The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1903-07-17

NkR Pauls regret is
N@ not that he has
El@,&aS t RssH f Gsmss b bat
proved faithless to the Lord and
loves the things of the world
better than he does the service
and ministry of Christ. Demas is men
toned three times in Pauls letters. In
Colossians in the closing words of the
epistle he unites with Luke and Paul in
sending greetings. And in the letter to
Philemon he again joins in the closing
salutations of the letter, and is there
called the fellow-laborer of Paul. The
third instance is that of our text, where
Demas has wearied of the Lords serv-
ice, its hardships and trials and dangers,
and. forsaking his post of duty, has
sought the ease and comfort and pleas
ures of the world. 1t was apparently
during Paul's first Imprisonment at
Rome that Demas labored with him in
the Gospel and was his companion
Years pass and the second imprison-
ment of Paul with it's increased rigor
and trials and dangers closes in upon
them. Demas' faith grows weak, his
ardOr cools, and while Paul is writing:
Demas is sneaking off to his old home
and friends at Thessalonica. Just SEN
fence about this man and yet enough to
tell us of his character and life. Demas
is a type of the Christian which is
found so often. bringing disappoint-
meno and Encouragement to Christian
workers, and hindering the progress Of
the Gospel. Let us consider his case:
t.
bors with Paul; his backsliding and
final forsaking of the Lord and Paul;
his life at Thessalonica; its probable
unhappiness and bitter end.
II EMAS was probably a Greek, as
~ the name would indicate. 1t is
thought probable that his home was
at Thessalonica, for Paul speaks of his
return to that city after he has for
saken him. The date and place of his
conversion are unknown, but the time
was considerably prior to Pauls first
Imprisonment, for the reason that at
that time Demas was engaged with Paul
in the ministry, as is evident from Paul's
reference to him as his fellow-laborer
and from his being we'll enough known
to send Christian greetings to the people
at Colosse in Paul's letter to the church
in that city, and to Philemon, who was
one of the chief men of the church
there. If his home was at Thessalonica,
1t may have been in that city that he
was brought to knowledge of the Lord
Jesus Christ either as result of Paul's
preaching or the faithful work of some
of the disciples there. Or it may be
that Colosse was the place. At any rate
he was known to the Christians of that
city and undoubtedly to those of other
cities in Asia, as we'll as in Macedonia
and Greece. He must have been man
of abilities to have been specially associ-
ated with Paul in service. He must have !
been Jealous for the Lord, and have fol- |
lowed Paul to Rome. Perhaps between
the periods of the first and second i'm
prisonment, when it is supposed that !
Paul again visited the churches in |
Asia, Greece and Macedonia, Demas
was travelling companion of the apos- |
tie, and aided in the missionary activi- |
ties. Just when his ardor began to cool |
Scripture does not tell us, but probably, |
after the novelty of work and travel |
with Paul had worn off, he grew indif- |
ferent and careless, and although he did |
return with Paul to Rome and saw the |
faithful, fearless, untiring apostle again !
confined in prison, his faith and courage |
failed him in the face of the evident |
peril of Paul and his fellow-workers, |
and Paul tells us the story of his cow
ardly desertion in the brief sentence of |
our text: ''Demas hath forsaken me, |
having loved this present world, and is |
departed unto Thessalonica"
II EMAS was a stony, thorny- ground !
~ Christian, described by Jesus in |
His parable of the sOwer in the thir- |
teenth of Matthew. He that received |
the seed in stony places, the same is |
he that heareth the word and anon |
with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not |
root in himself but dureth for awhile; |
for when tribulation or persecution |
ariseth because Of the word, by and by |
he is offended. He also that received |
seed among the thorns, is he that hear |
eth the word; and the care of this world, |
and the deceitfulness of riches choke the |
word, and he becometh unfruitful.' An |
early zeal, which continued during the |
favorable hours of the morning, but |
when the sun was risen in his MONDAY |
heat this zeal quickly vanished because
there was no depth of root to sustain |
the stalk and the ear. An early zeal,
which pushed the blade of growing
grain up among the thorns and then, /
yielding to the love of the world, its |
pleasures and riches, was soon choked |
to death amidst the thickened growth of |
the deadly thorns. This is the picture |
of Demas? Jesus described him long
before he became known to Paul and
the Christian church, and the genera
ton of Demas has continued even unto
this day. Paul did not criticise Demas
Just to condemn him. but he wrote that