Philemon 1:11

11. who once was unprofitable to thee, but now is profitable to thee and to me:

a.

Paul makes no attempt to cover up or deny the wrongs that Onesimus had done. He did not assume, as may do today, that a person must not be criticized for responding violently in a bad environment. If Philemon were living in the twentieth century, some people would blame him for anything that Onesimus did that was wrong. Paul admits that Onesimus had been unprofitable, and that is probably a euphemism of major proportions!

b.

Paul, however, emphasizes the transformation in Onesimus. Too many people are unwilling to forget a man's past, and to recognize that in Christ we become new creatures. Once a thief, always a thief is not necessarily true. Once a thief takes Christ by belief, he's not a thief. Thus unprofitable Onesimus was now profitable both to Paul and to Philemon. The only problem now was this: Would Philemon give him the chance to prove it? Runaway slaves were frequently tortured or slain upon recapture.