“Demas hath forsaken Me, having loved this present world, and is departed . . .” – II Timothy 4:10 Demas was once thought to be a disciple and follower of Jesus Christ. He attended the worship services and seemed to enjoy the preaching . . for awhile. Then one day he departed, never to return. He never came back to the worship services again. Paul said it was because he loved this present world. He loved his home, job, family, former friends, and things of this world more than Jesus Christ, more than the things of God, more than the people of God.
The fact of the matter is, everyone who departs from the living God does so because they love this present world. They don’t love God or they wouldn’t leave God. They don’t love Christ or they wouldn’t leave Christ. They don’t love the truth or they wouldn’t live without the truth. They don’t love the people of God or they wouldn’t leave them. They love this present . . . scripture calls it. . . evil world.
Now, one should love their own. We should love our wives, husbands, parents, children, brethren, friends, and even our enemies. But it is easy (natural) to love your family and friends. The world loves their own very much, and loves those who love them. But Christ said, “He that loveth (all these) more than me, cannot be my disciple.”
To be a disciple of Christ is to love Him supremely and follow Him (worship Him, be where He is, with those who follow Him), all the days of your life. To be a disciple is to never leave Him for anyone, anything, ever! for any reason! That is the nature of true love. It never faileth. So anyone who can leave Christ must not love Him. They love something or someone else. To be a lover of God and Jesus Christ is to love His people as your own . . . as family (brothers and sisters). That is not natural but supernatural. It is the effect of the new birth. . . the new nature.
Take Ruth for example. Her sister was going back home to her gods (former religion), her friends and family (Ruth’s family). But Ruth said to Naomi, “Entreat me not to leave thee or to return from following thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God” (Ruth 1:16). That is what every lover and follower of Christ says to Him. By the grace and power of God they will not leave, they cannot leave Him for anything nor anyone. They love Him and must have Him.
But not Demas! Did Demas have a wife, children and grandchildren that he took with him? If so, by leaving, he was telling them, you don’t need God, you don’t need Christ, you don’t need saving, you need this world. Go after this world, go after a career, home, possession, family, for that is all there is. There is nothing to this talk of God, Christ and eternal life.” -
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