Sermon Snippet – Both Sides of Life
INTRODUCTION – I have often said that one aspect (of many) of the Bible that grabs hold of me and convinces me of its infallible truth is its realism. All of life is presented, from soaring salvation to the sorrows of sin. Most of us are familiar with Paul’s testimony in II Timothy 4:6-8, given as his life was almost gone. His confidence is stirring and uplifting. However, we find in verse 10a that a close friend and fellow worker had deserted Paul: “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world.” Let us learn from both sides of life.
1. THE AGING APOSTLE WAS INCREASINGLY ALONE
The most important relationship in Paul’s life was fully intact: his commitment to Jesus never wavered. However, he was imprisoned in Rome (for that terrible crime of preaching the Gospel message of eternal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ) and was increasingly isolated. Crescens, Titus, and Tychicus (verse 10b, 12) were loyal to the Christian call, but they were laboring far from Rome and could not be with Paul as he awaited execution. Paul’s desire for Timothy (verse 9) and Mark (verse 11) to come to be with him reveals his growing loneliness. Luke was with him (verse 11); we will have more to consider about the good doctor in a bit.
2. THE AGING APOSTLE HAD BEEN ABANDONED BY DEMAS
In Philemon 24, Paul calls Demas “my fellow labourer.” During Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome, about five years before the writing of II Timothy, Demas was alongside Paul (Colossians 4:14). Later, though, he slipped away, “having loved this present world.” In John Bunyan’s classic allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress, Demas is pictured as the greedy keeper of a silver mine, and it is likely that the worldly lust for lucre was a factor in his declension. We should note the word “present” (found in the original Greek but unfortunately untranslated in some newer translations, including the NIV). Part of his problem was his focus on only the immediate moment. He did not reflect on the past nor contemplate the future – especially the eternal future. “’I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, ‘saith the Lord, ‘which is and which was and which is to come, the Almighty’”; so says Jesus in Revelation 1:8. If we focus upon the “is” only, we cannot really know the Savior. Demas had abandoned Paul, and the Apostle felt his absence deeply, so deeply that it is recorded in God’s Word.
3. THE AGING APOSTLE ACHED
Physically, Paul was hurting: he was cold (verse 13). I almost cry when I think of that great man of God shivering in a dank, dark cell. Worse than this discomfort was the ache in his heart as he thought of Demas. Probably all of us have had our hearts broken by people close to us who have blithely turned away from Jesus to live exclusively in the “present.” Will they return? Are they genuinely saved? Personally, my heart is lacerated many times over; for through decades of teaching, coaching, and ministering, I know people – too many people – who have gone the way of Demas.
CONCLUSION – Demas is a warning to all of us. We all need Jesus as Savior. We need to be sure, and we need to continue to follow Him. Luke, “the beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14), is the right example for each of us. Do we know of someone like Paul, someone who needs others to come alongside? Let us be Lukes, and let us also remember, realistically, that if the Lord tarries, we are all likely to be Pauls in need of loyal Lukes.