(Scripture Portion: 1 John 2: 15-29) Show Almost every character of whom we read in the Word of God is known for something; each is associated with some deed of glory and honour, or of shame and dishonour. The subject of this study is Demas, who is mentioned in Colossians 4:14. Here was a man who lived and worked with the apostle Paul but who afterwards, like John Mark, deserted him (Luke 9:62). When Paul wrote this Colossian letter all was well (Colossians 4:14), but things had tragically changed when, some four years later, he wrote to Timothy –- see 2 Timothy 4:10. Demas had been a man of great privilege. He had been converted at Thessalonica, most likely through the ministry of Paul. Added to this, he actually worked with the great apostle. But though he was so privileged, he suffered a serious spiritual breakdown; and we must remember that his backsliding started in his heart before it became manifest in his life –- look up Proverbs 14:14, and compare 2 Timothy 4:10. What was the cause of his going back? In Demas’ case the cause was worldliness, but there are other scriptural reasons why people go back:- 1. A LOVE FOR THE WORLD2 Timothy 4:10 warns us of the snare of worldliness. This does not necessarily mean that he attended places of worldliness, for it is possible to be a worldly Christian without ever participating in the world’s pleasures. Worldliness is everything around us which excludes the Lord Jesus Christ. Demas probably began to adopt the world’s standards; possibly he began to view missionary endeavour from the world’s standpoint and found himself asking, “Is it worth it?”, and consequently he lost the heavenly vision (Acts 26:19). It is sad when the world’s icy grip begins to affect a Christian. Consider the serious words in 1 John 2:15-17. 2. SEVERE PERSECUTION AND TESTINGLook up Matthew 24:9-10; compare Matthew 5:10-12 and 1 Peter 4:12-19 –- and then look up Luke 8:13. Is this a commentary upon the experience of Demas? It frequently happens that those who have trusted Christ and have confessed their faith in Him “falter” when the fires of persecution begin to burn. Many young believers who have been nurtured in a Christian home and church discover, when they leave home to go to college or to work out “in the world”, that their faith is very severely tested. Some, like Demas, turn back! All such tested ones need our prayers, (not our criticisms), and all the encouragement we can give them. 3. FALSE TEACHERSIt is improbable that this was true in the case of Demas, though there were many in his day, as in ours, who were side tracked by false teachers –- look up Matthew 24:11, and compare 2 Timothy 4:3-4. Be on your guard lest the subtle endeavour of some of the cults turn you from your hope and from the simplicity that is in Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3) – – look up Acts 20:29-30; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Peter 2:1-3. 4. FORSAKING THE HOUSE OF GODWhen those who have at one time loved the Lord begin to “cool off” in their love and zeal, it is usually detected by their less frequent attendance at the services of their church – –look up Hebrews 10:24-25. How many folk used to go to church, be at the prayer meeting, attend the Bible study, or used to be a keen worker for the Lord! Their spiritual experience is now all in the past tense; like Demas, they have gone back –- look up Acts 2:42, and compare Colossians 1:9-11. 5. INDULGING IN SOME SINThere is a solemn warning about this in 1 Timothy 1:19-20. One “little” sin harboured and indulged in (Psalm 66:18) is enough to precipitate a headlong spiritual downfall. Give no ground to the enemy! (Ephesians 4:27); “keep short accounts with God”, and confess all sin to Him immediately! –- look up 1 John 1:9, and compare Proverbs 28:13. 6. FAILURE TO RECEIVE THE WORD OF GODLook up John 6:66. It was when the Lord Jesus began to reveal some of the deeper truths concerning Himself and His mission that many turned back. The only way to go on in the Christian life is to receive the Word of truth as the Holy Spirit reveals it to us; not to do so is to go back, for there is no standing still. To live in disobedience is to do what Demas did –- to experience a spiritual lapse (1 John 2:5) – – compare Hebrews 4:2 with James 1:22. 7. DEFECTIVE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRISTLook up 1 John 2:19, which suggests that some who turn back like Demas do so because they have never been truly born again; they have only professed to be Christians (2 Timothy 3:5); they have never possessed Christ (John 1:12; Galatians 2:20). What about doing a little of 2 Corinthians 13:5? What are the safeguards against spiritual relapse? –- for we must give heed to the injunction in 1 Corinthians 10:11-12. Turn to 2 Timothy 4:6-10 and 17-18, and see how Paul himself stood firm against any kind of relapse:
By God’s grace, let us press on –- until Jesus comes!
For some time now I have been meeting weekly with a few guys to study through 1 & 2 Timothy. Just this week, we came to the final chapter of what many consider to be Paul’s final letter, 2 Timothy. In these final words, Paul distinguishes by name some people for Timothy to seek help from and to watch out for. One very interesting name appears in verse 10 of chapter 4:  For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. – 2 Timothy 4:10 Here, Paul makes a very powerful statement about this man named Demas. As it is with many of the names Paul includes in his letters, not much is known about Demas, but this is not the only place that Demas is mentioned in the New Testament. Earlier in the chronology of Paul’s letters, Demas is mentioned twice: Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. – Colossians 4:14 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. – Philemon 1:23-24 Demas was a missionary companion and fellow worker of Paul in spreading the Gospel. He was considered a leader in the eyes of the Colossians, so much so that Paul used his name – a name those in the Colossian churches would recognize. But by the time Paul was imprisoned, Demas had left Paul to live his own life and do he wanted to do. In fact, Demas did more than leave Paul, he “deserted” him. This word deserted falls short of the full meaning, which can be translated “left in the lurch.” Today we might use the phrase, “left me in a ditch to die.” What was the motivation for Demas’ departure? Paul describes it as “being in love with this present world.” The present world, to Paul, was everything outside of the Kingdom of God. Being in love with the present world meant not being in love with Jesus, the One who had given His life to save us. Being in love with the world is really about following oneself and not Christ. Paul writes in Colossians 3: If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. – Colossians 3:1-4 If we think of Demas in the context of today, he would be a respected deacon or elder in a church, maybe even a church staff member – someone who has served the church and the Lord. However, the story of Demas is all about one who serves the Lord for a time, but then decides to shift his priorities. We might even think of it as a sort of retirement from serving the Lord. “I’ve done my time. It’s time for someone else to do the work.” The Holy Spirit worked through Paul to show us in the three short verses that this is not at all what the Lord desires for our life. There is no retiring from following Christ or serving the Lord and His church! All of Scripture teaches us that the world and its selfish desires leave us empty, but serving the Lord fills us and leaves an eternal legacy. May our love be for the Lord and His Kingdom, not for this present world. May we set our minds on things above – on Christ – the One who gave His life so that we could live.
What happened to Demas? We don’t know. All we know is that some of the last words the Apostle Paul wrote before his Roman execution expressed a heartbreak: “Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica” (2 Timothy 4:10). Maybe Demas feared being executed with Paul and fled to safety. Or maybe he succumbed to immorality. Or maybe he simply caved in to the relentless temptation of a more comfortable, prosperous life in the large, cosmopolitan, pluralistic, wealthy, culturally interesting city of Thessalonica. Whatever it was, Paul saw it as embracing the world. But just a few sentences later in this letter to Timothy, Paul says something very hope-giving: “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11). Remember Mark? He had been the first to desert the team. Back in the early days, during the first missionary trip with Paul and Barnabas, Mark took off from Pamphylia and returned home to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). Again, we don’t know why. But Paul didn’t approve. In fact, when Barnabas wanted to bring Mark back on the team after the Jerusalem Council, Paul would have none of it (Acts 15:37-40). But here is Mark, at the end of Paul’s life, fully reconciled to and fully trusted by Paul and very useful in the gospel ministry. Demas and Mark serve as contrasts. One provides a word of warning, the other a word of hope. And as people who stumble in many ways (James 3:2), we need both. Demas began well. Four or five years earlier, during another imprisonment, Paul refers to Demas as a “fellow worker” in the gospel (Colossians 4:14, Philemon 1:24). There was a time when Demas apparently chose, like Moses, “to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25). But he doesn’t appear to end well. Having once fought alongside of Paul in kingdom battles, he seems to have sided with the enemy. So the warning is this: “Be soberminded; be watchful. Our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith” (1 Peter 5:8-9a). Our enemy is very real and very crafty. He threatens and seduces. And even those who start strong and are leaders, like Demas, are susceptible to his deception. Mark, on the other hand, gives us hope. He had a weak start. He didn’t appear to have the right stuff. He disappointed his leaders and friends by leaving them to bear the heat of battle while he went home. But Mark ended well. At some point he rejoined the battle and proved a faithful, trusted, useful warrior. And, if tradition is correct, the Lord even used him to contribute a gospel to the New Testament canon. So the hope is this: “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:30-31). Let us then be on our guard. We live with indwelling sin that is inclined toward insanity, because it is inclined to believe lies that lead to our destruction. When we are feeling the powerful pull of worldly temptation we need to take Paul’s exhortation very seriously:
Paul knew what he was talking about. He watched co-laborers fall. But let us also remember that God is in the business of forgiving sins, reconciling stumbling sinners to himself, and restoring them to useful service. Paul knew this too.
We don’t know the last word on Demas. I hope that he repented in the end. But because of Mark, we know that failure doesn’t have to be the last word for us. Rather, may our last word be “But I received mercy.” And whatever may have happened in the past, let us resolve to pursue Jesus as our treasure and seek to live lives of useful service for him from this day forth. * * * Recommended resource: “Live to Die” |
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