Monday, November 15, 2021

Will We Be The Next "Demas"?

"While Paul awaited execution, his reference to Demas reveals a sad turn. “Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica” (2 Timothy 4:10). 
 
Paul said Demas deserted him because he loved this present world. He left Paul and headed to Thessalonica, a large, wealthy, cosmopolitan city. 
James warned that “friendship with the world is hostility toward God” (James 4:4). The desire to enjoy the pleasures of this world caused him to turn his back on his friend and mentor, and on the Lord.

What was it about “this present world” that Demas loved enough to stop loving and serving Christ with Paul? 
Was it a woman? 
Was it a business opportunity or a promise of riches? 
Was it his craving for social acceptance? 
Was it his preference for comfort and ease rather than suffering, and perhaps dying, with Paul? 
Was it an immoral habit? 
The Bible doesn’t tell us what Demas loved about “this present world,” but only that he chose it over Christ and eternal life.
 
We can be sure that Demas didn’t just wake up one morning and decide to dive into the abyss of unbelief. He allowed himself to get too close. His affections for the world grew stronger over time, and his affection for Christ weakened gradually. Paul, it seems, had even warned him about being on a slippery slope toward apostasy. How else would he have known not only where Demas had gone, but why?

 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26)."
Shoebox /BulletinInsights