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The Book of Second Timothy:
Message Forty Three
By Dr. Michael
Guido, D.D.
One of the
prisoners that was taken captive at Waterloo was a
Highland Piper. Napoleon was struck with his
deportment and dress and enjoyed his company. One day
he said, "Play a march!" and the Highlander
obeyed. "Now," said Napoleon, "play a
retreat!" But he protested, "No! I never
learned to play a retreat."
One who played
a retreat on the instrument of his life was Demas.
How he broke the heart of an apostle, and the
Almighty; for Paul wrote of him in 2nd
Timothy 4:10, "Demas hath forsaken me, having
loved this present world."
Demas started
well. He was likeable, and he wasn't lazy. He
labored, and he labored with the choice Christians of
his day. But he didn't finish well, and that's the
thing that really counts.
There are many
people who are fond of beginnings. It was Mr.
Spurgeon who said, "Some people should be good
at beginnings, for they've been at it ever since
we've known them."
For a time
Demas was listed with the heroes and heroines of the
faith. For it's written in Philemon 24, "Mark,
Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers." What a
company, and what a calling - laborers together with
the Lord!
But the next
time his name is mentioned there's no comment. He's
not listed as laboring for the Lord. Neither is he
seen as praying for the lost. And he's not found in
his pew. His name is mentioned, that's all. I was
born in Ohio, and there was a pond near my uncle's
coal office where I used to play as a boy. Sometimes
in the winter we'd keep stirring that water, and we'd
keep the ice from forming. When we didn't stir that
water, and the ice filmed over, it quickly hardened
and thickened. Then we could slide and skate on it.
That's the way it is with our lives. If a Christian
neglects laboring for the Lord, if he doesn't keep
company with other Christians, if he doesn't continue
going and giving, the ice will quickly form. That's
what happened to Demas.
The third time
his name is mentioned we hear Paul saying with a
tear, "Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this
present world." Think of it - the disciple
became a deserter!
It may be that
you're saying, "It's so strange - Demas is
mentioned with Luke, but there's such a difference in
their lives." That's true. Both were companions
of the apostle Paul. They were under the same
influence and instruction. But Luke went out to write
a book, and Demas went out to be a blank. Luke was
faithful, and Demas was faithless. Luke followed, but
Demas forsook. Don't you see this happening in your
church? Where do you find yourself - following or
forsaking? Oh, come back - come back to Christ! Come
back to Christ now!
In the case of
Demas it may be that he didn't count the cost. He
thought of the thrills of being a Christian, but not
of the trials; the crown, but not the cross; the
fellowship, but not the fight.
"It's a
fight and a hard fight, a fight to the end, for life
is no sleep in the clover;
It's a fight
for the boy, and a fight for the man, and a fight
until days are all over!"
It may be that
Demas didn't want to pay the price. His name means
"popular." When he saw Paul a prisoner, he
might have said, "I don't want to be a prisoner
for Christ, I want to be a popular Christian."
When he saw the chains around Paul, he might have
said, "I don't want the chains of a worker, I
want the charms of a worldling." He wanted a
religion of convenience, not of conviction. He wasn't
like the young man who came to Bishop Hedding of New
York and was asked, "Have you considered that
you'll have to go away from home and friends and be
among strangers and enemies?" "I
have," he answered. "Have you considered
that you must leave your native land with all its
privileges, and be a foreigner in a strange land,
where everybody will regard you with suspicion and
prejudice?" "I have," he answered.
"Have you considered that in that land your
health may fail, and you may be prostrated with
malaria and fevers of violence?"
"Yes," cried the young man, "and if I
had a thousand lives I'd give them all to Jesus.
Bishop, sir, please don't ask me any more questions,
but send me, please send me!"
If you, my
friend, find yourself being wooed by the world, as
was Demas, take a good look at the Christ of the
cross, and I'm sure you'll find yourself saying with
Isaac Watts:
"When I
survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of
Glory died;
My richest
gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my
pride."
"Were the
whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far
too small;
Love so
amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my
all."
copyright 2000 Guido Evangelistic
Association
All Scripture verses are
quoted from the New King James Version.
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the book of Second Timothy.
This series of messages on the
books of the Bible were originally written for
broadcast on Dr. Guido's radio program, "The
Sower." They are collected and reprinted here
for your enjoyment and spiritual edification.
