Gtcotr/ss120218
Colossians 4:14 Luke the
beloved physician and Demas greet you.
The book of Colossians was written in about
AD62 when the whole world was standing on the brink of chaos and change.
Tensions were building as loyalties were being challenged both in the
government of Rome and in the Church. A generational transition was close at
hand with younger, stronger leaders beginning to emerge who had their own
opinions of the past and perspectives concerning the future. Soon Rome would burn,
and blame would be placed on the emperor who was already falling into disfavor
with his subjects and supporters alike. He in turn would blame the Christians.
During this time the Church had been scattered
and was undergoing some of its strongest opposition thus far by the religious
establishment and the government of Rome as well. Standing up and speaking out
for what one truly believed during those days was apt to get a person stoned,
crucified, fed to the lions, or beheaded. And yet, as the empire of Rome grew
weaker, darker and smaller, the Church of Jesus Christ grew stronger and
brighter and was expanding around the world.
By AD62, God was well on His way to
raising up leaders for the next generation Church. We
have record of the Apostle Paul gathering disciples from many of the cities he
visited and investing time in them and giving opportunities to them to begin
running their lap, in their generation, for Christ. Men like Timothy, Titus,
Mark, Luke, Silas, Epaphras, and Demas were students of the ministry serving
the Apostle Paul while they were taught the word and the work of God by him.
Just as Jesus had done with His disciples some
40 years earlier, Paul poured himself into these up and coming leaders of the
Body of Christ so that they would be ready when it came their time to shoulder
the responsibility of spreading the Gospel and making disciples of all nations.
The path of ministry on which God took Paul
included some jail time. Paul’s journey, and thereby the journey of his
disciples as well, led through the emperor’s prison in Rome. It was definitely
a more difficult route than merely being called to be the disciple of a Pastor
at the Church in Thessalonica for example, where things were going great and
the Church was growing with little or no persecution. However, God tends to prepare us for the work which He has for us which
is yet ahead of us in this life. Nothing tempers better than a little
controlled heat … and believe me … God is in control!
In AD62 Paul was imprisoned under house arrest
in Rome and his disciples were with him. This was most likely the first time
many of Paul’s disciples had experienced that initial romance of being
persecuted for a cause you feel is worthy of your undying allegiance. The
adventure of being on the front line with promise of being victorious is often
intoxicating for the young and idealistic.
Paul expected and encouraged those around him
to believe he would soon be released from his prison and indeed we believe he
was released, only to be re-arrested a few years later and taken back to Rome
and imprisoned a second time with nothing but the promise of death awaiting him
and perhaps his followers as well. Certainly not all of Paul’s disciples felt
ready to be martyred for Christ by that maniac emperor Nero.
Such must have been the pressure experienced
by Peter when Christ stood at the judgment and was sentenced to scourging and crucifixion
… Peter denied even knowing Jesus, not once, but three times. War is often at
first so romantic with the parades and emotional highs that come with that
patriotic call. However, when in battle, especially battle after battle over
long years of campaign after campaign, war loses its romantic luster and only
those who are truly committed to a cause for which they are willing to die will
stand strong to continue the fight.
In AD62, Paul and his disciples were joyfully
enduring the hardships of prison and reaching out with the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. They held nothing but the greatest hope of a bright and continuing
future for themselves.
That year four men left Rome, each with a
letter written from Paul in hand, each bound for a different destination. They
carried a portion of what would become the New Testament on its first journey. They
were all disciples of Paul and now they were messengers of God, sent from Rome.
(5) While Luke and Demas remained behind with Paul in Rome to continue their discipleship
training and serve him. (Colossians 4:14)
Fast forward 5 years … AD67
·
The
Roman government is bankrupt:
o Morally
o Financially
o Spiritually
·
The
persecution of Christians has gotten worse …
·
Paul
is in prison in Rome once again …
·
This
time he will be executed, and everyone knows it …
·
Paul
writes what I believe is his last letter to a disciple named Timothy whom he
calls his son in the faith.
2 Timothy 4
10
Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed
for Thessalonica …
11
Only Luke is with me …
Demas has forsaken
me:
·
Only
5 years earlier Demas was one of the closest disciples Paul had. He and Luke
remained with Paul during his first imprisonment.
·
Now
Demas has forsaken Paul?
·
For
centuries many scholars and preachers alike have hunted Demas down like a dog
and berated him for turning back to his old ways, abandoning his call and
returning to the world.
·
However,
after almost 40 years of studying these verses, reading commentaries and
researching this matter in full, I do not believe Demas left Christ or His
belief in Jesus as His Lord and Savior but rather I believe Demas was simply
afraid of Nero and afraid of death.
·
I
believe Demas abandoned the Apostle Paul in a critical time, when Paul needed
him, because Demas saw the potential costs of staying with him in Rome under
the watchful eye and evil hand of that unpredictable tyrant Nero.
·
I
believe Paul knew he was about to be martyred and Paul wanted to go and be with
Jesus … it’s plain, Demas did not.
·
Demas
was happy to live for Jesus, but not ready to die for Him.
having loved this
present world:
·
Demas
did not choose to stay in Rome, the sin capital of the world, where he could
have been lost in the crowd and drown in pleasure.
·
The
scriptures don’t indicate that Demas backslid or went back to living a sinful
life, rather they say that he went to Thessalonica where he was certainly known
to have been a favored disciple of the Apostle Paul for at least the past 5
years.
·
Perhaps
Demas simply had an affection for life, specifically his own life … and he
traded his loyalty to his friend, compromised his personal integrity, and ran
away to safety to save his life.
·
Although
this is not a blatant lust-filled sinful act, and is reasonably understandable from
some standpoints … nonetheless, it is cowardly and worthy of the Apostle Paul
calling attention to it. Paul discredited Demas for not standing for Christ in
the face of eminent persecution.
Demas departed to
Thessalonica and only Luke remained with Paul to face the axe of
Nero.
It
can be a temptation to love Christ and to yet be too much on guard against the
scrutiny of others. Many a Believer in Christ has fallen prey to dimming their
light in public so as to not encounter unwelcomed persecution. To love this
world can manifest in following the vices and lusts of the flesh in such magnitude
that sin runs rampant through the soul – or the love of this world can be born
of the simple fear of death & loss … loss of anything from reputation to
comfort to money, friends or even life itself.
This
morning I want to draw your considerations to the fact that the devil will try
his best to keep you from being saved. If he cannot keep you from being saved,
he will attempt to get you to act unsaved. If he cannot get you to live like a
sinner, then he will hope to trick you into being quiet about the salvation
which only comes to others through Christ.
Don’t
let the devil deceive you or make you afraid to let your light shine. The truth
is – Luke wasn’t executed there, and neither would Demas have been. The
fear, the compromise, the threats and the shame were an unnecessary epitaph for
Demas. But you see:
The bloodthirsty hate the blameless … Proverbs 29:10
All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer
persecution. 2 Timothy 3:12
Beware when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to
the false prophets. Luke 6:26
Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 1 John 3:13
John 15:18 “If the world
hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
“Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in
heaven. Matthew 5:16
You
may notice that there is not a book in the New Testament entitled, “Demas” –
but there is one called “Luke”.
1.
Get
saved …
2.
Act
saved …
3.
Tell
your friends about Jesus …
4.
Don’t
let the devil make you afraid or ashamed of your relationship with Jesus …
5.
Let
your light shine and let God take care of the rest.
