What happend to Demas?

What Happened to Demas?
by J.D. King www.worldrevivalnetwork.com
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Have you wondered what it was like to participate in a great move of God? In the first century there were a handful of men who had this privilege. Reflecting on them, the Apostle Paul wrote the following:

"Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." (Philemon 1:22-25)

Paul names several men in this overlooked passage; calling them "fellow workers." Just visualize for a moment what it must have been like? What miracles you would have experienced as you stood beside the apostle?

However, as you consider the opportunities afforded these men, you cannot overlook their spiritual character. On the pages of another epistle, Paul makes reference to this.

"Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings."(Colossians 4:12-14)

These men – described by Paul as "dear friends" – wrestled in prayer. They stood in the gap so others could find spiritual strength and maturity. They were great warriors for God. I certainly would not be shocked if many unrecorded exploits were accomplished through their ministries.

However, when reading about these men, it is easy to forget that they were moving through the opening stages of revival. We are listening in as everything is new and exciting. It is not difficult to grab hold of the purposes of God when everything is fresh and easy. It is an entirely different manner when things become hard and a difficult battle ensues.

In these quiet early passages, the great challenges of ministry are not yet manifest. Yes, hints of danger are on the horizon, but mounting persecution has not yet raised its head. In these triumphant moments, Paul and friends are conquering every obstruction before them.

It is easy to run as long as light remains, but what happens when the shadows lengthen.

As warm winds shifted and the seasons changed, this mighty apostolic team began to face difficult opposition. No longer was it painless to minister the gospel. The new crowds they were encountering were not as open to the message as the earlier ones. Paul and his workers were not only being publicly denounced by the Greeks, they were experiencing violence from prominent Jews.

In the closing years of Paul's life, many who once stood beside him dishonorably abandoned him. Anointed men with promising futures were convinced that they could not handle the pressure. It is easy to stand up for righteous when things are good, but who will remain in the face of mounting difficulty.

One can almost hear the deep sadness in Paul's voice as he appealed to Timothy - one of the few men who remained faithful.

"Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me." (2 Timothy 4:9-11)

In this tragic epistolary exchange, Paul digresses about Demas; a man once referenced in the same breath as Luke (Colossians 4:14). Who was this troubled man and what became of him? When reading about Demas, many write him off as a pretender; a charlatan who was never really in the faith. For others, Demas' story is little more than a distracting sideline in Paul's overarching theological discourse. They believe these verses are interesting but inapplicable; something passed over on the way to more important passages. This is a wrong outlook. Mistaken assumptions cause us to miss the greater lesson of this scripture.

We have forgotten not only who we are, but where we have come from and where we are going. Churchgoers are blinded to the fact that we are becoming like Demas. Sure we started out in the right direction; moving in the glory and power of the Lord. We loved Jesus with all our heart and were prepared to serve Him all the days of our life.

Somewhere along the way things got harder. Troubles of this world came and started choking the purposes of God. You had everything you needed to fight, but somehow lost heart. Passionate people of the Kingdom are in danger of losing their way. What happened to Demas? Whatever it was you cannot let it happen to you.