by David Chadwick
The story of Demas is found in 2 Timothy 4:9-10. He is someone else who I would consider to be one of the bad guys of the Bible. It takes good guys and bad guys in order to have a great story. God never shied away from highlighting just how bad things really were in Scripture. For all of time, he has been able to use bad situations and work them out for good (Romans 8:28).
The first mention of Demas is by Paul in Colossians 4:14 when Paul said that Demas wanted to extend his greetings to the Christians in the church of Collosae.
Next, in Philemon, he is referred to as a “fellow worker” of Paul in the gospel.
Finally, in 2 Timothy 4:9-10, Paul writes to Timothy and says, “Make every effort to come to me soon for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.”
We don’t know exactly what happened to Demas after he returned to Thessalonica, but Paul’s description here insinuates Demas had walked away from his faith. He went from a companion and fellow worker of Paul to deserting Paul for the love of the world.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “I don’t want to gain the whole world and lose my soul.” Well, it certainly seems that Demas quested after the world and lost his soul.
What was his love for this world? Acclaim? Power? Money? Comfort? Reputation? Could he have become jealous of Paul along the way and chosen to chase after his own success? We don’t really know. But what we do know is this: the world constantly tries to tempt Christians to love it more than Jesus. It has happened since the beginning of time.
Friendship with the world means enmity with God (James 4:4). Check your own heart for a second. Are you a friend of God or of this world? The Bible is very clear that if you are a friend of this world, you are a bad guy in his story. We are to love God with ALL of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). There is no other love greater than Jesus.
Demas reminds us of how easy it can be to fall away or to stray from the narrow road. Stay vigilant. Repent often. Choose the love of God above all else!
This is the quality of a true hero of God!