The Influence Of Onesimus

Paul’s distinctive contribution to Christianity is his heresy- the doctrine of salvation by faith. A salvation available not just to the descendants of Abraham, but to the pagan, non-Jewish world as well. When he was writing to those in the Roman capital, Paul makes the declaration that proved to be the cornerstone of all his writings Romans 1:16-17, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live

In 1Corinthians, Paul appeals to the lowest denominator in the group and abjures wisdom. “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, the intelligence of the intelligent will I frustrate.” 1Cor18. He deals with incest, lawsuits, sexual immorality, and married life, food sacrificed to idols – matter which one readily answered by the Torah and the law. Yet Paul does no research and uses no knowledge he might have learned in his years as a practicing Jew. He relies only on his own intuition, and his personal revelation of Jesus’ death, resurrection and the imminence of his second coming. Unfortunately, this off-the-cuff memo of dealing with real life issues is open to prejudices, rationalizations, projections and a variety of defense mechanisms.

In the book of Philemon about 61 A.D, Paul writes a letter from prison to Philemon, who was a slave owner in Colossae and a leader of in the church which was held in Philemon’s home. Paul’s reason for writing this letter to Philemon was a plea to request forgiveness for his runaway slave Onesimus, who became a new believer in Jesus Christ.

Paul begins his letter with honesty and speaks of his genuine dealings with the church of Corinth. He goes on to

Philemon is a short letter dealing with the relationship of Christian slaveholders to their human property. Paul's missionary activity was not only directed at slaves, but it was contingent on the support of slaveholders as well (Roth, 2014). Some scholars argue that Onesimus either stole money or other property from Philemon, while others contend that he displeased his master in some way. In any event, Onesimus made his way to the place Paul was imprisoned, where he was thereby converted to Christianity. There is some dispute as to whether Onesimus found Paul by chance, or if he sought him out for the purpose of assisting Onesimus in reconciling with his master. Paul may have, in fact, filled the role of a third party who could resolve the

Last in 2nd Timothy 1:15-18, Paul reminds Timothy of his experience in Asia and how the people turned away from his teachings. He then testifies about Onesiphorus (a friend of Paul) and how he came to visit Paul and refresh him while he was in Prison. There, Onesiphorus was not ashamed where Paul was for the sake of sharing in the suffering of the gospel.

Through examining Romans, chapters 1-8, we see Paul covers a variety of theological and apologetic information for the Christ followers. In writing to the followers in the church in the city of Rome He makes it clear he wishes he could visit them (Romans 1:8-17) but is writing this letter to clear up the dissension between an identity crisis between the Jewish and Gentile members of the church as to whether they were to live by the law or by grace. Through this letter he writes many of the foundations of what it looks like to be a follow of Jesus and what that means for our battle with our nature and understanding our identity.

Paul of tarsus outlined the expression of Christianity through his missionaries and letters. Paul’s conversion happened after a Christian said “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Acts 9:4. Paul embarked on three missionary journeys, He firstly went to Cyprus, Pamphylia, Pisidia and Lycaonia and he visited established Christian communities. Paul talked to the apostles and convinced them that salvation came from faith in Christ not observance of Jewish law. Paul also conveys the importance of faith in Christ “We have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law” Galatians 2:16. Secondly, Paul went to Europe via Galatia and revisited Christian communities. On Pauls last mission he went to Ephesus and stayed there for 3 years. Paul had wrote 14 epistles and taught that God became incarnate in Jesus to save all Christians from sin. Jesus did this by sacrificing himself on the cross and then resurrecting. Paul persuaded the council of Jerusalem that circumcision and laws don’t have to be done by gentile Christians.“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:13

Whatever the situation, Onesimus needs Paul’s intercession. The relationship is clearly tense, and Onesimus may face severe discipline if he returns. Paul, however, beseeches Philemon to receive Onesimus the same as Paul would be received. In this way, Paul is calling upon the good relationship he has with Philemon. Paul clearly assumes Christian authority over Philemon, and expects Philemon to obey; nevertheless Paul chooses to use love and friendly beseeching to persuade Philemon rather than to order him. He implores Philemon to receive Onesimus as “no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother.” Building on this, Paul wants Philemon to do even more. Thus it is likely that Paul means precisely what he said; he wants Philemon to free Onesimus.

Onesimus, like most of us without Christ, was a runner. He ran-away from his responsibility and problems. However, in the process of running, he ran straight to God. Onesimus was a slave of Philemon and fled from him, and as a result, ended up in prison. Paul was in the same prison, and he eventually led Onesimus to Christ.

An instance of one of St Paul’s letters is Galatians. His purpose of writing this letter to Galatia, was to make sure they were on the path of truth and not led off into deceiving the wrong thing about God. This letter was written in an aggressive tone, showing just how important it was to him that the people embrace unity in Christ. Another example of a writing of Paul is Ephesians. He talks about topics

Paul’s attitude and the respect that he has for Onesimus allowed him to consider Onesimus as a spiritual son rather than a slave. Paul and Onesimus relationship is to me a setting example for the church. It illustrates how Christian believers should live in a community and help each other without any

The Supreme Court’s ruling in Burns is important because the case involves a critical shift in Canada’s approach to extradition in cases involving capital punishment. In “effectively overruling” the decisions in Kindler and Ng, the Burns verdict now means that almost all extraditions from Canada that do not contain assurances that the death penalty will not be imposed violate the principles of fundamental justice. In that respect, “in all but exceptional cases” any exercise of the Minister’s discretion that purports to grant an unconditional extradition in light of a capital sentence is void under s. 7 of the Charter. This ruling now shifts Canada’s approach to death penalty extradition in line with that of most European

However, Paul knew that it was only right for Onesimus to return to Philemon when traveling conditions were permissible and to endure whatever punishment or treatment might occur. Paul wrote to Philemon, whom he had also led to Christ, to plead for mercy and understanding on behalf of Onesimus. It was Paul’s desire to encourage Philemon to welcome Onesimus back with a forgiving heart, but most importantly a brotherly heart. Additionally, Paul asked for hospitality when he visits.

During the time the letter was written, most believe that Paul was in a prison in Rome. He wrote three letters at around the same time. One letter was to the Colossians; one letter was to Philemon, whose slave, Onesimus, had recently run away; the final letter was to the church that Paul had started in Ephesus. The messenger that carried the letters to the church of Colossae most likely passed through the sea port and great city at Ephesus. Working in Ephesus for at least two years, Paul expanded the reach of the Gospel to the entire