Don't be a Demas

intro

Many years ago, a man by the name of Robert Robinson was riding in a stagecoach. 

Another passenger in the coach was humming a verse of the hymn “Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing.” 

She asked Robinson what he thought of the hymn she was humming.

His answer was a strange one.  He said, “Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then.”

You see, the old man riding in that stagecoach had written that hymn years earlier. 

At the age of 19, Robinson had been saved out of deep sin through the preaching of George Whitefield. 

Later, he became a preacher in the Methodist church. 

He wandered from the Methodists to the Baptists and eventually wound up in the Unitarian church. 

The Unitarians deny the deity of Jesus Christ.  Robinson was a man who knew about wandering and about the terrible price it can bring. He died a miserable, wayward soul.

He wrote the hymn the lady was humming when he was a young Pastor, still in love and in communion with the Lord Jesus.

The third verse of that hymn goes like this:

Oh to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be,

Let Thy good ness like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love,

Here’s my heart Lord, take and seal it, Seal it for thy courts above.

Today, I want to introduce you to a man named Demas. 

He is a man mentioned only  three times in the whole New Testament, but the three short verses that mention his name reveal a man who also wandered faraway from the Lord he once loved and served. 

It is interesting to note that the name Demas means “The governor of the people.”  We are going to meet a man who not only did not live up to his name, but he was a man who could not even govern himself.

As we get to know Demas a little better today, I am sure that some here will also see themselves.  That is a good thing, because there are many who have wandered away from that place of closeness and intimacy with God.  

A PERFECT START DOES NOT PROMISE A PERFECT ENDING

Philemon 24 NKJV

24 as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers.

In 1936, the Olympic Games were held in Berlin, Germany. 

German Women’s 400 meter relay team by the underdog Americans.  When the starting gun sounded, the Germans quickly went ahead of the Americans and held first place until the baton was passed to the last runner.  The Germans had a seven yard lead, but the anchor runner dropped the baton and the Germans were disqualified.  The German team had executed a perfect start and had run a good race, but, in the end, they learned the terrible truth that a perfect start does not promise a perfect ending.

When we first meet Demas, he is called a “fellowlabourer” by Paul. That phrase literally means, “A companion in the work.” 

There, we find Demas mentioned along with Luke, Mark and Aristarchus. 

All three of these men were well know in the early church! 

Mark wrote a Gospel. 

Luke wrote the Gospel that bears his name and the book of Acts.  Aristarchus served time in prison with Paul, Col. 4:10. 

All there were traveling companions of the great Apostle. 

From that it would appear that Demas was well known, well respected and well liked during this portion of his life and work. 

But, as close as Demas was to Paul and as much as he grew in the Lord, apparently it did not last. 

2 Timothy 4:10 NKJV

10 for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia.

We have no record of how Demas came to know the Lord Jesus as his Savior. 

But, the time came when Demas fizzled out as a servant of the Lord. 

He was going along well, but he burned out and fell out. 

His life illustrates a principle that many would rather not have to life by: How you finish is just as important as how you begin.

Jesus talked about this kind of person in the Parable of the Sower,

Luke 8:13 NKJV

13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.

He is talking about that person who hears the Word gets all excited about it and starts out to go with the Lord, but when trials, temptations and troubles come, they fall away. 

Jesus even had this kind of person among His Own disciples. 

I am sure all the disciples thought Judas Iscariot was a saved man. 

They must have trusted him; after all, they let him carry the money for the group. 

What can we learn from this part of the life of Demas?  Here are a couple of things you can take home with you.

1.     Be absolutely sure you come to Jesus the right way in the beginning.

That is, be sure you are saved. 

How? 

Acts 16:31 NKJV

31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

John 6:37–40 NKJV

37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Romans 10:9 NKJV

9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

You can’t meet Jesus by joining the church or by being baptized. 

You don’t come to know Him by doing good things or by becoming a better person.  You must be born again.

John 3:3 NKJV

3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

2.  Understand that the Christian race is a marathon and not a sprint.

God did not save us for a life of ease, so that we could float off to heaven after a few days. 

Friend, there will be some trials and troubles along the way. 

All I am saying that that we need to settle in for the long haul and run this race with patient endurance

Hebrews 12:1–2 NKJV

1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3.     Take the time to encourage others in their own race.

There are some people around us today that are struggling. 

They are probably having a difficult time making it. 

Those who are running the race might need to take the time to be an encouragement to them, Gal. 6:1-2. 

Others are young in the Lord.  They too need an encouraging word. 

4.     Remember that even if you did start out right, you can always fall along the way!

Don’t let pride, self-righteousness or blindness to your own faults cause you to stumble and fall

1 Corinthians 10:12 NKJV

12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

Proverbs 16:18 NKJV

18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

It could happen to you and it might have already happened in your life.

 II.                THE DOWNWARD SLOPE IS GRADUAL BUT SLIPPERY

Colossians 4:14 NKJV

14 Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you.

I am sure this was a slow process in the life of Demas. 

I do not believe that he woke up one morning and said, “I think I’ll become a backslider today.” 

No, it was far more subtle. 

Perhaps Demas allowed himself a little leeway here and then a little there and before he realized it, he was under the control of his passions and not under the control of the Spirit of God. 

He learned the harsh lesson .

Galatians 5:9 NKJV

9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

We believers need to learn the lessons that are given to us throughout the pages of the Bible. 

David fell into sin when he entertained temptation in his life, 2 Sam. 11.  Samson fell when he was asleep. 

We need to keep our relationship with Jesus in good order! 

Whatever happened in his life, he began a slow, steady turn away from the Lord.  Friend, don’t let that happen in your life!

conclusion

Acts 20:9 NKJV

9 And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.

tells us about a young man by the name of Eutychus who fell asleep while listening to Paul preach. 

The Bible says that he fell out of a third floor window and died. 

Here it is: Do you know why Eutychus fell out of the window? You had better get out your pen and paper for this one.  You don’t want to miss this.  I went through 11 years of Bible College to learn this. 

There was more of Eutychus hanging out of that window than there was of Eutychus hanging in!

It was a gradual process, but it cost Eutychus his life. 

Don’t let the same thing happen to you.  You see, backsliding begins very subtly. 

You begin to miss a Wednesday evening, a Sunday night or a Sunday School class here and there, and before you know it, you are out of church. 

You miss a day or two praying and studying your Bible and before you know it, your mind isn’t on the Lord, but on the things of the world. 

You start to pay attention to that pretty young lady at work and before you know it, you are in trouble. 

The devil never lays all of his cards on the table, but he comes slyly by enticing the heart and the mind, and before you realize it, you are in serious trouble!  Just ask David.  Just ask Samson.  Just ask some people in this room today!