Receive Him as a Brother: A Fourteen-Lesson Workbook on Philemon and Forgiveness by Ed Rangel

Philemon is the shortest letter Paul wrote, and it may be one of the hardest to live out. Onesimus has become a Christian, and Paul is sending him back to the house he left, carrying a letter that asks Philemon to receive him "no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother" (Phlm 16). Receive Him as a Brother walks through those twenty-five verses in fourteen lessons and asks what that kind of welcome requires of a congregation today.

Ed Rangel reads the letter slowly and honestly. He keeps what Paul actually says apart from the stories readers have built around it, and he doesn't let the hard parts slide by. What happens to a damaged relationship when both people belong to Christ? What does it cost to stand in for someone and say, "Put that on my account"? How do repentance, restoration, consequences, and trust fit together? The closing lesson widens the study to forgiveness in the parable of the returning son and his older brother, Paul's instructions in 2 Corinthians 2, and Ephesians 4.

What's Inside

• Lessons 1–4: the greeting to Philemon and the church in his house, Paul's prayer and thanksgiving, faith that shares and refreshes, and an appeal made for love's sake
• Lessons 5–9: Onesimus as a changed man, willing goodness, "perhaps for this reason," more than a slave, and receiving him as you would receive Paul
• Lessons 10–13: "put that on my account," refreshing the heart in Christ, preparing a guest room, and the closing greetings from Paul's fellow workers
• Lesson 14: forgiveness and receiving the returning brother (Luke 15; 2 Corinthians 2; Ephesians 4)
• Appendices: authorship, canon, and placement of Philemon, plus a study of the house church movement and what happens when an opinion becomes doctrine

Every lesson comes in two parts. The Classroom Lesson fits a forty-five-minute class, with the reading, a central idea, Bible-marking directions, explanation, discussion questions, and an application. Home Study and Resources returns to the same passage with fuller background, supporting texts, and charts for the student who wants to go deeper. A glossary, bibliography, Scripture index, and subject index round out the book.

Ideal for adult Bible classes, midweek studies, and personal study, and for any Christian learning to forgive a brother, or needing to be received by one.

Details

• Author: Ed Rangel
• Publisher: Spiritbuilding Publishers
• 14 lessons
• Scripture: NASB 1995