Misplaced Affection

Date: April 21, 2002-P.M.
Speaker: John Phillis
Main Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:9-18

In 2 Timothy, chapter 4, beginning with verse 9, Paul writes:
“Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you; for he is very useful to me for ministry. Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. At my first defense no one came to stand by me; all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen” [2 Timothy 4:9-18, Revised Standard Version].

This is Paul’s second epistle written to his beloved Timothy, his “spiritual son in the faith” [1 Corinthians 4:17; Philippians 2:22; 1 Timothy 1:2, 18; 2 Timothy 1:2]. It is Paul’s final letter—at least it is the last that has been preserved and has survived to this time. This letter was written from Rome, where Paul was in prison awaiting trial before Nero. Scholars believe that it was written somewhere between AD 64 and AD 68. Paul knew that both his ministry and his life on this earth were drawing to a close. In this epistle, he has written words of encouragement and words of exhortation to his young protégé, the young evangelist, Timothy. As Paul occasionally did at the end of his epistles, he includes some information about his present condition, along with some instructions. That is the text we have just read.

Perhaps it is the finality of this letter, or perhaps it has something to do with the intimate and personal nature of this letter, but there seems to be a fairly lengthy account that Paul has given regarding his circumstances and needs. He speaks not only of his circumstance, but also of the movements and the activities of several of his fellow workers. These individuals would have obviously been well known to Timothy. Paul devotes considerable space and words here in this section stating his need—his desire—for Timothy to come to Rome to be with him during this stage of his life. Although he knows that there will be no release from his imprisonment, Paul does foresee that he will remain in custody for a period of time before his life is ended. Thus, he urges Timothy to come to his aid, to bring him things that he needs and desires, and to be there with him.

Here we are given this picture of the great apostle Paul, advanced in years, and showing the signs and the marks of his years of faithful soldiering in the army of the Lord, literally on the front lines. He is all but alone now in a prison cell in Rome, where he awaits certain death at the hands of the Romans. I don’t mean for us to picture Paul in a sad or pathetic sort of way. Certainly he was not seeking pity from Timothy as he wrote this letter. He wasn’t seeking pity, or even concern, from anyone else. He knew the realities of his situation, and he had no fear of suffering or of death. His attitude about death had already been clearly stated during an earlier imprisonment in Rome when he had written to the church in Philippi saying, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. I am hard-pressed between the two.” He then says, “my desire is to depart and to be with Christ, for that is far better” Philippians 1:21-23 [“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.”].

This attitude, previously stated by Paul, regarding death would certainly have prevailed, even to this time. How can we be certain of that? Well, we see the same attitude in this epistle as well. Just a few verses before the text that we read, Paul will speak about knowing and realizing that his time of departure is at hand. He says that, in a way, he anticipates it and looks forward to it. [2 Timothy 4:6-8: “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.”]

But now, I want us to focus our attention on what Paul has to say about one of his associates, named Demas. Did you notice in [2 Timothy, chapter 4,] verse 10 what he had to say about Demas? Paul says that Demas has left him—he has deserted him—and gone to Thessalonica. He has done so because of his love for this present age, his love for this world. If you want to talk about a sad and pathetic picture, it’s not the picture of the aged Paul waiting in a prison cell for his death. Rather, the sad and pathetic picture is this one, Demas, who had been a faithful companion of Paul’s, but who has now deserted him, abandoning the great apostle. The inference is very clear that, by abandoning Paul, Demas also abandoned the cause of Christ.

Why would we spend any time examining such a one as Demas? He is one who will forever be remembered as a “deserter” and “traitor” to the cause of Christ. How could we find anything in this man that might be of use to us? Let me suggest to you that a study of Demas will perhaps enable us to examine ourselves, to look at our lives and to do as Paul instructed the Christians at Corinth when he said, “Examine yourselves whether you are in the faith. Prove your own selves” 2 Corinthians, chapter 13, verse 5 [“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.”].