THE MARKS OF A CHRISTIAN (2 OF 5)
Scripture: Philemon 4, Philemon 5, Philemon 6, Philemon 7
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The Marks of a Christian (2 of 5)
Series: A Most Subversive Gospel
Wyman Richardson
Philemon 4-7
Read Philemon 4-7
Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote this about flattery in Crime and Punishment:
It's the well-known resource - flattery. Nothing in the world is harder than speaking the truth and nothing easier than flattery. If there's the hundredth part of a false note in speaking the truth, it leads to a discord, and that leads to trouble. But if all, to the last note, is false in flattery, it is just as agreeable, and is heard not without satisfaction. It may be a coarse satisfaction, but still a satisfaction. And however coarse the flattery, at least half will be sure to seem true. That's so for all stages of development and classes of society. A vestal virgin might be seduced by flattery.
Dostoevsky is correct: flattery is a powerful, powerful thing!
Interestingly, there are some who suggest that Paul is attempting to flatter Philemon in the first seven verses of this great book. That, I think, is an unfortunate theory. It is perhaps easy to understand why some think that, though. The book of Philemon is, by any reckoning, very precisely and strategically worded, but one can admit this without suggesting that Paul resorted to anything as crass as mere flattery.
On the contrary, we have no reason to think that Paul did not mean exactly what he said in verses 4-7. These verses actually constitute a beautiful description and working out of what we might call the two great marks of the Christian: faith in Christ and love for the Church. I would argue that what Paul provides us with in these verses is a beautiful unpacking of these two crucial ideas. It would be a shame to miss the significance of these verses due to a unfortunate reduction of them to something as coarse as flattery.
The Marks of a Christian: Faith in Christ, Love for the Church
Verses 4 and 5 present us with Paul's recognition of Philemon's twin virtues: faith in Christ, love for ...
Series: A Most Subversive Gospel
Wyman Richardson
Philemon 4-7
Read Philemon 4-7
Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote this about flattery in Crime and Punishment:
It's the well-known resource - flattery. Nothing in the world is harder than speaking the truth and nothing easier than flattery. If there's the hundredth part of a false note in speaking the truth, it leads to a discord, and that leads to trouble. But if all, to the last note, is false in flattery, it is just as agreeable, and is heard not without satisfaction. It may be a coarse satisfaction, but still a satisfaction. And however coarse the flattery, at least half will be sure to seem true. That's so for all stages of development and classes of society. A vestal virgin might be seduced by flattery.
Dostoevsky is correct: flattery is a powerful, powerful thing!
Interestingly, there are some who suggest that Paul is attempting to flatter Philemon in the first seven verses of this great book. That, I think, is an unfortunate theory. It is perhaps easy to understand why some think that, though. The book of Philemon is, by any reckoning, very precisely and strategically worded, but one can admit this without suggesting that Paul resorted to anything as crass as mere flattery.
On the contrary, we have no reason to think that Paul did not mean exactly what he said in verses 4-7. These verses actually constitute a beautiful description and working out of what we might call the two great marks of the Christian: faith in Christ and love for the Church. I would argue that what Paul provides us with in these verses is a beautiful unpacking of these two crucial ideas. It would be a shame to miss the significance of these verses due to a unfortunate reduction of them to something as coarse as flattery.
The Marks of a Christian: Faith in Christ, Love for the Church
Verses 4 and 5 present us with Paul's recognition of Philemon's twin virtues: faith in Christ, love for ...
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