Who was Demas in The Bible?
Demas was a very important person because he helped the prophets to spread the message of Christianity. He was among the early companions who spread Christianity and brought it to the people. But later a time came which changed everything and he became attracted to the pleasures of the world.
Verse
“And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.” (Philemon 1:24)
Relationship of Demas With Paul
Demas, together with Paul, spread the teachings of the Bible. There was friendship between them and they stayed together for a long time and engaged in religious work. But then there came a time when they separated and it happened when Demas gave importance to the religious world instead of the spiritual world.
Verse
“Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings.” (Colossians 4:14)
Role of Demas in Missionary Work
Demas used to go to many places and convey the teachings of the Bible to the people. Apart from this, he also participated in many works with Paul and he helped Him in the formation of the early church. Demas was considered a very good companion because his character was very positive and he participated a lot in the service of religion. But worldly desires took away this spiritual power from him.
Verse
“And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.” (Philemon 1:24)
Why Demas Left The Paul?
Dames helped Christianity but there came a time when he got tired of all of them and left his companion Paul alone and went to Thessalonica because Dames wanted to live the life of the world. He wanted to enjoy the pleasures of the world now.
Verse
“For Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.” (2 Timothy 4:10)
Sometimes we get tired of the daily routine. Maybe it has happened to you that while going to church, you have thought that I should not go today, I am too tired or I will not go on cleaning days, I will go on other days. Things happen when we consider religion as a duty, consider it a job but do not do it from the heart. Then the human soul gets tired of these things and it wants freedom. In the same way, Dames also thought that he should live a little in the world now that he is tired of serving the religion. This thought turned him away from God and involved him in worldly pleasures, which he harmed himself. Apart from this, it is a natural thing to have the pleasures of the world. It also happened to Lot. When we read the story of Abraham and Lot, then we find that Abraham told Lot to go and live his worldly life because He was not doing well in religion, so Lot also chose the worldly life and left the service of religion.
Verse
“And quarreling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time. So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.” Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company.” (Genesis 13:7-11)
Lot, Demas, there are many other examples which prove that drowning in the pleasures of the world is a very overwhelming thing and it happens to many people As Paul was forsaken not only by Demas, but also by John Mark.
Verse
“From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.” (Acts 13:13)
Demas Worldly Desires And Absence
The example of Demas tells us that if the world is given priority over the person of God and his religion, then the power of faith is taken away from it. As Demas gave priority to worldly pleasures over religion, he turned away from God and became involved in the world. Demas is mentioned in early places in the Bible, but not later. This is because in the beginning Demas did much service, but later he left Paul and fell into the desires of the world.
Verse
“For Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.” (2 Timothy 4:10)
Jesus Words For Demas
Christ once told a parable. That parable was perfect for Demas. Christ was once sitting in a boat and that river was Galilee. Many people were sitting on the bank and Christ was addressing them. This parable was narrated by him when he saw a man sowing seeds. Christ said that there are four types of earth: the first earth, the second earth, the third earth and the fourth earth. The first soil is a path where if the seed is sown, the birds will chew it. The second land is a rocky place where the seed will grow, but when the sun shines on it, the seed rots, and the third land is where there are many thorns. If the seed grows there, the thorns take it and do not allow it to grow. The fourth land is the fertile land where the seed is sown; it grows abundantly and bears fruit. If these lands are studied deeply, we will know. It is said that there are people of the second and third worlds that deviate from their religion and leave the path of truth due to worldly desires or because of some difficulties. This example was perfect for Demas because he left the path of religion because of worldly desires.
Verse
“While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. 6 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” (Luke 8:4-8)
Lesson from The Life of Demas
From the life of Dimas, we learn that the work of religion should always be done from the heart, it should not be done by compulsion, because if we do it by compulsion, then we will get tired of it. Therefore, it is important that we do the work of religion from the heart so that both our world and the hereafter can be good and we do not get lost in the pleasures of this world. This happened to Demas, he was loyal at first but then the desires of the heart and the self overcame him and he was surrounded by worldly affections which forced him to abandon the service of religion and get lost in his heart and worldly desires.
Verse
“For Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.” (2 Timothy 4:10)
