Judas' Apostasy in Light of God's FaithfulnessSample

The way back Home, if you are lost

In John 10:1-18, Jesus tells a group of Pharisees who had been insulting Him that He is the gate to salvation, and that He is also the Good Shepherd who seeks those who will listen to Him. He knows His sheep, they know His voice and follow Him. He also says twice that He will lay down His life for His sheep. In Luke 15:3-7 He is again speaking to a group of grumblers, and gives them a visual of how heaven rejoices when a shepherd finds one lost sheep/person who repents. He continues to reach out and seek souls who will receive Him, and always will.

Remember that God never stops loving us. Nothing can get in the way of His great and unfathomable love; Romans 8:39 declares that nothing“...will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Remember the Scripture in 2 Peter 3:9 promising us that God does not want anyone to perish, but wants all of us to come to repentance? In 1 John 1:8-9 we are encouraged with “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

We don’t come to God with our goodness, because nothing we can ever do will match up to God’s goodness and holiness. We just come surrendering our entire being to Him, because Ephesians 2:8-9 declares that “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Jesus Christ is absolutely the only Way, the only Truth, and the only Life as John 14:6 promises us, and through Him we don’t need to suffer the consequences of our selfishness and sin – which is hell. He paid the price for our sins by a cruel death on the cross, and we can have an amazing and wonderful adventure with Him in heaven forever.

So, what about Judas?

We, as human beings with a limited understanding of God’s intricate relationship to sin, cannot ever know the eternal destiny of another person. We must understand that God can ordain what He wills, for His purposes, but Scripture does not tell us how He does this. The Bible is completely quiet regarding how the Lord holds people accountable for what He has ordained should happen. We should not get too focused on what others have done, for only God knows their hearts. We can rest in confidence knowing that if we love the Lord and follow in His footsteps, NOTHING can ever snatch us away, or separate us from His presence.

Reflection: The story of Judas in the Bible is a great reminder of how much God loves us, pursues us, and that we should never take our salvation and privileged relationship with God for granted. God has given us a wonderful promise in Philippians 1:6: “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” As we walk with the Holy Spirit, He will finish His good work in our lives.

Thank you for completing this plan, we hope it has inspired you to continue pursuing Jesus. Please join us in our daily devotionals, and at our home website where you will find answers to many questions you may have.