The Demas Way

Call To Prayer 

Title: The Demas Way

By: Michael Ntow

Date 28/06/2022

Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world.
2 TIMOTHY 4:10

The world is opposed to Christians, and it shows its opposition by means of hatred. “Yea,” says Paul to Timothy, “and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). But the world has another way of showing its opposition.

That is what I would call the Demas way: “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world.” The world does not care very much how it attacks Christ’s followers. If by throwing them into prison it can wrest them from Christ, it will do so; but if that does not work, it will try some other method.

“Demas hath forsaken me”, the love of ease, love of the things of the world, its wealth, its position, its so-called pomp and show, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. How many good men have been ruined by that! Prosperity can be very dangerous to the soul, and the world is prepared to use that. If direct opposition will not work, it will pamper us, it will dangle these things before us and thus try to wean us from Christ. So it is not surprising that He asked the Father to keep us in His name.

Another way in which the world does the same thing is by what may be described as the Barnabas method. We are told in Acts 15 that a dispute had taken place between Barnabas and Paul. Barnabas wanted to take his relative John Mark on their second missionary journey, but Paul said that he would not have him. Paul felt that John Mark had let them down and deserted them when they had taken him on their previous journey and that he was not therefore the man to accompany them.

Here we have worldly relationships, such as family relationships, interfering in God’s work. It is the tendency not to judge things in a spiritual way.

A thought to ponder 

The world does not care very much how it attacks Christ’s followers.

Prayer point

Let us pray for the grace to forsake rather the cares of this world; the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life to be able to live for God.

God bless us all