From Death to Life
We were Like Philemon
You cannot look at the 11th verse and say that there was some tiny flame in Onesimus, therefore all he had to do was meet someone like Paul and have it flamed or fanned until it burst into some tremendous fire, bringing out the good qualities that were always there, lying dormant in Onesimus. That's not what the Word says. The Word says, he was incurably wicked, totally unprofitable, nothing in him to be desired. And all of a sudden he is totally profitable, nothing in him to be undesired. That's grace. You who were not seeking God, you who were not working for God, you who did not care for God and in fact could not please God, in that state of total depravity have become totally pleasing to God, presented before him without spot and without blemish. You were sent back to your Master.
