Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] You're listening to a live recording from Westside Church in Bend, Oregon. Thanks for joining us.
[00:00:07] Hi, everybody. It's good to be with you today. Here's a question for you. Have you ever considered the relationship between justice and mercy?
[00:00:17] When do you execute justice and when do you show mercy? It's an often debated topic in our culture, especially around politics and amongst lawyers. It comes up whenever the death penalty is discussed or how drug offenses should be enforced. This relationship, what's fair? What's just, what's merciful? Who gets to decide?
[00:00:40] Thankfully, I'm not here to answer those questions for our justice or political system. So everybody just take a deep breath. I'm not going to go there. But what I do want to talk to us about today is the relationship between justice and mercy from a biblical perspective. As we finish our series regarding Paul's letter to Philemon, western civilization has an interesting relationship with justice. There's a statue that's displayed in many, many courthouses all over the United States and in Europe. I actually have a picture that this one you can purchase at the gift shop of our supreme court. And so that's lady justice. You probably are familiar with her. It's based on the greek goddess themis. She's a young, athletic woman, blindfolded, holding a sword on one hand and the scales of justice in the other. And she's blindfolded because she dispenses justice impartially. And the sword obviously represents that. She enforces justice. She's also stepping on the head of a serpent. I actually had never known that part of this. She's stepping on the head of a serpent in many of the statues that are displayed. That just tells me that this woman is serious. You should not mess with her.
[00:01:53] To hold people to account for what they do. It reminds us that those who live by the sword die by the sword. Justice.
[00:02:02] If you spend any length of time in the church, you've heard that. You've probably heard that God is a God of justice, but you've also probably heard that he is a God of mercy. And so the question is, can God be both at the same time?
[00:02:18] That's a question. How can you be both just and merciful? Doesn't showing mercy sometimes mean that you forego justice and being just sometimes means you can't show mercy? Right.
[00:02:37] It's a bit of a conundrum. And here's how God described himself to Moses. Just to complicate things even more, in the book of Exodus, God shows himself to Moses and he passes in front of Moses. And this is what he says about himself, the Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, merciful, slow to anger, right, bounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness. Talk about the God of mercy. But without taking a breath, he goes on.
[00:03:07] Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.
[00:03:12] Justice. He punishes the children and their children for the sin of their parents to the third and fourth generations. So I have to ask, which is it? God? Let us know, like, which one do you like err on the side of? I'm really curious about that. Is he the God of justice or the God of mercy? And here's a question, that how you answer this question will impact the way that you live out your faith as a follower of Jesus. Here's the question. Can God be both just and merciful at the same time?
[00:03:47] I want you to think about that question, because how you answer, how you personally answer that question impacts the way that we treat others. Can God be both just and merciful at the same time?
[00:04:01] Now, the problem with Philemon is that he is a slave owner. And his slave, Onesimus, has ran away and found Paul in prison. And in the process, he has also found Jesus. So what does justice look like for both Philemon, who has lost his slave to Paul, and what does justice look like to Onesimus, who has been Philemon's slave? And what does mercy look like for both?
[00:04:30] And the problem with this letter historically is that this letter has been often used to justify a social hierarchy and even worse, provide biblical justification for oppression.
[00:04:41] And so on one hand, we've been trying, through this short series, through this very small letter that Paul wrote to Philemon. We've been trying to interpret correctly and apply this letter of Paul to Philemon. And on the other hand, we've been trying to show how it applies in our own lives and in relationships with those we have in the church and outside of the church, with those who are oppressed and marginalized in our communities. And so today, I want us to look at this letter to Philemon and how it reveals both the radical justice and the radical mercy God. Let's pray.
[00:05:16] Heavenly Father, as we open your word today and really look at a deep, fundamental question that faces all of us, whether we are followers of Jesus or not, how you view justice and mercy, how you act as both a just God and a merciful God. And so, Lord, would you reveal something to us of your, of your character, of your personhood, of how you see us, how you interact with us and Lord, may that filter into our own lives and relationships and actions toward others, that we would not misrepresent you in our interactions with those in our community and world. I pray. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. If you have your Bible, you can turn with me in Philemon. Good luck finding it. It's a one page letter. It's in between titles in the book of Hebrews. Not that that is helpful to us, but it's there. It is there. I promise you. It's in the New Testament somewhere right there, like just, you know, fold your. Anyway, it's on the screen. And I want us to look at the second half. I'm not going to read the whole letter. Pastor Evan did that last week. I want us to look at Philemon starting in verse 17. This is kind of the second half of Paul's appeal to Philemon. We'll start in verse 17.
[00:06:39] He writes, so if you consider me a partner, so if you, Philemon, consider me, Paul, a partner, welcome him, Onesimus, as you would welcome me. Treat onesimus as you would treat me. That's what he's saying. If he has done you, if Onesimus has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me, not to Onesimus. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. Just to clarify, because Onesimus is actually carrying this letter to Philemon. So he wants to make sure Philemon knows this is me writing. And I, Paul, I'm writing this with my own hand. He says, I will pay it back.
[00:07:18] Whatever you feel Onesimus owes you, I will pay for it. I'll do it. Not to mention that you owe me your very self. So Paul's like saying, maybe just take it off of that account and let me know how much I owe you after that. I think that's what he's saying. Right? Smart guy. Yeah, smart guy. I do wish verse 20. I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord. So Paul's actually asking for some benefit from Philemon. Refresh my heart in Christ. So this issue that we're dealing with, that we're going to talk about today, that we're going to conclude with today, it has something to do with how it refreshes the heart of Paul. And I wouldn't argue the heart of others, both inside and outside the church. Confident of your obedience.
[00:08:02] I'm confident you're going to obey what I'm asking. I write to you knowing that you will do even more than I ask. Paul is laying it on thick. And one thing more. Prepare a guest room for me. Uh oh. He's coming to visit, you know, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers. And finally, but at that moment starts to think, ah, I hope Paul stays in prison for a little bit longer. I'm not sure I'm ready to see him. Epaphorus, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings, and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, be with your spirit. Such a short letter that has huge impact in how we think about relationships within and outside the church. And there's a few things here that I just want to briefly touch on, that I want to make sure we understand about what's happening in this narrative as we apply this to the idea of justice and mercy. First, onesimus became a Christian. This is important. He became a Christian after he escaped Philemon. So he was not a Christian while he served under Philemon. And this is important because it's no longer a conversation about how do you treat a slave. It's a conversation about how do you treat a brother.
[00:09:18] And that's important to Paul that this is not about, you know, I'm returning him to you as a slave, Paul. I'm returning him to you as a brother. It's not about what Onesimus has done wrong, but how Philemon will respond when Onesimus returns.
[00:09:35] Matter of fact, it's interesting if you read it carefully. Paul does not actually acknowledge any wrongdoing by Onesimus.
[00:09:42] And he said, well, he says, if he has done any wrong to you. But Paul is like, if it's hypothetical, he's actually not. He could have said, since onesimus has done wrong to you, but he doesn't. He says, if he has, he's definitely not giving that up. He's like, I don't think Paul's convinced that onesimus has done anything wrong.
[00:10:03] But Paul's saying, if you think injustice has been done to you, Philemon, then I'm not saying it has. But if you do think it has, then I'll pay it back. Then I will stand in the gap for Onesimus.
[00:10:20] And then not only that, Paul doesn't immediately return Onesimus. So Onesimus stays for a season with Paul because he's a vital part of Paul's ministry in Rome, and he needs him. But there's this issue that must be resolved between two brothers before anything progresses further. And there's nothing. This is important. There's nothing onesimus can do to right any of the wrongs matter of fact, Paul doesn't even ask anything of Onesimus other than to carry this letter back with him to Philemon the onus. And this is important. The onus for reconciliation lies with two people, Philemon and Paul.
[00:11:01] The two people with the most power and authority in this situation get to decide what justice and mercy looks like for Onesimus.
[00:11:12] Paul asked Philemon for partnership, not punishment. But if anything needs to be justified, Paul's saying, charge it to me. And if he. And if Philemon decides, like, well, yes, there is some things that need to be done. Paul's like, well, then charge them to me. But, right, just remind you, you owe me your very life. And what Paul is saying here is that there are some debts that simply can't be paid and arguably shouldn't be paid because the scales do not balance.
[00:11:49] Paul doesn't have any money.
[00:11:52] So what is Paul talking about? Charge it to me. Paul's in prison. He's got nothing. How is he going to pay this back? But this is Paul's way of saying that there is nothing to. This has nothing to do with lost wages or lost time. It has to do with lost relationship.
[00:12:09] Paul asked for reconciliation because broken relationship is the most important thing for reconciliation. He asked for Philemon to make things right, not onesimus.
[00:12:23] And then Paul says, refresh my heart. It's about what's going on in your heart, right?
[00:12:28] I'm sending you Onesimus, but I'm sending you my very heart, is what Paul's saying. Whatever you do to him, do to me.
[00:12:35] And Paul has become Onesimus. Advocate, arguing on his behalf, standing in the gap, providing the resource if needed and necessary.
[00:12:46] And then Paul takes it a step further, and he just says, hey, actually, I'm confident you're going to do even more than I'm asking. He's putting a lot of faith in Philemon. He's asking Philemon to forgive onesimus for running away, possibly stealing something from him. Right. Whatever wrong that Philemon feels Onesimus has done, he's saying, forgive him. He's also asking Philemon to welcome Onesimus as a brother and a partner. I mean, talk about a role reversal.
[00:13:16] And ultimately, he's also asking for Philemon eventually to return Onesimus to him as a benefit to him. He writes, to benefit me. Return him to me as a brother and a partner, not a slave. But what's interesting is that Paul names the community, and most of the time, we just gloss over this. At the very beginning of the letter, he mentions a group of people that are from Colosse, where Philemon lives. And then at the end of the letter, he mentions a group of people that are with Paul in Rome.
[00:13:47] And the reason he's. And it's important because the reason he's doing that is that this conflict between Philemon and Onesimus affects the whole community.
[00:13:55] And how Philemon responds to do the good that is before him is actually instructive for the whole community about how we're going to live together in relationship with those who are oppressed.
[00:14:11] And in a sense, Paul's inviting the whole community to do the good available to them through Philemon. Let's all do this. Let's all embrace onesimus. Let's all do justice and show mercy.
[00:14:21] But I do want us to just pause and kind of think about what is Philemon, from Philemon's perspective, what's going on here? Because doesn't this, in one way, feel like this whole situation is very unjust to him?
[00:14:37] I mean, in the culture, in the context right of this day, when slavery was normative in the roman empire, and Philemon has lost his servant and he's lost what Onesimus owes him. And from one perspective, you could say that this is unjust to Philemon. You're asking too much. It's not just what you're asking a Philemon, but that's the mindset that comes from the way we think about justice in the west.
[00:15:12] The scales, the sword, the blindfold. You get what you deserve. You live by the sword, you'll die by it. Justice is impartial.
[00:15:22] But as you're going to see in just a moment, justice in God's economy is something entirely different.
[00:15:29] It's not about everybody getting what's owed them.
[00:15:34] It's about making the world right.
[00:15:37] And wherever the world isn't right, God's justice comes to bear. It's about setting things right. And these are these. There are people like Onesimus who find themselves in an oppressed state, and God's justice simply does not allow that reality to continue.
[00:15:56] Let me show you what I mean. King David writes about God's justice in psalm seven. And this is what he writes, the Lord reigns forever. He has established his throne for judgment. Right? Okay. For justice. He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity. There's this sense of fairness. There's a sense of righteousness. The Lord is a refuge, but then he goes right into right. So God is a God of justice, but then he goes right into the Lord is a refuge for the.
[00:16:25] The Lord is a refuge for everyone.
[00:16:29] He is.
[00:16:31] But there you'll, you see this over and over in the scriptures, both in the Old and New Testament, that God describes, God is described as, as the Lord for the, a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold for those in trouble. He does not ignore the cries of the afflicted. The Lord is known by his acts of justice. But God will never forget the needy. The hope of the afflicted will never perish. And so you'll see this throughout the biblical narrative. There is one word that describes the group that the God of justice fights for over and over and over. It's the oppressed. It's actually a word that you can trace through the biblical narrative. You can equate it to the poor, the widow, the orphan. Our concern for those who have been oppressed is a manifestation of God's justice and mercy.
[00:17:26] When Jesus launched his ministry, his public ministry, he stood up in the synagogue and he read from Isaiah, and this is what. And it's a self description of the ministry of Jesus. He could have chosen anywhere. He could have chosen any passage to read, but this is the one he chose to read, that the spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to everyone.
[00:17:47] No, he has does come to everyone. But do you see the emphasis that is constantly in the narrative of scripture? He came to proclaim good news to the poor.
[00:18:01] He has sent me to proclaim freedom for prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. There is just this common narrative about God's justice and how he comes for the oppressed. He doesn't describe justice as what's fair for everyone. He describes justice as making wrongs right, those who are poor, those who have been afflicted, those who have been wronged, those who are in prison.
[00:18:34] And he doesn't take time to explain, well, if they're in prison because they're supposed to be in prison, he's like, I'm coming to try to set things right. Our world is broken, and we've all done things that have missed the mark.
[00:18:50] And God says, I'm coming to make this world right.
[00:18:54] I'm coming to show my justice.
[00:19:00] I'm coming to those who haven't been treated fairly, those who have been denied justice. It's not just about what's fair, but what is just in the eyes of God. So when Paul writes to Philemon, he's not asking for Philemon to be fair. He's asking for Philemon. To do what is right, to show onesimus God's justice. Make this right. Philemon.
[00:19:23] But it's not fair, okay? Make things right, because it's the way God's justice works. Now, if this makes you uncomfortable, as it does me, just a little bit, right, then that simply tells you that you were born in the United States, because that's not the way we think about justice.
[00:19:41] And that's okay. It's okay for us to feel the tension because, you know, as you read the scriptures, you're like, this doesn't add up.
[00:19:49] One plus one is supposed to equal two, but it doesn't. In God's economy, it's something entirely different.
[00:20:00] There's this short prophetic book in the Old Testament written by the prophet Micah. And in chapter six, God brings his case against Israel, right? So he brings his justice to bear on his people. And he even says, I'm lodging a complaint against you. It's very legalese type language. And the short version is God saying, why have you treated me so poorly, Israel, right? And this is what Micah writes in verse eight. He has shown you, o mortal God has shown you what is good and what the Lord requires of you.
[00:20:33] And he answers it to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
[00:20:41] This verse commands us to act with justice, and in the very same breath, tells us to love mercy and God's ecosystem. These are not opposing ideas, but two sides of the same coin.
[00:20:56] His justice works itself out in mercy, and his mercy reveals his justice is tied together.
[00:21:07] And I believe that we best represent our Father in heaven as individuals and as a community when we fight for justice for the oppressed by showing mercy.
[00:21:18] I think that's why Jesus started this sermon on the Mount, his greatest sermon that he ever preached, with those two beatitudes. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be filled, and blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
[00:21:34] One commentator talked about the sin of silence. Hungering and thirsting are active. You have to get involved in this. Being merciful is active. Silent.
[00:21:47] It reminds me of a friend of mine, Pastor Rick. He pastors a church in Redmond, and years ago, he decided he had to. It was like he was reading the scriptures about God and justice and mercy, and he had to go to DC, and he went to Washington, DC, to fight for the rights of immigrants in his community.
[00:22:05] And as you can imagine, he got a lot of heat from it, from within the church, because it goes against the justice that we are accustomed to in the west? Well, they, you know, what responsibility do they have as immigrants?
[00:22:20] They shouldn't have come here. They shouldn't. You know, we start saying these kinds of things, we start thinking these kinds of things. We start putting the onus upon them to make it right.
[00:22:29] They got themselves into this mess. Let them get themselves out. But God's justice, listen, God's justice is not blind. God is not sitting in heaven and with a blindfold on. He sees the oppressed, he sees the poor, the broken, the people who have been marginalized. He sees them. He sees the unborn. He sees the orphan, and he fights for them.
[00:22:53] He sees the widows, and he steps in the gap.
[00:23:00] His justice demands it.
[00:23:04] He knows our pain and our loss and our broken systems and our broken relationships. He sees the stranger among us, for all of us.
[00:23:15] Without God's mercy, we would be dead in our own sin.
[00:23:20] God's mercy called us from the tomb of our own making. Mercy lifted us out of the pit. Mercy opened our blind eyes. Mercy gifted us with faith, repentance, and joy. How could we, who have received so much mercy, not show our brothers and sisters the same?
[00:23:39] See, christian community, the kind that God describes, makes way for healed relationships. And like Philemon could do to Paul through his embrace of Onesimus, it refreshes the hearts.
[00:23:52] Christianity at its best, refreshes the hearts of people.
[00:23:57] It brings flourishing into relationships.
[00:24:01] When we, as followers of Jesus, embrace this type of Koinonia community that Pastor Ben talked about a couple weeks ago, this partnership, this amazing relationship built upon God's grace and forgiveness, Koinonia, we are challenged to live beyond our rights, beyond our privileges, beyond what's due us, what we're owed. And it shows the world another way to live. Live, and it leads to a flourishing life for all.
[00:24:31] While Philemon, he had a legal right to find and punish onesimus, we find Paul's plea that Philemon act with radical mercy in not punishing onesimus for his escape, and with radical justice, accepting the former slave as a brother.
[00:24:49] And what results is the possibility for a radical koinonia within the community of colosse, a true gospel partnership, a community that fully represents our God, who enacts justice for the oppressed and gives mercy to sinners.
[00:25:05] One of the deep theological questions you have to answer in seminary is, how could a merciful God allow Christ to die on the cross?
[00:25:15] So this is the stuff. This is the stuff we do in seminary. We take these random questions that most people aren't even asking, but we know that this is, that this is actually a really important question. I hear this from people. It's like, how can a good God, how can a merciful God allow Jesus to die on a cross for us? Doesn't that prove to us that he's not as merciful as we think?
[00:25:37] But what you discover is that at the cross, you see all of God's justice and all of God's mercy collide into this beautiful rainbow of God's goodness.
[00:25:52] God is just. Our world is not right. And something must be done. We don't deserve mercy. We've allowed suffering and oppression to remain. We've not helped the poor. We've not helped the sick. We've not helped the prisoner find freedom. We deserve whatever God wants to pour down on us.
[00:26:10] We've done the crime, so we deserve the time.
[00:26:16] But God, in his justice and mercy, decides to satiate his own justice by sending himself. This is really important. The father did not send Jesus to die on a cross. Jesus, God himself, decided to send himself to die in our place.
[00:26:36] He gets what we deserve, what you deserve. We did the crime, but Jesus does the time. It just makes no sense in our view of justice and the scales. But the one with all the power acts in a way that we might say is unjust. But he's the only one that can, because he holds the power to forgive sins, and in doing so, shows us mercy.
[00:27:03] Paul calls on Philemon to do what only Philemon can do. Nobody else can. Onesimus can't do it. He's the oppressed one. Paul, even he can't do it.
[00:27:16] He's not the one that has a broken relationship with Onesimus. Justice and mercy can only come from the one who holds all the cards. It's the most God thing Philemon can do when he receives Paul's letter is to forgive. Welcome Onesimus back as a brother, and in doing so, act justly towards him.
[00:27:35] And I would argue, and this is important, that this is not unjust toward himself. Philemon, just as I believe the cross is not unjust toward Jesus, because, listen, it's the very act of mercy that breaks down the dividing walls that separate us from God and from each other. And in so doing, we act justly, not only upon the oppressed, but upon ourselves as we are reconciled with our brothers and sisters.
[00:28:11] This is why when Corrie ten Boom met a guard who had been in the concentration camp where her sister had died and she survived, he reached out his hand to her and asked her for forgiveness.
[00:28:27] And she writes about this. She prayed. Jesus helped me in that moment, she just. Quiet prayer just in her mind, she said, Jesus helped me. And as she wrote this, and so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me.
[00:28:48] And as I did, an incredible thing took place.
[00:28:52] The current started in my shoulder and raced down. My arms, sprang into our joined hands, and then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. I forgive you, brother. I cried with all of my heart.
[00:29:12] Shakespeare wrote in the merchant of Venice that the quality of mercy is not strained.
[00:29:20] It dropped as the gentle rain from heaven upon the plain beneath.
[00:29:27] And earthly power doth then show like God's when mercy seasons justice.
[00:29:37] As we prepare to share in the communion elements today, together, I want us to remember that the biblical idea of justice, Jesus is about restoring all of creation back to its original purpose.
[00:29:51] It's about redemption and freedom from the slavery to sin and death.
[00:29:58] Jesus said he did not come to condemn the world, but to save the world.
[00:30:05] God's righteous requirement was satisfied at the cross. His judgment was put upon his son, and justice was served. And Jesus would say on the cross, it is finished.
[00:30:19] Your shortcomings. My shortcomings? Our own acts of injustice, the deceit of our hearts, all paid for in full. God is a God of justice, but thankfully, he's also a God of mercy, which both were offered for you and for me at the cross of Jesus Christ.
