Having loved this present world....
This phrase has been on my heart lately. It was spoken by Paul about a man named Demas. Most people would say Who? Paul we know... but who is this Demas fellow? I wrote this Bible study over 5 years ago but it is one that stays with my spirit. I look it up and reread it often. I will share what I wrote then... with some new thoughts added in....
When I think of endurance, keeping the
faith and finishing well I always think of Paul. As he sat chained in a Roman
prison, waiting the time of his execution, he wrote to Timothy:
2 Timothy 4:6-8
Paul was confident that he had endured to the end and had finished well.
Sadly, just a few sentences later he writes.
2 Timothy 4:10 for
Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for
Thessalonica-Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia.
Who is Demas? He is mentioned 2 other times in the Bible in Col 4:14 and Phil 1:24. He is called a fellow worker along with Mark, Aristarchus and Luke.
W.
D. Thomas pointed out that the "word implies that two people are working
closely together as partners, sharing work and responsibility." He goes on
to say that Demas was a "close confidant of Paul, sharing the Apostle's
vision of winning the world for God" (1983-84: 179)
So all we really
know is that he is obviously a man who had ministered with Paul during some
hard times. He was with Paul during his first imprisonment in Rome.
Much of what we
discern about Demas is speculation. But I would venture to speculate that Demas
didn't join Paul's ministry team with the intention that he would later desert
Paul in Paul's darkest hours. I would say he expected to stand firm and finish
well. Yet here it is
approximately 5 years later and Paul is saying Demas has forsaken him. The Greek
work 'forsaken' means 'to abandon, desert, leave in straits, leave helpless,
leave in the lurch, let one down' It is the same word Jesus used on the
cross when He cried out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" (Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34). It
is also the word used in Hebrews 13:5 where the Lord's promise, "I will
never leave you nor forsake you," is recalled by the author of Hebrews.
Let's look at
James 4:4 "Adulterers and[a] adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."
James is condemning even friendship with the world, Paul says Demas "loved this present world." Demas loved the present world. Paul loved the world to come. Paul is speaking of his death, the judgment of Christ and the rewards he now knows he will receive.
Paul was living in
light of the coming world. Paul loved the future world, the eternal kingdom of
the King of kings and Lord of lords. Paul not only lived for the kingdom, he
was about to die for it. He speaks of his coming death like some might talk about
their flight schedule: "The time of my departure is at hand." He knew
that this life is but a vapor. He wasn't living or dying for this world.
What was it that
drew Demas away? Was it fear that he too might be martyred if he stayed with
Paul? Was it a desire to get away from the conditions in the prison? It could
have been as simple as wanting a bed to sleep in and decent food to eat. Paul
doesn't tell us if it was fame, fortune, or simple gratification of his flesh.
In any case, Demas was more concerned with this present world than he was with
the world to come. One commentary stated, "In the time of trial his
courage failed. Death seemed to threaten, and as he clung to life, he
fled" (Dr. B.W. Johnson, The People's New Testament with Explanatory
Notes, vol. 2, p. 283).
1 John 2:15-17 Do Not Love This World
15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when
you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For
the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything
we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the
Father, but are from this world. 17 And this world is
fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what
pleases God will live forever.
There
are 3 avenues the enemy will use to draw the believer away from their love for
the Lord.
1. The lust of the flesh. What makes me feel good physically, wrong desires of the heart. These desires are shaped entirely by our impulses and not by the Spirit of God. Sexual sins, gluttony, drug abuse, and drunkenness are the obvious red flags but let's get even more real here, how about the desire for comfort or happiness apart from God.
3. The pride of life - when our motives start with our own arrogance, boastfulness and self-centeredness; Rather than bowing down and trusting God, we rely on ourselves.
But John says all this is
"passing away" or "fading away". Each day we are faced
with many choices which will ultimately prove whether or not we are in love
with this present world. There will always be things pulling our attention off
God onto this world. But the pleasures of sing are temporary. The lust of the
flesh trust man's judgement, feelings, and temporary highs instead of relying
and waiting on God's Word!
There is a
battle that takes place daily, even moment by moment, between the Spirit and
the flesh.
Galatians
5:17 says, “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit
against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may
not do the things that you please.”
Demas had been a faithful servant of the Lord, and a trusted
companion of the apostle Paul. He served the greatest cause, and he served
alongside some of the Lord's most devoted disciples. This however did not keep
him from the wiles of Satan, the lure of the world, and the lusts of the
fleshly nature.
We must never let
our guard down, or lose sight of the prize. What is the prize? His appearing!
Jesus was Paul's reward and He is our reward too.
Listen to James
warning again:
James 4:4 Do you not know that friendship with the world is
hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world just
makes himself an enemy of God.
Demas, once disciple
and evangelist, "having loved this present world,"
abandoned Paul in
the hour of his greatest need, and returned to the pursuits of this present age.
God help us not to follow in his path.
I want to finish well. I want to endure. I want to be counted
like those in Revelation of whom it is said.
Revelation 12:11
"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their
testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."
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