly.

John says, "We love..." We love, we love God and we love one another. Why..? We love one another because one another - very nice. We are such a lovely church. We are such a wonderful people, kind people, sweet and loving people. Is that what John says? No. We love not because she is good. We love not because they are nice. We love because He! It's not about people. The real motivation to love, John says, is because God loved us.

It's not a man-centred motivation, it's a God-centred motivation. And we know God first loved us because of the cross of Jesus Christ. 1 John 4:14 says, because 'God sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world'. And therefore we know His love.

Are you today grappling with bitterness and unforgiveness? Maybe even as you came to church, you are angry with someone, angry with some group of people and you say, I want to get back. If I only have the chance, I will make him pay.

Well, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you have experienced His love for you, then be tender-hearted, kind, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you. The secret to forgiving, the secret to loving, is not found in seeing the good in other people. It's not. Because you will always find more bad than good, often times. Especially when you are already angry with the person.

The secret is in looking to God. Forgiveness is not looking at you; forgiveness is looking to God and what He has done for us.

Maybe today you are upset with your wife, upset with your husband, upset with your boss, upset with church members and you left church. You left the other church to come to this church. I tell you, if that is your modus operandi, it will not be very long before you also leave this church. Because you can't forgive, you just want to run away. But no, God wants you to be released from the baggage of bitterness and unforgiveness. You've got to forgive. And you can forgive when you realize how much God has forgiven you.

I think the best Christmas present you can give to anyone today is your forgiveness. To release that person from his debt, to restore and be reconciled, and you set yourself free.

Well, there's just one more thing I want to say from this text. And it is Paul's generous offer to say, I will repay on his behalf, charge it all to my account.

Like I said, this is the shortest book Paul wrote. But it's a very personal letter. And he's saying here, I will absorb that debt. I, I will write the IOU, I will pay.

And it's interesting because this is the only book by Paul, as far as we know, where he doesn't talk explicitly about the res.., the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He didn't talk much about the sacrifice of Jesus, probably because he's saying, I'm embodying it in my life. I'm willing to suffer and to absorb the damage on behalf of Onesimus. He is that mediator. He is, he is right here saying, I will be magnanimous because of the Gospel.

Isn't Paul a picture then of our Saviour, Jesus Christ? The Bible tells us, in Christ, in Jesus, in His sacrifice on the cross, in the laying down of His life, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself. We serve a God who is so willing to forgive. A God who is so willing to receive. Why? Because He sent His Son to pay for your debt. And the Bible says to you, 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life' [John 3:16].

This has been a sermon for Christians to forgive, to receive in obedience to God. But this is also a message to you, if you have not known Jesus as your Saviour, that you will know that this generous, magnanimous God is willing to forgive you. In fact, He has sent His Son to pay for you. Turn from your sin, believe in Jesus Christ, follow Him, serve God. May God grant you eternal life indeed. Let's bow for a word of prayer together.

Forgiveness and reconciliation. These two words could adequately, suitably, summarize the message of the entire Bible. Because the Bible tells us how man has sinned against God. And now we are incorrigibly rebellious. Nothing we do is worthy of God. Nothing we do can bring pleasure to God.

Every religion in the world says, 'Do better, try harder'. But you know what? The Bible says there's nothing you do that is worthy of this Holy and Perfect God. But this God is far better, far kinder, far more magnanimous and gracious than you can ever imagine. Because this God says in His eternal Word, 'For God demonstrated His love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us'.

God is saying, I will forgive you. I will reconcile with you because I will pay for you. My Son has died and risen again. And I'm giving this window of opportunity to the world, that they may repent and believe in Him, that they might be saved and they might be reconciled.

So to all my dear friends today, there is forgiveness that flows from the cross. There is finally a way back to God. Why? Because God is magnanimous, because God is generous, because God is gracious. And because Jesus, His Son, paid it all. Oh, I plead with you. I plead with you to think about your eternal life - where you will spend eternity.

You see, we are not just going to sleep, we're not just going to disappear, we are going to live forever. The question is, how will you have your eternity?

If you're still an enemy of God, after you die, the judgement will be fearsome. But today, you can be saved. You can bow, you can humble yourself before this Almighty God. Not just an Almighty God, but a, but a super duper good God. Come to Jesus.

And I pray again for my brothers and sisters in Christ. People are never perfect. We are never really nice. We are like little porcupines. We poke people the wrong way. So if you are looking for a perfect church, if you're looking for a perfect wife, if you're looking for a perfect husband, you're looking for a perfect care group, you will never find one. Not on this side of heaven.

But it really doesn't matter. Because that's why God calls us to live in this world as witnesses. To live out lives of unconditional love because of the Gospel of Jesus. He calls you today to make a choice, a decision to forgive, to release the debt and to reconcile, to love. 'By this shall all men know you are my disciples, if you have love one for another'.

May this Christmas be a season you give the most important gift of all to those who may have wronged you or defrauded you. May we lay it all at the foot of the cross, for Jesus paid it all.

So Father, thank You today for Your Son, He's majestic, He's glorious; and yet He became meek, He became a Servant, He became a Sacrifice for us. May Your church worship Him today. Free us from guilt, free us from shame, free us from our sin, free us from bitterness. May Your people live in the light and joy of Your love. We pray all this in Jesus' Name, Amen.

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