Philemon 1:11

Ungodly men are unprofitable to themselves and to others.

I. IS SIN , THEN , PROFITABLE TO THE SINNER ? Whether the pleasures of sense or the possessions and honors of the world have prompted him to sin, it will be found that they alike issue in vanity and vexation. Should the desires not be satisfied, then the discontented appetite thirsts for more, and renders the man unhappy. If it be satisfied, yet it is a satisfaction of weariness, not contentment ( Romans 6:21 ), and there is a sting of shame in the recollection of such pleasures.

II. " THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH " ( Romans 6:23 )—a penalty which must necessarily outweigh any apparent profit or pleasure arising from sin, however great it can be supposed to be. "What shall a man give [or, 'receive'] in exchange for his soul?". Sin were unprofitable if we should only consider the ultimate consequences of exhaustion and satiety which it has on the sinner. When the judgment of God is taken into account, it becomes absolute and manifest folly. Two facts to be borne in mind:

Could the sinner have but a single sight of the awful fires of hell, he could never again doubt whether the sin which leads men thither were in any sense of the word profitable to any human being.

III. Is THE SINNER , THEN , PROFITABLE TO OTHERS ? He is rendered unprofitable to others in so far as he is given up into the power of sin. Onesimus had been "unprofitable" ( Philemon 1:11 ) in time past to Philemon, because, under the influence of sinful motives (we do not know of what precise kind), he had sought dishonestly his own interest, not his master's. The dishonest person will cheat his master or employer; the deceitful person will deceive others; and they are thus "unprofitable" in various ways to those who are brought into communication with them. Onesimus had become Christian , and his unprofitableness had disappeared . He was transformed by the grace of God. Self-seeking, dishonesty, untruthfulness, need not thenceforth be looked for from him (although these were the usual vices of the slave). He would be able to be trusted , and therefore he was profitable. See the influence of Christian motives. He would be faithful to Philemon as to others, kind, preferring others to himself ( Philippians 2:3 , Philippians 2:4 ).