The Man With A Sad Future (Col. 4:14b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/19/2017 10:39 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  The Man With A Sad Future

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Colossians 4:14:b

            Message of the verses:  “and also Demas.”

            Demas was a man who evidently started off very good as he was working with Paul for the cause of Christ, but Paul writes the following about him in the last letter found in the New Testament written by Paul, 2 Timothy 4:9-10 where he writes “Make every effort to come to me soon; for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.”  As I prepare my Sunday school lesson for this coming Sunday on the 17^th chapter of John we will be looking at verses 11 and 12, and verse twelve has this to say “"While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.”  John, of course was writing about Judas who is another example of someone who loved the world more than the Lord.  So we can say that Jesus had His Judas, and Paul had his Demas.  John MacArthur writes “The pull of the world system eventually became irresistible to Demas, and he abandoned both Pau and the ministry…Anyone who has been in the ministry long enough has shared in that heartbreaking experience.  That is not necessarily a reflection on one’s own ministry, however.  It is comforting to note that even the two greatest leaders the world has even known had those who failed them.”

            Dr. Warren Wiersbe writes the following about Demas as he uses the following sub-title to describe him:  “The Man Who Strayed (Col. 4:14b).  “Demas is mentioned only three times in Paul’s letters, and these three references tell a sad story.  First, he is called ‘Demas…my fellow laborer’ and is linked with three good men—Mark, Aristarchus, and Luke (Phile. 24).  Then he is simply called ‘Demas,’ and there is no special word of identification or commendation (Col. 4:14).  But the third reference tells what became of Demas:  ‘For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world’ (2 Tim. 4:10).”

6/19/2017 10:55 PM