ituations amounts to a crime. Who ever thinks of
justifying Pontius Pilate? He was not guilty of wilful wrong; he would
have gladly acquitted our Lord, had he been able to do so without
risking his own safety; when he delivered Him to be crucified, he
simply gave way, through fear, to the clamour of an enraged populace.
Nevertheless he stands convicted by after-ages of the vilest act that
any judge has ever committed. Wrong-doing is not to be palliated by
ascribing it to the overpowering force of temptation. The claims of
conscience are paramount, and no inducements, however plausible, can
justify us in setting them aside.

It is sometimes asked, what became of Demas eventually? Did he, after
wandering in the world, and finding no rest to his soul, identify
himself again with the cause which he had deserted? We should like to
be able to believe this. But the record is silent; and this silence is
ominous; for when the Bible describes the fall of a good man, it
generally gives some account of his restoration. Peter is a notable
instance. Amidst the terrors of the Judgment-hall he thrice denied his
Lord. The evangelists make no attempt to shield him from adverse
criticism; on the other hand, they mention in detail every circumstance
that enhances the baseness of his behaviour. But they are equally
careful to dwell also upon the reality of his repentance. John, in a
passage of marvellous beauty, relates how in a saner mood, on the shore
of the sea of Galilee, he thrice confessed his Lord--confessed Him with
such glowing fervour, that he was there and then restored into the
position which he had so miserably forfeited. But the last word about
Demas is that which points him out as a backslider; and as such he must
be for ever known.

The lesson of Demas's life is clear, nay even obtrusively clear, and
the need of it has been freely acknowledged at all times. We could
almost wish that it were inscribed in letters of fire upon the midnight
sky. He was a man who "_loved this present world_," and we see in his
history how loving the world involves separation from God, and how
separation from God results in the abandonment of His cause.

It is difficult to discourse to any purpose upon worldliness. You
might get a crowd of people anywhere to hear you dilate upon it. They
would probably applaud to the echo your most scathing denunciations of
its baseness. But after all the probability is that no one would apply