Judas Iscariot's life and betrayal serve as a stark warning against false discipleship and the consequences of rejecting Christ. The sermon details Judas's character, highlighting his unbelief, thievery, and possession by Satan, contrasting him with true believers who are born again. It emphasizes that Judas fell from office, not from grace, and ultimately went to his own place, hell, because he was never truly saved. The core lesson is that external association with Christ and outward religious activity are insufficient for salvation; a new nature and genuine faith are essential, as demonstrated by Judas's ultimate apostasy and self-destruction.
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We turn now to Acts chapter one. Acts chapter one. This is our ninth message on the first chapter of Acts. We'll let you conclude our studies on this first chapter tonight. We trust you'll be out, and then next Lord's day we'll get into chapter two, which is a very important chapter. start this morning at verse fifteen of Luke, or rather, Acts chapter one. And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said, the number of names together were about a hundred and twenty.
Men and brethren, this Scripture must need have been fulfilled which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took heed. For he was numbered with us and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity, unfalling headlong he burst asunder in the midst and all his bowels dust out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem, insomuch that that field is called in their proper tongue a seldomah, that is to say the field of blood.
For it is written in the book of Psalms, let his habitation be desolate. and let no man dwell therein, and let his bishopric or office another table. Wherefore of these men which have accompanied with us all the time of the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, and that's his resurrection title, the Lord Jesus. Beginning from the baptism of John unto that same day, that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness to with us of his resurrection. And the appointed two, Joseph called Varsipus, who was surnamed Justice and Matthias.
And they prayed and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen. that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven. He's going to detail in those verses tonight, Lord Willings, that we trust to come along with your Bible and bring someone with you. It's not a very pleasant subject to speak on Judas because it has some searching lessons for us all.
In other words, there are those who say that Judas was a Christian, but he was lost. Others say no, he never was a Christian. What does the Bible say? Well, we'll give you what the Bible does say, and the speaker on this occasion is the Lord Jesus Christ. You know there are those who have a prejudiced mind, and they'll ignore all the evidence that we can give them from the Bible. They are just set in their mind that you say you can be lost again. I know one, the very prominent figure in a certain denomination by...
the name of John Church. There were only three others beside himself in that large denomination worldwide, and they are the four evangelists of that denomination. I knew John well when I was in Winston-Salem many, many years ago. So he spoke one Sunday on the subject of, can a Christian be lost again? I went around on the Monday... to see him for a little while. And when we were leaving, I said, John, I was very much surprised to hear that you used for your argument that a per se person can be lost again.
You used Judas Iscariot and the experiences of people who had professed in your meetings. John, I said, I'm surprised and I'm ashamed to think that you... would use such arguments. And yet he did. In other words, his arguments were relative to experiences. He said, I have seen people profess in my meetings. They would give up their bad ways and give up their drink or whatever they were doing, and they were gloriously saved, he said. But then they lost it.
And they went back into sin. And that was one of his arguments that a saved person could be lost again. Now you can't base your arguments on experience. Like I said to him, I said, John, I can quote for you hundreds and hundreds of people who accepted Christ and didn't go back. They went on for the law. Am I going to use that as my argument that once a person is saved, he's saved forever because he continues? No, I've got a better argument than that. I've got the Bible.
Christ said, I give unto my sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish. And John, how do you know they were gloriously saved? That's your opinion. I've seen many a one. who also made her profession, and went back, and I certainly believe this, their hypocrisy in the end, like Judas, proved they were a chipper of it all along. They were not gloriously saved, even though they made a loud profession to begin with. They didn't go on, and they are those referred to in Matthew that when the seed was sown they sprang up immediately but because they had no root they cut away no root and if the root is not in them there's not going to be any root and so instead of using Judas Isariot and the experiences of people going back from her initial profession As your argument, we've got plenty more evidence, more convincing than
that. For instance, notice the betrayer, Judas Iscariot, and he's prophesied back in the Psalms. We'll have more to say about that tonight. Christ says prophetically, My own familiar friend, in whom I foster, have lifted up his heel against me. That's what Christ said prophetically concerning Judas Iscariot. What do we have about his character in the Bible? Well, the Lord Jesus Christ makes it very plain that Judas was an unbeliever. What did he say? Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not.
Now Judas knew when he called Judas or Christ knew when he called Judas that he was still an unbeliever. He knew that. And then again, Christ said, he has a devil in John six and seven. Once again, and this was a year before Judas fell, and Christ said, one of you is a devil. And that was a whole year before he came out. and sold the Lord. That's very hard to dig in, but it's right in your Bible, but Judas never is called a saint.
Christ said, Friend, he didn't call him a saint, and Judas never did call Jesus Christ Lord. He said, Master, never once do you find... Judas calling Jesus Christ Lord. And no man can call Jesus Christ Lord from the heart unless the spirit of God is in it. That's what Christ says. Then again, not only did he have a devil, and Christ said that, he was unregenerable. Ye are queens, says Christ, but not all. He's talking to the crowd.
And so Judas was unregenerate. He never had been born again, for that's what Christ has referred to. Ye are queen, that is, some of you, and eleven of them, they have been born again, but not born. And so Judas was unregenerate, and he was unclean. For it says in that same connection, he spake of Judas a stone, which was to portray him. Then he's called a thief. In other words, as far as Judas was concerned, he didn't see the truth of worship. When the three hundred pence that that dear woman departed with to buy that alabaster box of wine, she wanted to worship her law.
She wanted to break that alabaster box upon his feet. Judas says, Why was this waste of the employment made? It might have been sold, or that three hundred pence might have been picked, and given to the poor. He said this, because he was a thief, I've had the bag. Now that's what the Bible says. He didn't see worship. He didn't appreciate worship. He wanted that three hundred pence in the bag because he had it, and he didn't use it. And that was before he came out and denied the Lord or betrayed the Lord.
Christ says he will flee, having had the man. Then again concerning Judas, he was possessed by the devil. Now there's a difference in having a demon. and then being possessed by the devil, for it says Satan entered into him. Lots of unsaved people have a demon. That's satanic ignorance. But when one becomes an apostate, Satan enters into them, and they become Satan in part.
for such there is no hope. That's where the apostates come in in Hebrews chapter six and chapter ten. An apostate there's no hope for an apostate and when Judah finally made his decision to betray Christ or to sell him. For thirty pieces of silver he became an apostate. And right here is where he sealed his own doom. He wrote his signature on his own death warrant. He became Satan incarnate, for Satan entered into him.
Now, just like when a person is saved by the grace of God, he is accepting the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ enters into you. Why, his spirit dwells in your heart. and you might say every Christian is Christ, his heart in it. Christ in you, the hope of growth. And just when Christ enters into the heart of every born-again person, and that person from then on is saved, when the devil enters into a man, he's born of that wicked one, the Bible. There's no hope for him.
He'll remain forever what he became when he allowed Satan to enter into the populist mode. The door was open, and Judas had a chance. Right from the time Christ called him, Judas had a chance. It showed that he was busted when they let him be secretary. treasure at the water. And Christ knew that man all along, but Christ was doing everything for that man to change his mind. But in spite of all that Judas saw and heard, he finally made up his decision.
I'm going to set him. I set him. And when he did, the door was shut. He had no further opportunity. He was possessed by the Jenny, born of that wicked one. He became Satan incarnate. And the last state of that man is worse in the first time. When the unclean spirit had gone out of a man, he walked it through dry places seeking less than finding nothing. Finally, he says, I'm going back.
And he take it with him, seven spirits, more wicked than the first. And the last snake of that man was really good. Here's a professor. He turns over a new leaf and possibly gives up some satanic habit. And he turns over a new leaf. He joins the church. start reading the Bible, he starts to pray a little prayer. But over its time, he walked it through dry places, seeking rest, and finally now. He has no interest in the prayer, meaning he kind of feels out of place.
He doesn't like to be around bright, happy, spiritually minded, Christian. Now, he doesn't like to read the Bible. He feels he should because he made a book there. but oh, it gets so dry. He walked through dry places, seeking rest, finds no rest in his heart and things he's doing, it's just more melody, try and keep up the front when he made that profession. Finally, he said, what's going to use trying to be ahead of the earth? I didn't get it. I'm going back, and you take the rhythm, say the most good. Well, they've become the person. The last state of that man is worth it.
I have known many men and women in my life. They made a profession. They tried to live up to it. They tried to keep it. But finally, they couldn't haul out any longer. They were done in self-will. Finally, they were back when they did. They were far, far worse than they were back. where they were made that profession. They were far, far worse than after the dead. Then again Christ calls the Son of Proditioner. John, verse seventeen twelve, Christ says of all whom thou hast given me, I have kept, and none of them is wrong.
Now he's speaking of the whole church age. None of them is lost, save the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. Showing the scripture foretold Judas' downfall. But from the beginning, he was an unbeliever. He was unpleased. He had a demon. He was never born again. He was the son of perdition. So you have all this evidence. And he went to his own place, as we read in this text. He went to his own place. He was out of place among the disciples.
And he would have been out of place had he gone to heaven. He went to his own place, heaven. You know, friend, if it were possible, which it is not, but if it were possible for you to go to heaven without the new birth, You'd be out of place. To prove that, you're out of place among Godly Christians. If there were a prayer meeting in some places, they do have some wrong prayer meeting, where they pray sometimes four, five, six hours, and the presence of God is there, you'd be very much out of place.
You'd be in an atmosphere that you're just not fitted for. You know a lot of people even now who are Christians seem to feel out of place at a prayer meeting. A Christian feels perfectly in place at a home in prayer meeting and a Bible study. And if anyone were to go to heaven without the life of God in him, he would feel himself a foreigner at a prayer meeting. because when a person is saved by the grace of God, he's a partaker of a divine nature, the nature of God, and that nature picks him from the present.
When we're born into this world by our earthly parents, we're born with a nature that fits us for this world. When you're born again, you're born with a spiritual nature that fits you for the next. Therefore, you'll be perfectly at home. But Judas was out of place among the disciples. Therefore he'd be out of place and was out of place in heaven. He was at his old place, but he went to hell. That's where he belonged. That's where he went. He fell from office. This is something we need to know. Judas fell from office.
He never fell from grave. Elizabeth, he never was in grace. He fell from office. Christ had called and fulfilled an office, and he fell from that office. He became a transgression, whom Judas, by transgression, failed, he read in our text. There's no question that he might have preached John's gospel. The gospel of the coming king that Christ was going to come and reign. Now there are preachers that they'll do that. Oh, yes, they say, how is it going to come? You know, set up a kingdom on earth, but they don't know very much about it.
A man didn't even do that, and not be born again. Judas undoubtedly did that, and he undoubtedly performed miracles. You say, how do you make that up? Where's your scripture? You read it over in Matthew chapter seven. In that coming day when Christ returns and shuts the door, he says, Many shall say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, open unto us. Have we not eaten and drunk in thy presence these Saturday communion tables? Has thou not talked in thy streets? And in thy name have we not done wonderful works? Christ shall say unto them, Depart from me, ye works unto them.
He didn't say I knew you once. I don't know yet. He said, I never knew. And so it's possible for a person to be some pretty wonderful thing. And yet not you're born again. Listen. That's plain in your body. He witnessed the power of Christ during life, Christ's sojourn here. He watched Christ perform these miracles. He even raised the dead. And he was especially warned, which Christ said about a year before Judas Sola. He says, Have I not chosen you twelve, or one of you is a devil?
And he said, The Son of Man goeth, as it is written of him, and he's going to die. But woe me unto that man, by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. Good for that man had he never been born. And that fell on the ears of Judas. He heard it. He was born. Good word for that man had he never been born. Think of the bargain that Judas made. He sold Christ for fifteen dollars in our church.
Fifty pieces of sin. So imagine telling the Lord Jesus Christ for fifteen months. You say, well, he must have been free. Then he asked you, what do you say of Jesus Christ for us for? A good time, companion, maybe for some. Then what will it profit you if you gain the whole world? I've lost your soul. Dearest poor Jews, he sold the Lord Jesus fifty dollars.
What did he get just thirty pieces of silver? He got the name of a treasure, and the unguided, the desecration of all men from then till now. Yes, Jews. You can even talk to men, women who've never read the Bible, if you mention Jews. Oh, yes. We have more respect for Jews. Out in Chicago, when I was having meetings there many years ago, they had those big stockyards in. One of the Christians with whom I was staying was where Andrew Cotton was one of the foremen in the big stockyards there, Swift Mountain Company.
He said, would you like to go through the stockyards and the slaughterhouse? And I said, yes, I would. I used to work in one factory, and I was about sixteen years of age. I said, I was quite a job when there were two eight hundred pigs up to three hundred pounds. They cut them in half, they had half them after they came them out, and put them in the freezer. That was sixteen hundred half of them. And I handled every one of those sixteen hundred in one day. Take them about off the truck that came down from the elevator and put them on these two chambers where these men were shooting salt into them.
Then they were put into the rind tank. And then when I was home the night, I was ready for bed. But I was interested in going through this stockyard. Finally, he said, I want to show you something. And he knew it was interesting. He said, I want you to watch that goat in there. And here was a goat in a big den where there were a lot of sheep. Finally, the door would open, and the goat would blood, and about fifty or sixty sheep would follow. Then the man would shut the door. The goat took it from there. The goat went up this ramp, up another ramp, of another ranch they went up to the top floor where they killed the sheep and just as they got up into the top floor into the big men where before they went in to be slaughtered old goat he got to a door and the door shot behind him and the sheep were there do you know what they call him Judas he betrayed and he's got a good name.
Yes, here is Jesus. He betrayed the Lord Jesus. That's the content with which Judas is scared as hell today. A man who sought to be a leader. And at the end, he had prayed the law. He had prayed the Son of God. What could he have gotten? What was it he lost? You know what he got. But I've already mentioned thirty pieces of silver and name of the praetor and chink of all men. What did he lose? What could he have had?
He could have had the Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, he could have had salvation from sin. And he could have had the assurance he was never going to have. And he could have had also the absolute assurance he was going to heaven. He was right for her. That's what he could have had. But he didn't get it. What a decision he made. Think of the betrayal, the details of. Here, Lord Jesus is sitting only a few hours away from the cross in the upper room. There are the twelve seated around the Lord Jesus at the last Passover.
The Lord Jesus said, One of you shall betray him. And it was such a shocking remark that the disciple began looking at one now. John said, Did I? Jim? Did I? Lord, is it me? Is it me? No one suspected Judas. Show him what a man he was. He was the devil's cover-up. He was the devil's cover-up agent. God gave the devil a first seat. They've got to look at his son and Judas took his place upon the floor.
And after three and a half years of association with Jesus Christ, watching him from every angle, Judas had to say at the end, I am betrayed by a innocent man. I am betrayed in a innocent blood. And through the eyes of Judas Iscariot, Satan had a promise, a close-up view of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he says, isn't I? Even Judas said that. Couldn't it be me? And he didn't tell it with any tail, telltale color in his cheeks. Isn't he? He said, I.
And then what next? The kiss. He kissed the Lord Jesus, that gave the signal of Christ's identity to those men who wanted the Lord Jesus Christ to put him in death. And Judas walked right up. said, Master, and Chester. Master, is it? Judas kissed the very door to heaven, and I went to hell. For Christ said, I am the door. By me of any man's limb, he shall. Not only so, but you see Judas's remorse.
He took that money, thirty pieces of silver, Fifteen dollars. Then he saw that Christ was condemned. He took that money and he ran and he threw it down on the temple. He threw it at the feet of those who had given him the money to betray Jesus Christ. They said, what is that? Well, I've seen all of that. You've served our church. We don't want the money. That money was taken, and they purchased the potter's field, the field of blood.
That's called that of this day. And it was there that Judas committed suicide. And that's where his life came, wallowing in his own blood, because he had betrayed the sinless blood of the Son of God. There you have Judas's remorse. And... his confession, his awful death. He went to his own place. What are some of the lessons we may learn from this incident? Well, there are many. It goes to show that example is not enough. Judas had the best example any human being had, as he and I knew that he wasn't there.
Examples are not enough. Council is not enough. Advice is not enough. Judas had the best power, the best advice. Yet he went to hell. Some say environment. Oh, he could only change his environment. If we could clean out all the hot spots and the liquor store. Clean out the country. Get rid of all these red light districts. green up the country, bring in a new atmosphere which is now polluted. Man would be different.
We'd have a different nation, Lord, you believe. It's not a new environment that men in the world need. They need a new nature. Since this target has the best environment, the company with Jesus Christ will see at a half year. so you find poor Jews demonstrating very definitely what a man needs to be born again. To have a good example is a wonderful day, but it's not enough to say, to have good counsel and good advice, and a good atmosphere at a fine.
For those things should lead the person who is such a happy, person to have all these things. Those things indicate the goodness of God that should lead you to repentance for life. In themselves they're fine, but in themselves they'll not save you. You've got to have Christ. You've got to be born again. Notice what it says here, Lord, is it I? He was asking the right one, wasn't he? And the other just said, Lord, is it I? Yes, they were asking the right person, because he's the only one who really knows.
Lord, is it I? Am I the one? The Lord Jesus took soft. And I understand in those days, I stayed with some Syrians in Newport News when I first came south. And they invited me to eat with them. They operated a big restaurant. They're carons with their name, and I can't recall the other name at the moment. But they invited me, and with the two families, they operated a big restaurant right across from the shipyard down in Newport Bay. And when I went into this room, I was surprised they see one big dish on the table.
Well, this was rude. And all that they were going to eat, they had in that dish. And they had one spoon. And you had to take your portion of one spoon. That's their way of showing they love you and they want your fellowship. They're willing to share equally with you. It shows it indicates I've got nothing against you. You're like that. Jesus, they take it even further in the east. They'll even take their piece of food and put it in their mouth and then hand it to you.
And if you refuse it, you offend them. God bless. The Lord Jesus took the soft. And he put his own mouth that the mother might soften up some food with him. He said, Judas, friend, what thou didst doeth? He called Judas, and did not. He called Judas, but Judas, I have learned to do this. What you do, you pray. Judas went out there in the night. And he was so covered up that even the other disciples didn't understand what Christ was saying.
They thought Christ had given them, told them to take some money and go and give it to the poor or to pay for their need. And they didn't realize the other level of Judas was a betrayer. The one Christ had been speaking of all the time. When Judas went out, Christ says, now is the son of man. Just a hint of what I'm going to say tonight. Why was Judas exposed right here? Because the Bible said that the church is built upon the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being a chief on his throne.
The church is resting upon the apostles and their prophets and Judas. God wouldn't permit that man to be in the foundation. They were beaten upon Jesus. So Judas had to be exposed. And Matthias took his place, as we'll see tonight. So the foundation of the church is built upon Christ with twelve apostles and prophets. Real born again there. Judas would have never fitted into the foundation of the church. And so you find Judas is exposed.
You know when Christ exposed Jesus, when Lord, he said, I, then Christ gave him and softly without light. Then Christ is now the Son of Man's glory. Finally it dawned upon the Apostles that Judas was of Bethlehem. After this moment, they must have been pressing. Am I the one? Would I do such a thing? But then Christ gave it the Son. Honey, we're done. There may have been a few minutes before it finally dawned on Jesus who was in the prayer.
First, they tried to calm their fear by saying, like, he's gone. There's something to the fruit. It may be that finally dawned. When Christ said now, if the Son of Man goes now, then Jesus will go again. What a sigh of relief must have come from the other level. For a little while they had fears and doubts. She said, I do not. But Christ's exposure of students brought peace. Lord, it is I.
And all I can say is this, this is the word of Christ will condemn, will expose the unreal, but give comfort and consolation for the genuine history. I have this word for him. He said, I give unto my sheep eternal life. They shall never know. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My father was king of the league. is written on. The woman is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. The word of Jesus Christ exposed you this, but it gave peace and rest to all of them.
And that's what his word will do. His word will search and expose the unbelief at the same time that it will bring peace and comfort to the same. That their sins are forgiven. They have everlasting life They'll never pray for us. Judas went to these leaders of the fullness of Jesus Christ, these scribes, and Pharisees. He says, what will he give me? And I will pray among you. They said, did you? You thought you'd be such a servant. They said, here. Are you saying to the devil this morning, I don't know about becoming a Christian?
Don't think I'm ready for that. devil, what did he give me? And I'll say no to Jesus Christ, and I'll follow you. The devil says, I'll cross with you in vain. I'll give you some money. You say to the world, what will you give me? And I'll betray Jesus Christ. I'll reject you. The world says, I'll give you a good time. How many have made that bond? And they've gone out of the meeting where confronted with Jesus Christ.
They've made a deed of the dead. They've made a bargain with the world. They've lived to regret the day they've made that bond. How surprised the other disciples were when Judas was finally exposed. How surprised... your friends will be, some of your relatives. Yes, you've lived a good life. You've been an official in the church. You've taught the Sundays here. You've sung in the choir. And you haven't been in the moral of it.
But you've been trusting in your good life, the Savior, your membership in the church, and your activities. And when in that coming day you're exposed, what a shock and surprise are the weeks on your loved ones and friends, that you are hypocrite all along because you are very exposed to them in the end. Oh yes, the disciples were surprised when Judas was exposed. You notice what the scribes and Pharisees said have already put that, What is that to us? Jesus, you see that.
He gave us money. You betrayed Jesus. That money showed us. You've served our purpose. You do what you like. The music goes to show that the thirty pieces of silver, what Jesus got for portraying Jesus Christ, he wasn't happy with it when he got it. He went and threw it down in the potter's tree. He threw it down in the temple. The very money he got from those men to do in exchange for accepting Christ. When he did betray Jesus Christ, he had the third of Jesus' service. They burned in his hands, burned in his conscience, and he went through them down in the prison, and won.
Whatever you're selling Jesus Christ for today will not make you happy. Whatever you're selling Christ for the day will not satisfy me. You'll find out you've been duped by the death. I'm going to try and close with this. In Greensboro, North Carolina, I led a new lady, I think I told the story, blind, sixty years of age, dying of cancer. We led her to the Lord one day. She had a lovely daughter, Blanche Johnson. Right next to me, Winston Taylor.
Blanche was a lovely girl, a very attractive girl. I tried my best to win Blanche to France. She told me after, she said to no. She Wilson many a time. The voice said to me, go and talk. I went to, she became very popular, got in with the big boys, the boys in the Cadillac, and lots of money, and she was very smart. She was a run who liked the world, and she was pleased. I went back to the theme for one day, and was from the cave, was there now, or again, looking for after I left.
Charlie said, Esther, you heard about Blanche, I said, no. We're gone. that is in the hospital, dying with a human on the world. I said, why? Why? Why? He said, why? He said, four times. He said, he said, I think you are going through it. He asked for it. And he said, I witness to her. I hope that she has found the Savior. So look all of us away. When I walked in and said, one look at that. One, I admired that beautiful book. That attracted me.
Cannot be true. She did die a couple of weeks later, a couple of weeks later, a class she was. Do you know how many were at her funeral? The funeral was held in the first Presbyterian church. It was made for North Carolina. Only for that. We were with the boys. the men who use glance as swore, put out neighborly kind. Where are they? It is glance. They are.
I did not come to pray the reason. No. She served there. She served there. I did not. Let me tell you this. That's exactly what the world will do.