Note 3 at 2Ti 4:10: Demas is only mentioned three times in Scripture (Col 4:14, this verse, and Phm 24). In Phm 24, Paul called Demas his "fellowlabourer." In Col 4:14, Paul sent greetings from Demas to the Colossians. Here, he mentioned that Demas had forsaken him. Paul gave the reason for Demas forsaking him as "having loved this present world."
It wasn't easy being in ministry with the Apostle Paul. Paul had been in prison for a long time. He spent over two years in prison in Israel after his arrest in Jerusalem, before he departed for Rome (Ac 24:27). His trip to Rome included a shipwreck and being stranded on an island, all of which surely took a year. He then remained in prison in Rome for two years (Ac 28:30).
Most ministers today would have left with Demas. They would think it unreasonable for anyone to have to put up with such hardship. They certainly wouldn't have found fault with anyone who left under such circumstances. They would have been sympathetic, but Paul's evaluation of the situation was that Demas left because he "loved this present world."
Jesus preached a hard message: if those who started following Him looked back longingly at what they had left, they weren't fit to be disciples (Lu 9:59-62). Jesus also said people had to relatively hate every other relationship and their own lives to be His disciples (Lu 14:26-33). He said, "No servant can serve two masters" (Lu 16:13). Therefore, Jesus and Paul agreed on the level of commitment necessary to be a disciple.
Our modern-day evangelistic approach to the Gospel doesn't make many, if any, demands on people, but the saving faith that the Bible promotes demands commitment. We would do well to preach the level of commitment that Jesus and Paul preached, instead of conforming to the lower standards of today.
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Would you agree with that? Jesus did preach a hard message, we are told that Christians will be persecuted. When I became a believer at the age of 5, I knew then that it was not a formula for happiness and success. I knew then that Christians faced a hard life. Of course at 5 it was put to me in a much more simple fashion, but I got the gist.
Following Christ means I am very likely to experience hardship in my life.
So what do we think about using the little documented life of Demas as a way to prove the point that modern day evangelism should be harsher?
I will tell you my thoughts:
1 - there is better evidence in Scripture to base this message on. Perhaps using Demas is a bit of a reach…. but I don't disagree with the message.
2 - I think the message of the Gospel of Christ is a compelling one when told with strength. I think that we need to avoid the temptation to water down the Gospel to make it seem more attractive. I think that actually telling it in its full accuracy, being as harsh as it is, makes it much more appealing because: a) it's true and b) people are not afraid of a challenge.
Christians will be persecute, have been, and ARE being right now! You could be thrown in jail for life, beheaded, shot, tortured, called to live in an uncomfortable place. You will face angry people, have to go to remote locations, maybe even face a little adventure and trials. Your value system will be the opposite of what the world's is, and you will start to see the walls closing in all around you as this world gives itself over more and more to sinfulness. There is sin, there is a hell, but there is salvation and there is a God and He is good and loves you and cares about you individually and personally.
But in the end, your faith will have been strengthened and proven and you will have become one of those people who you said "I could never do that."
You can because you have Christ, and according to Matthew 19:26, Mark 9:23, Mark 10:27, Luke 1:37, Luke 18:27, Matthew 17:20, Gen 11:6, (and the list goes on and on)….
IT IS POSSIBLE!!!
