Can God Use Me Even Though I Have Sin In My Life?

"I always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and faith toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints.[1]"

The book of Philemon is a pastoral letter from the apostle Paul to Philemon. Paul had been instrumental in Philemon coming to know the Lord, as well as his run away Onesimus. Paul had met Onesimus, while he was in prison. As you can tell from the way that Paul address Philemon in the above passage, Philemon was a believer. He did many works out of a heart of thanksgiving for the grace he had been given. But Philemon had a blind spot in his life, he was a slave owner. And while slavery in the first century roman world would have been more kind and gentle than the slavery we know from our country's history, slavery still flies in the face of the human dignity. People are image bearers of the living God, not items to be bought and sold.

I think our minds tend to put people in one of two general categories, either good people or bad people. We struggle when we find out that a celebrity or leader we admire, struggles with sin in their life. When a scandal hits the media, we find out people are more complex than just good or bad. The Bible shows the same truth about all of the leaders/characters that pass through its pages. Kind David, whom the Bible states is a man after his own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), is an adulterer (2 Samuel 11:2) and murderer (2 Samuel 11:14). Many other men of the Old Testament had their sinful blind spots like: Sampson married an unbeliever, King Solomon was a polygamist, Elijah struggled with depression, etc... But God still used all of them in mighty ways. The Bible does not approve of slavery, polygamy, or adultery. The Bible is the story of God using people who have been caught in slavery, polygamy, and/or adultery for His purposes and glory. God only uses sinners! That is the good news that we all love that comes from the examples of the broken, sinful heroes from the Bible. But there is more in this tiny book of Philemon.

There can only be one true hero of the Word, namely Jesus Christ. The Bible, like a mirror, shows us that though we may try, we still stumble in many ways (James 3:2). The Bible teaches us that if we do not allow other Christians access to our lives, we will never be able to see our own blind spots (Matthew 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 5:12). We need others to expose our blind spots to us. God can still use you like he did Philemon. And please remember beloved, that when your sin is exposed, be quick to repent. Your sin may not be inexcusable, but it can be defeated.


[1] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Phm 4–5). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.