A Radical Preacher Series

Some have suggested that Demas had walked past the beautiful homes in Thessalonica and saw all the action on the streets on the way to visit Paul in prison and if this is true then he was constantly confronted with the choice between ending his life in prison or living in a place like Thessalonica and Thessalonica won.

This world has three ways of drawing the believer away from the Lord. First, there is the lust of the flesh, second, the lust of the eyes, and third, there’s the pride of life. The lust of the flesh, has to do with the gratification of the flesh (whatever makes me feel good physically). It would include things we know are wrong as well as things that are wrong for us.

The second category is the lust of the eyes or the things I want that I think will make me happy. These include seeing what others have and desiring them even though God in His wisdom has forbidden them.

The final category is the pride of life and this is simply the arrogant attitude of anyone bragging about themselves, their accomplishments, or their possessions. We don’t know what Demas’ love for the world was but it fell into at least one or more of these three categories.

Listen, no matter where we are in life, we can become prisoners of our own desires. There’s a story about two brothers, the oldest of them was the King. The younger brother had a lot of ambition and he had attempted to take over the throne but he didn’t succeed. As punishment for this rebellion he was put into prison where he stayed for many years.

There were many who thought his punishment was excessive and when they questioned the older brother, he would always say the same thing. He’d say, “My younger brother is free to leave this prison any time he wants to; go and have a look at his prison cell.”

Those who went to see the prison discovered that it had no door … and there was a twenty-inch opening on one side of the cell.

The problem was the younger brother was a very large man and he couldn’t resist his food. When he was in prison, he was given anything he wanted to eat and he decided to eat the food rather than make the sacrifice to become thin enough to fit through the door. So, he wasn’t his brother’s prisoner but he was a prisoner of his own appetite.

So, Paul says, Demas deserted him and went to Thessalonica and Thessalonica was a very busy city with a population of around 200,000. It was located along the trade route and all the world’s vices were on display and because Demas chose to love the world, he was overcome with desire to return to a worldly lifestyle. Listen, the things of this world are a powerful draw on any of us.

Paul’s desire was for the fruit of the kingdom and he knew he’d get his reward in due time but Demas and those like him want their just deserts in the here and now.

So, Paul’s desire was to visit Rome and his main motivation was the debt he felt for not only the church but also the surrounding areas. He wasn’t concerned about his own little corner but he realized that God saw everyone in every corner and was looking for someone to reach them. And like the prophet Isaiah Paul would say, “Here I am, send me.”