The Wrong Kind of U-Turn

The Wong Kind of U-Turn

So we’ve spending a lot of this week talking about U-turns. We talked about how we need to U-turn from out way of doing life, and turn to God through faith in Jesus Christ. That is the only way to be saved from the wrath of God and be granted eternal life. Saying a prayer is not a U-turn if you’re trusting that prayer to save you. You must trust in Jesus Christ.

We’ve spent a lot of time talking how to make decisions in life. We want to U-turn from the world’s way of making decisions “just follow your heart” “do whatever feels good” etc. and even turning from some wrong ways Christians make decisions as they try to figure out God’s will, and we turn to God’s way of making decisions through pursuing wisdom. We pursue it through the Bible, through prayer, through wise counsel, etc.

We’ve talked about what to do when you blow it. When you make a mistake you have the choice to go hide under a rock, or make a U-turn, take responsibility for your actions and pursue the right thing. We want to be like Mark when it comes to rebounding from bad decisions.

We’ve talked about making a U-turn from the world’s way of understanding sexuality. The world says to do whatever you want, express yourself in whatever way feels good, and don’t let anyone tell you how to handle your body. We want to U-turn from that idea and turn to God’s design for our sexuality because it’s frankly just so much better.

So lots of U-turning.

Tonight we are flipping the script the little bit. Like Pastor Dave shared this morning at flag pole devotions, instead of talking about another area where we need to U-turn, we are going to talk about the wrong kind of U-turn. If you claim to be trusting in Jesus Christ alone for you salvation, this is a U-turn I pray you will never make.

When I was in youth group, there were several individuals that I considered to be good friends and seemed to be in a good place spiritually. They seemed to be learning and growing and really love the Bible and the Lord. I’m still friends with them on social media, and every now and again I’ll see something posted that makes me go…wait a second. Are you a Christian? In some cases, they still claim to be, but they’re living like the world. But in other cases, they have outright rejected Christianity as truth and are living in blatant rebellion against the Lord, flaunting their sinful life like its a badge of honor.

I attended a small Bible College and likewise I had several friends that were great to be around, they seemed like rock solid Christians, they talked about being pastors or missionaries or doing youth ministry. But instead of pursuing that and following through with where they said they were headed, they now have abandoned the Christian faith and are also living in immorality and in rebellion against God.

How does that happen? How do these individuals that seemed to have things all together, who seemed to be absolutely on fire for God, who seemed to be on the right track, who seemed to even be heading to a life of ministry, how did they get to a place where they walked away from God, abandoned the faith, and have chosen lives of rebellion and immorality? How does that happen? How do we prevent that from happening to us? You might scoff and say “hah, that will never happen to me. I will never abandon the faith” but they all said the same thing, and that attitude didn’t keep them from falling away. So we need to know what happened, and we need to know how to guard ourselves against that happening to us, because the danger of it is very real.

So how does this happen? Does the Bible give us any help in this area?

Sadly, there are numerous examples in the Bible of people who seemed to start out well in serving God, only to fall away later in life. Just to name a few, think of the first king of Israel, King Saul. You read about him this morning during your quite time devotions. He seemed to start out well, but eventually made some foolish choices and then completely abandoned the God who chose him to sit on the throne. In reading through the books of Kings and Chronicles, there are several more kings that followed that basic bath.

There’s Judas, who walked with Jesus for three years, only to betray him and then go out and hang himself.

But today, I want to talk about a man you may have never heard of before. A man named Demas.

A Man Named Demas

Demas. Who is Demas?

Honestly, one of the reasons that you probably haven’t heard much about Demas is because we don’t really know a whole lot about him. We don’t know anything about his background, where he comes from, how he heard about Jesus, what he did for a living, what kind of family he might have had, or anything else like that.

In fact, he is only mentioned three times in the Bible, and then only in passing. However, in those three mentions we see a sad change. We see the wrong kind of U-turn.

First, lets turn to the book of Colossians chapter 4.

This is a passage we looked at when we were talking about Mark, but our focus is going to be on a different character here.

Let’s start in verse 10, so we can see how this passage sets up

Colossians 4:10–14 CSB

Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin (concerning whom you have received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), and so does Jesus who is called Justus. These alone of the circumcised are my coworkers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. He is always wrestling for you in his prayers, so that you can stand mature and fully assured in everything God wills. For I testify about him that he works hard for you, for those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis. Luke, the dearly loved physician, and Demas send you greetings.

So we see how as Paul writes his letter, there are several who are with him who send their greetings to the church in Colossae. Notice how positive Paul is as he describes these people.

And then we see the beloved physician Luke, and then Demas sends greetings. Nothing is said about Demas, good or bad here, and so we don’t want to speculate anything about him right here. We stick with what he know from the text. So what do we know?

Demas: Sharing Christian Fellowship

Well, we see Demas sharing in Christian Fellowship.

We have a pretty good idea where Paul is when he writes this letter. In all probability, Paul is sitting in prison in Rome. He is in jail for preaching the Gospel and he spends his time sharing the gospel with the roman guards, praying for the churches that he started, and writing letters to various churches across the land.

But he’s not alone. There are some people with him assisting him with some things. Some of these people are traveling back and forth between Paul and the churches, delivering letters and bringing word back to Paul about how the churches are doing. Some of the people are probably helping to care for Paul as well as he sits in prison

So these folks that are with Paul are likely performing some of these different functions. Demas is one of those people that are with Paul. It seems that Demas cared enough about Paul to be with him even when life circumstances were less than desirable.

So the fact alone that Demas is with Paul is more significant than we might think at first glance. It is commendable that he is there despite the circumstances. And at the very least, Demas is fellowshiping with Paul.

Now, let’s turn over to Philemon. Philemon only has one chapter, so let’s look on down to verse 23-24

Philemon 23–24 CSB

Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings, and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my coworkers.

This letter of Philemon was most likely written at the exact same time as Colossians, so the circumstances are the same. Paul is in jail and is writing a letter. Some of the same people that we read about in Colossians show up here too, but here we get one more detail about Demas that we didn’t have before.

Demas: Sharing Christian Ministry

From Colossians we simply observed the Demas was with Paul. Here we see that he a co-worker of Paul.

That word for co-worker simply means someone who worked along side of someone else. So Paul describes Demas as someone who isn’t just there hanging out, but he’s laboring in the Gospel with Paul. He’s a fellow worker, a co-laborer for the cause of Christ.

Clearly this is someone who claims to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Clearly this is someone who seems to really care about Paul. Clearly Paul sees this man as an ally for the cause of Christ, as someone who he can trust.

But Demas isn't going to stay the course. He, like several of my friends from youth group and college is going to fall away. How does this happen? How does someone who seems to firing on all cylinders get to a place where they leave the faith altogether? How does someone go from being engaged in Christian fellowship through their youth group, church, or camp, someone who gets engaged in Christian ministry like VBS or AWANA, missions trips, etc. and they abandon the faith altogether?

Well, Demas is mentioned one last time, and it gives us clues as to how this happens.

Let’s look at 2 Timothy chapter 4

We’ve been looking at the end of several of Paul’s letters. He usually says things that are encouraging and positive to the people he is writing to, and from and about the people who are with him. This one is less encouraging.

2 Timothy 4:9–10 CSB

Make every effort to come to me soon, because Demas has deserted me, since he loved this present world, and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

Demas, having loved this present world, deserted Paul.

A few things to point out here. First, Demas isn’t the only person who leaves Paul to do other things. Crescens went to Galatia, Titus went to Dalmatia. In verse twelve we see that Paul sent a man named Tychicus to Ephesus. But Paul doesn’t have any negative comments to make about them, and in at least one case here Paul actually sent the man away, presumably for ministry. So it’s clearly not just the fact that Demas left that’s the issue. People come and go for various reasons and Paul understands that. But look at what Paul has to say about Demas.

Demas doesn’t just leave Paul, he deserts him. He forsakes him, abandons him. This is a very strong word and speaks of utter rejection and abandonment. Demas went away and did not look back. Why? What happened?

Paul says the reason why Demas deserted him was because he loved this present world.

He loved this present world. Those are devastating words. Instead of loving Christ Demas chose to love the things of this world instead.

I have wondered many times what it was specifically that caused Demas to run away to Thessalonica. Did he get tired of doing the Lord’s work? Did he have ideas about what it would look like to be a missionary only to find out that it was much harder so he left to find and easier life? Maybe he missed the comforts of his home and decided that it wasn’t worth all the hassle to be with Paul. Maybe he began to fear for his own life as he watched Paul remain in prison. Maybe he fell in love with someone who enticed him to abandon the tasks of the gospel. Maybe he was offered a large sum of money to go to Thessalonica. May he got talking with some of the philosophers of the city and became convinced that Christianity wasn’t logical, so he left.

At the end of the day, we do not know specifically what the issue was, and we really don’t want to speculate about it too much. But the thing that all those possible scenarios have in common is that all those things reflect a desire for and a valuing of the things of this world, over and against the desires and value of Christ. Demas failed to value Christ and the gospel higher than the things of this world, and so, since he loved the things of this world more, he eventually decided to abandon Paul, abandon the gospel, and abandon the mission, so he could indulge himself with the things of this world. He lost his eternal perspective, he failed to consider that the things of this world will all be brought to an end, and he decided that it was worth more to him to have the pleasures of this world rather than have the pleasures of communion with Christ for all eternity.

I think I could say the same thing about the people that I knew that once claimed Christianity but now don’t. In almost every case, I could point to a specific sin or a specific damaging life pattern that demonstrates a love for the things of this world over and against the things of God. In one case it was a love of alcohol and partying. In another case, it was desire to be with a person that didn’t share the same beliefs so in order to accommodate her, He abandoned his beliefs. In a few other cases is was individuals who decided that they were going live in sexual immorality by pursuing same sex relationships. But in every case, these individuals choose the things of this world over and against the things of God.

How are we to think about these people? At one point they seemed like really good Christians. How are we do understand their complete abandonment of the faith?

Did they lose their salvation? No. The Scriptures are very clear that those who have truly been saved can never lose their salvation. Once you have new life it cannot be taken away.

If you can’t lose your salvation, does that mean that even though these individuals are no longer even claiming to be Christians, does that mean they are actually are still saved since they once made a profession of faith?

Reality check time. The consistent testimony of Scripture is that you cannot consistently walk in willful, unrepentant sin and rebellion against God and be a Christian. That doesn’t mean that Christians never sin, because we all do, but I’m talking about consistent, willful, unrepentant sin and rebellion against God.

1 John 1:6 CSB

If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” and yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth.

1 John 2:3–4 CSB

This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands. The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

But this next verse speaks most clearly into the life of Demas and those that we see fall away:

1 John 2:15 CSB

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.

The sad reality is thought they had professed faith in Christ, though they had been engaged with Christian Fellowship, though they participated in Christian Ministry, the reality is that they never were true believers to begin with. That can be a hard reality to swallow, especially because we have seen them seem to be so on fire for God. But their lives prove that whatever they had wasn’t true faith, because true faith perseveres to the end.

Staying in John chapter two, John writes about people who were once participants in the church, but turned and now exhibits a life of rebellion against God

1 John 2:19 NKJV

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

They seemed to be with us at one point, they had us fooled, they seemed to be Christians, but they left. They left because they never were of us to begin with.

It’s a sobering reality. It’s sad. It’s devastating. To give up the riches of Christ for the things of this world, things that will all perish and be blown away. It’s heartbreaking.

What’s even more sobering is that it could happen to you.

Sometimes its hard to believe that we could ever fall away from the faith. I mean come on. I’m at Shakamak Bible Camp, I’ve memorized all the verses, how could I ever fall away? I pray you don’t. But several biblical authors wrote to us to warn us about the dangers of falling away from the faith, and these are not just hypothetical warnings.

Look at this:

Hebrews 2:1 CSB

For this reason, we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.

It’s possible for some of us to drift away from the faith. The solution? Pay attention to the words of Scripture. Study you Bible. Know what it says. Be on you guard.

Hebrews 3:12–14 CSB

Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception. For we have become participants in Christ if we hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start.

Watch out! be on the alert! An evil unbelieving heart could crop up in us, and we need to be on the alert so that it doesn’t happen. This is a very real warning of a very real danger.

This can be an uncomfortable reality to talk about because we do believe in the doctrine of eternal security. Once Christ gives you new life, you have eternal life. You cannot lose your salvation. God keeps you and hold you secure in His hands. But we are also called to persevere in the faith, and if we fall away, it’s evidence that we never truly believed, we were never truly saved to begin with. So be on the alert! Watch out! Be aware if unbelief begins to crop up within you so you can address that head on. You have to be determined! You must persevere!

One more passage to look at.

Jude 20–21 CSB

But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life.

As Jude writes he is warning against false teachers and those that have fallen away from the faith. As he closes his letter he gives this command: Keep yourselves in the love of God. How do we do that? We study the Bible, because it reveals the love that God has for us, we pray, because God’s love is revealed in answered prayer it develops our loving relationship with the Father; we go to church because there the love of God is displayed through the kind acts of his people, and we do good to others because then we are conduits of God’s love to others.

But it’s an urgent plea. Keep yourselves in the love of God. Do not let yourselves come out of it!

This is our last night here at Camp Shakamak 2018. Tomorrow morning we pack up our things and go home. Some of you I may never see again.

I don’t know where your heart is. I don’t know if you have truly trusted Christ or not. I do know that you will be tempted by the things of this world, but I don’t know if you will fall away from the faith. But I plead with you, I urge you, don’t be a Demas. Don’t be like some of my friends that seemed to have it all together only to choose the things of this world over the things of God. Pay all the more attention to the things that you’ve heard so that you will not drift away. Be on the alert lest an evil unbelieving heart creeps up inside you turning you away from the living God. Keep yourself in the love of God. Determine in your heart right here, right now that you will not fall away. Plead with the Lord for his grace to persevere, even in the face of adversity, and when the things of this world begin to look temping, ask him for His grace to see you through.

We are called to make many U-turns in our lives. We turn away from the world and we turn to God. But here is a major U-turn we want to avoid. We don’t want to turn away from the Lord who died on the cross to save us.

I have one last passage for us, and it’s an encouraging one.

Jude 24–25 CSB

Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.

You Persevere; God Preserves

You are commanded to keep yourself in the love of God. You are command to be on the alert, to keep watch over your souls so that you do not drift away, that is what you are commanded to do. You are called to persevere. But we can rest knowing that no one can snatch us out of the Father’s hand, and He is able to keep us from stumbling and make us stand washed clean in his glorious presence.

We are called to persevere, but God has also promised to preserve us. Two side of the same coin. So as we live faithfully to to God’s will of command we can be confident that we will see him in glory. But we must persevere.

If you have any questions or concerns or thoughts about any of this, please don’t hesitate to talk with me or your cabin leader. We would be delighted to answer your questions. It’s been a pleasure to be here this week. You all have been great.

Just do me one favor: don’t be Demas. At the end of your life be able to say with Paul “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith”

Let’s go to the Lord.

As we sit here with our heads bowed and our eyes closed, I’m not going to ask you to raise hands or anything tonight. But I am going to give you a moment in silent prayer. I’m going to give us a moment to go before God. If you have never trusted Christ, now is the time to do that. You don’t know that you will have tomorrow, you don’t know that you will even make it through the night. Repent of your sins and trust the savior today.

If you have already trusted Christ, in this moment of silent prayer I want you to pray to Him. I want you to pray and ask God for the strength to persevere. Confess any sins before Him, ask for His forgiveness, thank Him for his mercy and grace, and plead with him to keep you from falling away. Make a commitment before the Lord today that you are going to persevere until the end and ask for His help in that.

I’m going to give us a few moments in silence to do that now. Talk with Him.

Let’s pray.

Lord thank you for your saving grace. Thank you for the opportunity to be at Shakamak Bible Camp this summer. Lord I do pray for each and every one of the students in the room. Lord I pray that if there is anyone here that still has not trusted in Christ, that you would do a work in their heart to bring them to faith. I also pray Lord that for those who do profess faith that you would keep them in the faith. I pray that you would strengthen them, hold up them, preserve them Lord. I pray that they can be faithful to keep themselves in your love through by being faithful to study your word, go to you in prayer, fellowship with others at Church, do good to those around them.

Lord as we go our separate ways in the morning please keep us all safe as we travel. May we honor you in all things. And now to you who is able to keep us from stumbling and make us stand in the presence of His glory blameless and with great joy, to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. I pray all these things in Christ’s name, Amen

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