Demas - Having Loved This Present World

Introduction

1. When reading through the New Testament, especially the letters of Paul, one cannot help but notice the many individuals mentioned toward the end.
2. Often times, those mentioned are allotted space nowhere else in the Bible, and so we are left to wonder just what type of people they were.
3. Some time ago, I discussed a man by the name of Aristarchus, who is mentioned only five times, yet appears to have been a faithful Christian, having been a fellow prisoner with Paul (Col. 4:10).
4. I would now like to focus on another person who went in another direction.
5. Paul mentions Demas only three times, yet in this small space we see a once faithful Christian who fell away.

1. Greetings to the Colossians - Col. 4:14

   1. Demas sends his greetings along with a host of other Christians who were with Paul during his imprisonment.

2. Fellow Worker with Paul - Philemon 24

   1. Giving more insight into what Demas may have been doing during the same time period, he is here called a fellow worker with Paul.
   2. He is mentioned along with two inspired penman, and another faithful Christian (as mentioned above); Luke, Mark, and Aristarchus.Demas is in good company.

3. Deserts Paul - 2 Tim. 4:10

   1. "Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me." While things appeared to be well with Demas, he sadly ended up being the thorny soil described by Jesus (Matt. 13:12).
   2. Paul says that he went to Thessalonica. Perhaps he started thinking about his home, things he had to do around the house, his job, and the fun he used to have with his friends, all contrasted with the persecution he was enduring with Paul.
   3. Whatever the reasons, they all added up, and caused him to decide that those things were more important than spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

1. The life of Demas provides two stern warnings:
2. Apostasy is gradual.

   The apostasy of Demas was not immediate. He was not faithful one day, and then unfaithful the next. It started with a single desire to be somewhere else, or perhaps to be doing something different and "fun" until the desire for the world prevailed over his desire for God.

   For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it." - Heb. 2:1

3. There is always something trying to capture our attention.

   There are many things in this world that are contending for that position on top of our priority lists. The devil knows full well that one cannot serve both God and riches (Lk. 16:13), and will do everything in his power to put God in second place. Though working, and taking care of our homes and families are important, let us recognize their place below God (Col. 1:18).

   "Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him...And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever" - 1 Jn. 2:15,17