Did you know that the nation will soon undergo a test that will determine how effectively the President of the United States can seize control of the media in the event of an “emergency?” Well, that’s not the way they’re putting it.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a press release on Feb. 3 outlining the plan for the “first-ever Presidential alert.” On a date yet to be set, the Presidential alert will go “to television and radio broadcasters, cable systems and satellite service providers who will then deliver the alert to the American public,” according to the FCC.
This is not an opt-in plan. “The national test will require EAS [Emergency Alert System] participants to be part of the exercise and to receive and transmit a live code that includes a Presidential alert message to their respective viewers and listeners.”
As of yesterday (Feb. 16), Hawaii State Legislature voted to approve civil unions by a vote of 18-5 for the second time in ten months. The bill now goes before the desk of Gov. Neil Abercrombie for his signature.
Very soon the church planted, raised and grown right here in Hawaii will undergo a test to determine just how effective we really are or think we are. It is time to issue a “Pastors Alert” to educate, train and equip their members on what they can expect to encounter in the very near future. It is time that we use this turn of event, to help our people to know that the moral climate may very well get a lot of worse before it becomes better. It is time that we also by example, show our people how they ought to “respond” rather than “react” to Civil Unions and next will be Same-Sex Marriages, in terms of affecting their children in schools, at work, and soon in churches. It is also time that we revisit the Bible and come to see what Jesus told us was His Great Commission: To make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19-20), and of course this is to be done regardless of what kind of political turmoil is taking place.
We need to inform our people that the greatest days for the church to shine brightly for Jesus and to unleash the potential and power of its witness in Hawaii are just ahead of us. We need to tell our people that this is not a time to panic (do you really think that God is in heaven in panic mode?), but to humble ourselves, pray and preach faithfully the Word of God in the spirit of love regardless of the consequences. It is time that we instruct our people that they should put aside their petty differences that they have with other brothers and sisters in the church and love and accept one another just as Jesus loves and accepts them. It is time we challenge those in the church who are married and who are thinking of getting married to STAY MARRIED, work out their differences while cooperating with the Holy Spirit and His Word in order to sustain the core and foundation of the Christian family. It is time that we stop using excuses as our escape goat and take personal responsibility for the failures we have seen, experienced and caused. It is time that we get back to the Book of Acts and revisit how the early Christians did church while being filled with the Spirit and proclaiming Jesus everywhere. It is time to remember “for judgment to begin first with the household of God” (1 Pet. 4:17).
If we want to see a change in the society in which we live, then we must be committed to transformation and to completely be sold out to pursue a life of holiness at all cost.
God is sending us His alert. How we respond to it will be of eternal importance.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Marriage is Good for You, not just in the Way you Expect
He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord – Prov. 18:22
Marriage itself is good for you, just not in the way you often think. Marriage can be both God’s bait and His rod.
Why do most people want to enter into the institution of marriage? They do so as a source of happiness, companionship, and pleasure (the bait) – things that do sometimes come from being married. However, marriage also brings tremendous strife, pain and frustration (the rod).
Having spent twenty eight years in it, and parenting for eighteen years (actually, I am still parenting. . .), marriage is the single greatest force for transformation in a person’s life. Why is this so? In marriage, all the darkest parts of your personality will be exposed in due time and when it is, it will demand correction, if you want to stay happily married. As such, marriage is God’s great crucifer of the flesh – if we let it be.
To put it in another way, I wouldn’t be half the man I am today if I had not been married for so long. It is all too easy to remain who you are when you do not have to constantly adjust and adapt to the needs and interests of another person from whom it is virtually impossible to hide anything.
Those who have never been married I feel sorry for. And it is not because of what they miss in marriage that they think they are missing, but for what they miss in marriage that they don’t even realize they’re missing.
Thus for the single person, it is not necessarily the goal to get married, but that they would learn to derive the same benefits of marriage from Christ Himself.
Marriage itself is good for you, just not in the way you often think. Marriage can be both God’s bait and His rod.
Why do most people want to enter into the institution of marriage? They do so as a source of happiness, companionship, and pleasure (the bait) – things that do sometimes come from being married. However, marriage also brings tremendous strife, pain and frustration (the rod).
Having spent twenty eight years in it, and parenting for eighteen years (actually, I am still parenting. . .), marriage is the single greatest force for transformation in a person’s life. Why is this so? In marriage, all the darkest parts of your personality will be exposed in due time and when it is, it will demand correction, if you want to stay happily married. As such, marriage is God’s great crucifer of the flesh – if we let it be.
To put it in another way, I wouldn’t be half the man I am today if I had not been married for so long. It is all too easy to remain who you are when you do not have to constantly adjust and adapt to the needs and interests of another person from whom it is virtually impossible to hide anything.
Those who have never been married I feel sorry for. And it is not because of what they miss in marriage that they think they are missing, but for what they miss in marriage that they don’t even realize they’re missing.
Thus for the single person, it is not necessarily the goal to get married, but that they would learn to derive the same benefits of marriage from Christ Himself.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
A Number One Grace Killer
As a pastor, I have come to see that some things are very controversial among my own colleagues. Here are the top three:
1. The Church’s Role in Politics
2. Seeker-Sensitive Methods of Doing Church
3. Women Pastors
I would put them in that order too. Talk about these topics, and be prepared for a divided crowed. Talk about these issues passionately and in one hour you will know who loves you and who does not! Stay away from talking about these things and you will live long and prosper but be labeled a coward.
Among pastors, the issue that we often ask ourselves is this: “How Do We Do Church?” Now and then I like to break away from my own church and visit other churches. Some I visit one time and others I tend to visit more often. Some churches are more “liturgy,” meaning, “traditional” in its forms of worship. Such services are simplified – hymns, announcements, offering, preaching and pau (service over). Others are more involved – Countdown or pre-service music, praise and worship, video of up coming events and church highlights, announcements, song, dance, drama, message, another dance, end of service. And they get all this done in ninety minutes!
It is accurate to say that not every church is the same when it comes to liturgy. I believe God has given pastors the freedom to be creative, different (apart from compromise) and to function using their God-given resources and tools. Although churches can function differently and ought to because doing so exhibits variety and God is a God of infinite variety, all evangelical churches must exhibit GRACE toward others who are different.
I firmly believe that one of the more prominent “grace killers” among evangelical churches is an overly critical spirit about how other churches function. When I sit down over lunch with a pastor from a traditional church, I hear from his lips all the evil and compromise about another church that’s more post-modern. When I am with a seeker-sensitive pastor, I hear from him the problems of the traditional church and how they are behind the times and still stuck in the mud.
Very rarely do I hear a pastor gracefully defend and lift up another pastor and give praise to how the Lord is mightily using him in the context that he was placed in. This is sad. Above all else, our churches should not become “grace killers.” I will confess, I can be just as guilty!
Now do I do church a certain way? Yes. Based on what my understanding of the Bible is, I operate within that context. But so does the pastor down the street from me who operates his church much differently.
As I read the bible, I notice that it does not give too many “hows” of doing church. I have gone to churches where I thought to myself, I would never think of doing that. Then at the end of the message, the invitation is given and people come forward to give their lives to Jesus. I walk away humbled, rejoicing and praising Jesus that He did not put me in charge!
Every gospel preaching church has its strengths and weaknesses. But pastors who criticize other churches tend to forget about their own church weaknesses. And yet, maybe they are so critical of others because they do see their own church weaknesses in how other pastors do theirs.
In my humble opinion, to say that “my church’s liturgy is biblical” and the one down the street from me is not, is a “grace killer.” In the end, it is not the Spirit of God you are quenching in that church, it is the Spirit of God you are quenching in you.
1. The Church’s Role in Politics
2. Seeker-Sensitive Methods of Doing Church
3. Women Pastors
I would put them in that order too. Talk about these topics, and be prepared for a divided crowed. Talk about these issues passionately and in one hour you will know who loves you and who does not! Stay away from talking about these things and you will live long and prosper but be labeled a coward.
Among pastors, the issue that we often ask ourselves is this: “How Do We Do Church?” Now and then I like to break away from my own church and visit other churches. Some I visit one time and others I tend to visit more often. Some churches are more “liturgy,” meaning, “traditional” in its forms of worship. Such services are simplified – hymns, announcements, offering, preaching and pau (service over). Others are more involved – Countdown or pre-service music, praise and worship, video of up coming events and church highlights, announcements, song, dance, drama, message, another dance, end of service. And they get all this done in ninety minutes!
It is accurate to say that not every church is the same when it comes to liturgy. I believe God has given pastors the freedom to be creative, different (apart from compromise) and to function using their God-given resources and tools. Although churches can function differently and ought to because doing so exhibits variety and God is a God of infinite variety, all evangelical churches must exhibit GRACE toward others who are different.
I firmly believe that one of the more prominent “grace killers” among evangelical churches is an overly critical spirit about how other churches function. When I sit down over lunch with a pastor from a traditional church, I hear from his lips all the evil and compromise about another church that’s more post-modern. When I am with a seeker-sensitive pastor, I hear from him the problems of the traditional church and how they are behind the times and still stuck in the mud.
Very rarely do I hear a pastor gracefully defend and lift up another pastor and give praise to how the Lord is mightily using him in the context that he was placed in. This is sad. Above all else, our churches should not become “grace killers.” I will confess, I can be just as guilty!
Now do I do church a certain way? Yes. Based on what my understanding of the Bible is, I operate within that context. But so does the pastor down the street from me who operates his church much differently.
As I read the bible, I notice that it does not give too many “hows” of doing church. I have gone to churches where I thought to myself, I would never think of doing that. Then at the end of the message, the invitation is given and people come forward to give their lives to Jesus. I walk away humbled, rejoicing and praising Jesus that He did not put me in charge!
Every gospel preaching church has its strengths and weaknesses. But pastors who criticize other churches tend to forget about their own church weaknesses. And yet, maybe they are so critical of others because they do see their own church weaknesses in how other pastors do theirs.
In my humble opinion, to say that “my church’s liturgy is biblical” and the one down the street from me is not, is a “grace killer.” In the end, it is not the Spirit of God you are quenching in that church, it is the Spirit of God you are quenching in you.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Dominion Theology, Part 1
Have you heard the news? The American economic recession is over, at least according to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). The NBER pegged the recession as having lasted from December 2007 to June 2009—at eighteen months, the longest recession since World War II. Though the worst is supposedly over, the economy is still in the process of recovery, as many of us know all too well. The NBER looks at national-level numbers, not the personal costs of lost jobs, shrunken retirement savings, and “underwater” home mortgages (in which the value of a home has decreased to less than the amount still owed on the loan).
While in seminary back during the middle eighties, I thought post-millennialism (the belief that Jesus will return after the church sets up the earthly kingdom of God) was over. But lately, I have witness a rise in postmillennialism in the teachings of Dominion Theology.
Dominion theology (later referred to as DT) refers to a line of theological interpretation and thought with regard to the role of the Church in contemporary society. Dominion theology is also known as Christian reconstructionism and theonomy.
Dominion theology states that biblical Christianity will rule all areas of society, personal and corporate. Christian Reconstructionism reasons that society will be reconstructed by the Law of God as preached in the Gospel and the Great Commission. Theonomy is a post-millennial view believing that all of the moral laws contained in the Old Testament are yet binding today. Although these might sound somewhat different, they have all been closely linked together to the point that often adherents use the terms interchangeably.
Those who hold these views believe that it is the duty of Christians to create a world-wide kingdom patterned after the Mosaic Law. They believe that Christ will not return to earth until such a kingdom has been established. The principal goal, then, of DT and Christian reconstructionism is political and religious domination of the world through the implementation of the moral laws, and subsequent punishments, of the Old Testament (the sacrificial and ceremonial laws having been fulfilled in the New Testament). This is not a government system ruled by the Church, but rather a government conformed to the Law of God with the church as its major supporter.
DT / Christian reconstructionism is largely based upon a post-millennial view. As I stated above, post-millennial refers to the belief that Christ will return to earth after the thousand year reign of God's kingdom,
Adherents believe that the Church has replaced the nation Israel, and are now in the millennial Kingdom of God. Man, under the covenant of grace, is responsible to rule the world, to hold dominion over it, in obedience to the Laws of God.
When I was in seminary back in the mid eighties studying eschatology, we took little thought of post-millennialism, because it had pretty much went out of existence after WW2. The two main dominate beliefs were Pre-millennialism (the belief that Jesus will return after the seven year Tribulation Period to set up and established His earthly kingdom), and A-millennialism (the belief that there will be no earthly kingdom of God on earth, instead the kingdom is taking place now in its spiritual form).
But lo and behold, post-millennialism is making a comeback and it is coming back stronger than ever. You might say, “Yes, I am a bit surprised.”
Let me just add this before moving on: DT is rotten for the church. It is a false belief system and it can and will easily distract the vision of the church away from doing its God-given mandate which is to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19-20).
The problem with these beliefs is that they rest upon a distorted view of Scripture. Scripture clearly teaches a premillennial view of the Kingdom of God (Zechariah 14:4-9; Matthew 25:31-34), and God never commanded the Church to revamp society. Instead, believers are commanded to preach the Gospel as in Matthew 28:19, 20), but God clearly intends to implement world-wide reform Himself (Revelation 19:11-20:4). Though it is clearly unbiblical, DT persists. It is, in fact, a great threat to biblical Christianity. Once at home solely within Reformed circles, dominion theology and Christian reconstructionism is now creeping into many Protestant churches and is making a large impact on the beliefs of Charismatic churches in particular.
DT / Christian reconstructionism doesn't align with what we read in the Scriptures. DT is not a theology for a believer to live by, but rather one to avoid.
Right here in Hawaii and especially where I pastor on the West Side of Oahu, I run into pastors and churches that are committed to the teachings of DT.
In Part 2, I will go a little deeper into the roots of DT and its teachings. I am not a full time apologist. But when the need arises, I will take the time to do the work of an apologist and defend the sacred teachings of Holy Writ and preserve the vision that God has given the church to fulfill in this age before His glorious return.
End of Part 1
While in seminary back during the middle eighties, I thought post-millennialism (the belief that Jesus will return after the church sets up the earthly kingdom of God) was over. But lately, I have witness a rise in postmillennialism in the teachings of Dominion Theology.
Dominion theology (later referred to as DT) refers to a line of theological interpretation and thought with regard to the role of the Church in contemporary society. Dominion theology is also known as Christian reconstructionism and theonomy.
Dominion theology states that biblical Christianity will rule all areas of society, personal and corporate. Christian Reconstructionism reasons that society will be reconstructed by the Law of God as preached in the Gospel and the Great Commission. Theonomy is a post-millennial view believing that all of the moral laws contained in the Old Testament are yet binding today. Although these might sound somewhat different, they have all been closely linked together to the point that often adherents use the terms interchangeably.
Those who hold these views believe that it is the duty of Christians to create a world-wide kingdom patterned after the Mosaic Law. They believe that Christ will not return to earth until such a kingdom has been established. The principal goal, then, of DT and Christian reconstructionism is political and religious domination of the world through the implementation of the moral laws, and subsequent punishments, of the Old Testament (the sacrificial and ceremonial laws having been fulfilled in the New Testament). This is not a government system ruled by the Church, but rather a government conformed to the Law of God with the church as its major supporter.
DT / Christian reconstructionism is largely based upon a post-millennial view. As I stated above, post-millennial refers to the belief that Christ will return to earth after the thousand year reign of God's kingdom,
Adherents believe that the Church has replaced the nation Israel, and are now in the millennial Kingdom of God. Man, under the covenant of grace, is responsible to rule the world, to hold dominion over it, in obedience to the Laws of God.
When I was in seminary back in the mid eighties studying eschatology, we took little thought of post-millennialism, because it had pretty much went out of existence after WW2. The two main dominate beliefs were Pre-millennialism (the belief that Jesus will return after the seven year Tribulation Period to set up and established His earthly kingdom), and A-millennialism (the belief that there will be no earthly kingdom of God on earth, instead the kingdom is taking place now in its spiritual form).
But lo and behold, post-millennialism is making a comeback and it is coming back stronger than ever. You might say, “Yes, I am a bit surprised.”
Let me just add this before moving on: DT is rotten for the church. It is a false belief system and it can and will easily distract the vision of the church away from doing its God-given mandate which is to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19-20).
The problem with these beliefs is that they rest upon a distorted view of Scripture. Scripture clearly teaches a premillennial view of the Kingdom of God (Zechariah 14:4-9; Matthew 25:31-34), and God never commanded the Church to revamp society. Instead, believers are commanded to preach the Gospel as in Matthew 28:19, 20), but God clearly intends to implement world-wide reform Himself (Revelation 19:11-20:4). Though it is clearly unbiblical, DT persists. It is, in fact, a great threat to biblical Christianity. Once at home solely within Reformed circles, dominion theology and Christian reconstructionism is now creeping into many Protestant churches and is making a large impact on the beliefs of Charismatic churches in particular.
DT / Christian reconstructionism doesn't align with what we read in the Scriptures. DT is not a theology for a believer to live by, but rather one to avoid.
Right here in Hawaii and especially where I pastor on the West Side of Oahu, I run into pastors and churches that are committed to the teachings of DT.
In Part 2, I will go a little deeper into the roots of DT and its teachings. I am not a full time apologist. But when the need arises, I will take the time to do the work of an apologist and defend the sacred teachings of Holy Writ and preserve the vision that God has given the church to fulfill in this age before His glorious return.
End of Part 1
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Second Judas
Judas is a caricature who often puzzles the mind. Imagine walking, talking and serving right along side of Jesus for over three years, seeing all that He did, asking Him personal questions and never once witnessing Him ever making a mistake or thinking or doing any act of sin. And then, imagine throwing all that personal evidence away for 30 pieces of silver which in today’s market would amount to $20, as a means of betrayal? What in the heck were you thinking?
In terms of his character, Judas was impressive and trustworthy. He was given the honor, perhaps chosen to take care of the money bag for Jesus and the disciples (John 13:29). It is only right to trust the collection and handling of your money to someone who has exhibited a trustworthy example.
In my church, the only ones who put the offering in the offering bad in the back of the church are those who have good jobs. I would be a fool to let a homeless person do such a thing or anyone who is financially strapped and hurting for money. The temptation would be too great for such a person. I would be setting such a person up for failure. But Judas did not exhibit any signs of being untrustworthy or a traitor.
After selling Jesus out for a measly 30 pieces of silver (Matt. 27:3), Judas waited during the night of Jesus’ arrest, hanging around the edges of the crowd, listening for some word of how things were going. What exactly did he expect? No one knows for sure. But if at midnight he wanted to see Jesus die, by sunrise he had changed his mind.
Memories flooded his mind. Things Jesus had said, little jokes the apostles used to tell, stories Jesus had told over and over again. Little pictures painted themselves in the darkness—the smile on the face of Jairus’ daughter when Jesus raised her from the dead, the look on Peter’s face when he walked on the water and it actually held him up, the picture of those 12 baskets of food left over after Jesus fed the 5,000. He could see it all and hear it all and the memories were almost too much to bear.
For a moment, there was a commotion in the courtyard and Judas saw Jesus as he was being led away to Pilate. He didn’t see him clearly, just a glimpse of his face from a distance, but he knew it was him.
Judas was stricken with guilt and overwhelmed with the thought that Jesus was going to die. In that moment it came to him in a blinding flash: He had made a great mistake, the greatest mistake of his life, so great a mistake that he must somehow find a way to make things right.
But it would be too late.
He took the bag of money and tried to give it back. But the chief priests laughed at him. They had no more use for him or his money. They had what they wanted. In desperation, Judas cried out, “I have sinned for I have betrayed innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4). Every word was true. He had done it; what he had done was the worst sin imaginable; he had betrayed the Lord Jesus who, though he was innocent, was about to pay with his blood for Judas’ crime.
With that, he threw the money back into the temple, the coins clinking and ringing as they hit the stone pavement. As Judas turned to go, the 30 pieces of silver stayed behind. Judas not only lost his Lord, he also lost his money. Very shortly he would lose his life and more important, his very soul.
The Bible tells us that “he went away and hanged himself” (Matt. 27:5). It is the final act of a man who could not live with himself and the memory of what he had done. In the ultimate irony on this tragic day, Judas died before Jesus did. For Judas it turned out to be a tragic end from what appeared to be a promise beginning.
Remember these facts about Judas in the beginning:
He was personally chosen to be an apostle by Jesus Christ.
He forsook all to follow the Lord.
He spent 3 1/2 years traveling the length and breadth of Israel with Christ.
He saw all the miracles of Christ in person.
He heard Christ give all his famous discourses.
He watched as Christ healed the sick, raised the dead and cast out demons.
He, along with the other apostles, was sent out to preach the gospel.
He was one of the leaders of the apostolic band.
No one ever suspected him of treason.
In terms of experience, whatever you can say about James, Peter and John, you can say also about Judas. Everywhere they went, he also went. He was right there, always by the side of Jesus. He heard it all, saw it all, experienced it all. However you explain his defection, you cannot say he was less experienced than the other apostles.
If anything, he was one of the leaders. After all, the other apostles chose him to handle the money. You don’t pick a man whose loyalty you suspect to handle your money.
So what lessons can we learn from Judas? Let me share with you the following:
Lesson 1: Choosing to hold on to a sin, any sin, will result in a snowball affect.
What is the snowball affect? As you form snow into a ball and begin to roll it, it will become larger as it picks up more snow along the ground until it becomes too large to handle. This is what happened to Judas.
Back in John 12, we see the first sign of the beginning of a snowball of sin in Judas’ life. Verse 4, says that “he was intending to betray Jesus.” Notice it began as a “thought.” Sin always does. Sin has its conception in our minds. Remember how James put it? Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death (James 1:14-15). Sin is conceived as a thought or desire, then it snowballs into an action that carries us away.
For Judas, the thought of betraying Jesus entered his mind. Guess who put it there? Thank you Satan! But rather than trying to kill the thought, Judas entertained it and it grew into a desire. After a while it spilled into Judas pilfering money from the group’s treasury. Finally, Judas desire became so overwhelming that he was not able to control his action. He betrayed Jesus for $20 bucks! And then went out and hanged himself.
I don’t care who you are or how strong you think you are, if you entertain sin as a thought, it will feed your desires and snowball into an action that even you cannot contained. The proper thing to do is to immediately kill the thought while you are able to do so. When Judas betrayed Jesus, he made the biggest mistake any man has ever made.
Lesson #2: What made Judas so evil was not his behavior, but his hypocrisy.
Now here is something I need for you to catch. We think that evil is epitomized in such people like Hitler. And certainly Hitler would fall into that category. But you know is more worse off? Religious people who ought to know better. Jesus called Judas “the son of perdition” (John 17:12). However evil people, who are a lot like Hitler, they cannot be matched against the son of perdition.
Religious people who taste of the goodness of God and who experience His mercy, but never surrender their lives over to Jesus are worse than the worse. Listen to how the writer of Hebrews puts it: For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come—6and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame (Heb. 6:4-6). Notice such words as, enlightened, experienced, shared, and tasted. This is what happened to Judas as he walked with Christ for three years. He was enlightened to the things of God taught by Jesus Himself; he experienced the miracles of Jesus and the power of the gospel in the lives of so many people whom Jesus came in contact with; he shared in the victories of the Lord and those of the other disciples; and he tasted of the goodness and power of God. Yet all these words simply tell us that Judas’ experiences were superficial. He had religious experiences and not the experiences of a man who has surrendered his life to the Lord. It was all enough to reform his outer man, but his heart was left untouched. This is the worse kind of human being. This is a hypocrite. This was the son of perdition. And there are scores of people within churches who are like Judas. They are religious in that they have experienced enough of God to change their outer person, but refusing to allow God to affect their heart. And when it comes to the right time, betrayal, deception and the falling away from God will come to light and when it does, the last state of the person is now worse than the first.
Don’t ever rest your hope on religiosity. You better know for certain that you and Jesus are tight! If not, surrender your life to Him now and truly experience His power, forgiveness and grace. Do not settle for mediocre experiences that do little more than change your outer person, but leaves your heart still rotten to the core.
One more thought before moving to my third and final lesson. You think the designation, “son of perdition” is heavy on Judas. Listen to what Jesus said over in John 6: “Did I myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is THE DEVIL” (v. 70)? It is one thing to be likened to the devil, it is another thing to be so rotten that the Son of God actually calls you “the devil.” This can only be true of religious people, i.e. hypocrites.
Lesson #3: Repentance in Impossible.
It is this third lesson that is most devastating to me. Remember, after Judas realized what he had done, the bible says he felt remorse and returned the money back to the chief priests (Matt. 27:3). Basically he had a change of mind. But remember what the writer of the Book of Hebrews had said: “it is impossible to renew then again to repentance” (Heb. 6:4). Then over to Hebrews 10: “If we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of fire which will consume the adversaries” (vv. 26-27).
Notice the willful sinning is occurring AFTER receiving the knowledge of the truth. How can this occur and within what context? Religiosity. People who sit in church on Sundays and hear the message of the gospel and nod their heads, but do not go far enough to give their hearts. This passage says that the only thing such people can expect is judgment. For such people, they have gone too far. Repentance is impossible.
As I was going over this I asked myself, “Rich, what would you trade Jesus for with all that you know and have been exposed to?
Would you betray him for money?
Would you betray him for a better job?
Would you betray him to keep the job you have?
Would you betray him to save your own skin?
Would you betray him to get better results in life and ministry?
Would you betray him for a new contract?
Would you betray him for a million dollars?
Would you betray him to find a wife?
Would you betray him because he didn’t live up to your expectations?
Would you betray him because you thought He let you down?
Would you betray him if you thought you could win the favor of important people?
The story of Judas asks us to probe at the level of our personal motivation. Why do you serve the Lord anyway? How much is the Son of God worth to you?
Is it possible that out there in our churches there are those who could be classified as a “second Judas?” I pray and trust it will not be me. I am confidence about my relationship with God, but I dare not allow such confidence to well up in pride. It would do me well to walk the rest of my life humbly and dependently on the Lord. I do not want to be a “second Judas.”
“Woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” Mark 14:21b
“If you are not born again, the day will come when you will wish you had never been born at all.” --Warren Wiersbe
How about you?
In terms of his character, Judas was impressive and trustworthy. He was given the honor, perhaps chosen to take care of the money bag for Jesus and the disciples (John 13:29). It is only right to trust the collection and handling of your money to someone who has exhibited a trustworthy example.
In my church, the only ones who put the offering in the offering bad in the back of the church are those who have good jobs. I would be a fool to let a homeless person do such a thing or anyone who is financially strapped and hurting for money. The temptation would be too great for such a person. I would be setting such a person up for failure. But Judas did not exhibit any signs of being untrustworthy or a traitor.
After selling Jesus out for a measly 30 pieces of silver (Matt. 27:3), Judas waited during the night of Jesus’ arrest, hanging around the edges of the crowd, listening for some word of how things were going. What exactly did he expect? No one knows for sure. But if at midnight he wanted to see Jesus die, by sunrise he had changed his mind.
Memories flooded his mind. Things Jesus had said, little jokes the apostles used to tell, stories Jesus had told over and over again. Little pictures painted themselves in the darkness—the smile on the face of Jairus’ daughter when Jesus raised her from the dead, the look on Peter’s face when he walked on the water and it actually held him up, the picture of those 12 baskets of food left over after Jesus fed the 5,000. He could see it all and hear it all and the memories were almost too much to bear.
For a moment, there was a commotion in the courtyard and Judas saw Jesus as he was being led away to Pilate. He didn’t see him clearly, just a glimpse of his face from a distance, but he knew it was him.
Judas was stricken with guilt and overwhelmed with the thought that Jesus was going to die. In that moment it came to him in a blinding flash: He had made a great mistake, the greatest mistake of his life, so great a mistake that he must somehow find a way to make things right.
But it would be too late.
He took the bag of money and tried to give it back. But the chief priests laughed at him. They had no more use for him or his money. They had what they wanted. In desperation, Judas cried out, “I have sinned for I have betrayed innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4). Every word was true. He had done it; what he had done was the worst sin imaginable; he had betrayed the Lord Jesus who, though he was innocent, was about to pay with his blood for Judas’ crime.
With that, he threw the money back into the temple, the coins clinking and ringing as they hit the stone pavement. As Judas turned to go, the 30 pieces of silver stayed behind. Judas not only lost his Lord, he also lost his money. Very shortly he would lose his life and more important, his very soul.
The Bible tells us that “he went away and hanged himself” (Matt. 27:5). It is the final act of a man who could not live with himself and the memory of what he had done. In the ultimate irony on this tragic day, Judas died before Jesus did. For Judas it turned out to be a tragic end from what appeared to be a promise beginning.
Remember these facts about Judas in the beginning:
He was personally chosen to be an apostle by Jesus Christ.
He forsook all to follow the Lord.
He spent 3 1/2 years traveling the length and breadth of Israel with Christ.
He saw all the miracles of Christ in person.
He heard Christ give all his famous discourses.
He watched as Christ healed the sick, raised the dead and cast out demons.
He, along with the other apostles, was sent out to preach the gospel.
He was one of the leaders of the apostolic band.
No one ever suspected him of treason.
In terms of experience, whatever you can say about James, Peter and John, you can say also about Judas. Everywhere they went, he also went. He was right there, always by the side of Jesus. He heard it all, saw it all, experienced it all. However you explain his defection, you cannot say he was less experienced than the other apostles.
If anything, he was one of the leaders. After all, the other apostles chose him to handle the money. You don’t pick a man whose loyalty you suspect to handle your money.
So what lessons can we learn from Judas? Let me share with you the following:
Lesson 1: Choosing to hold on to a sin, any sin, will result in a snowball affect.
What is the snowball affect? As you form snow into a ball and begin to roll it, it will become larger as it picks up more snow along the ground until it becomes too large to handle. This is what happened to Judas.
Back in John 12, we see the first sign of the beginning of a snowball of sin in Judas’ life. Verse 4, says that “he was intending to betray Jesus.” Notice it began as a “thought.” Sin always does. Sin has its conception in our minds. Remember how James put it? Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death (James 1:14-15). Sin is conceived as a thought or desire, then it snowballs into an action that carries us away.
For Judas, the thought of betraying Jesus entered his mind. Guess who put it there? Thank you Satan! But rather than trying to kill the thought, Judas entertained it and it grew into a desire. After a while it spilled into Judas pilfering money from the group’s treasury. Finally, Judas desire became so overwhelming that he was not able to control his action. He betrayed Jesus for $20 bucks! And then went out and hanged himself.
I don’t care who you are or how strong you think you are, if you entertain sin as a thought, it will feed your desires and snowball into an action that even you cannot contained. The proper thing to do is to immediately kill the thought while you are able to do so. When Judas betrayed Jesus, he made the biggest mistake any man has ever made.
Lesson #2: What made Judas so evil was not his behavior, but his hypocrisy.
Now here is something I need for you to catch. We think that evil is epitomized in such people like Hitler. And certainly Hitler would fall into that category. But you know is more worse off? Religious people who ought to know better. Jesus called Judas “the son of perdition” (John 17:12). However evil people, who are a lot like Hitler, they cannot be matched against the son of perdition.
Religious people who taste of the goodness of God and who experience His mercy, but never surrender their lives over to Jesus are worse than the worse. Listen to how the writer of Hebrews puts it: For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come—6and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame (Heb. 6:4-6). Notice such words as, enlightened, experienced, shared, and tasted. This is what happened to Judas as he walked with Christ for three years. He was enlightened to the things of God taught by Jesus Himself; he experienced the miracles of Jesus and the power of the gospel in the lives of so many people whom Jesus came in contact with; he shared in the victories of the Lord and those of the other disciples; and he tasted of the goodness and power of God. Yet all these words simply tell us that Judas’ experiences were superficial. He had religious experiences and not the experiences of a man who has surrendered his life to the Lord. It was all enough to reform his outer man, but his heart was left untouched. This is the worse kind of human being. This is a hypocrite. This was the son of perdition. And there are scores of people within churches who are like Judas. They are religious in that they have experienced enough of God to change their outer person, but refusing to allow God to affect their heart. And when it comes to the right time, betrayal, deception and the falling away from God will come to light and when it does, the last state of the person is now worse than the first.
Don’t ever rest your hope on religiosity. You better know for certain that you and Jesus are tight! If not, surrender your life to Him now and truly experience His power, forgiveness and grace. Do not settle for mediocre experiences that do little more than change your outer person, but leaves your heart still rotten to the core.
One more thought before moving to my third and final lesson. You think the designation, “son of perdition” is heavy on Judas. Listen to what Jesus said over in John 6: “Did I myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is THE DEVIL” (v. 70)? It is one thing to be likened to the devil, it is another thing to be so rotten that the Son of God actually calls you “the devil.” This can only be true of religious people, i.e. hypocrites.
Lesson #3: Repentance in Impossible.
It is this third lesson that is most devastating to me. Remember, after Judas realized what he had done, the bible says he felt remorse and returned the money back to the chief priests (Matt. 27:3). Basically he had a change of mind. But remember what the writer of the Book of Hebrews had said: “it is impossible to renew then again to repentance” (Heb. 6:4). Then over to Hebrews 10: “If we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of fire which will consume the adversaries” (vv. 26-27).
Notice the willful sinning is occurring AFTER receiving the knowledge of the truth. How can this occur and within what context? Religiosity. People who sit in church on Sundays and hear the message of the gospel and nod their heads, but do not go far enough to give their hearts. This passage says that the only thing such people can expect is judgment. For such people, they have gone too far. Repentance is impossible.
As I was going over this I asked myself, “Rich, what would you trade Jesus for with all that you know and have been exposed to?
Would you betray him for money?
Would you betray him for a better job?
Would you betray him to keep the job you have?
Would you betray him to save your own skin?
Would you betray him to get better results in life and ministry?
Would you betray him for a new contract?
Would you betray him for a million dollars?
Would you betray him to find a wife?
Would you betray him because he didn’t live up to your expectations?
Would you betray him because you thought He let you down?
Would you betray him if you thought you could win the favor of important people?
The story of Judas asks us to probe at the level of our personal motivation. Why do you serve the Lord anyway? How much is the Son of God worth to you?
Is it possible that out there in our churches there are those who could be classified as a “second Judas?” I pray and trust it will not be me. I am confidence about my relationship with God, but I dare not allow such confidence to well up in pride. It would do me well to walk the rest of my life humbly and dependently on the Lord. I do not want to be a “second Judas.”
“Woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” Mark 14:21b
“If you are not born again, the day will come when you will wish you had never been born at all.” --Warren Wiersbe
How about you?
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