In the sixth chapter of the Apostle John’s Gospel we find Jesus speaking to His disciples about their dedication to Him and what that meant relative to their daily lives.  Beginning with verse 64 He lets them know that among His 80 or so disciples there were those who were not true believers.  He also knew that one of them, Judas, would betray Him.  As a result of His very graphic message, many of His disciples “went back (into the world) and walked no more with Him” (vs 66).  However, Judas remained with Him.  When He asked the 12 if they were going to leave Him also, Peter replied: “To whom can we go, YOU HAVE THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE.  AND WE BELIEVE AND ARE SURE THAT YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD” (vss 68,69).  “We” included all 12 of the disciples, including Judas Iscariot.  Upon hearing Peter’s words, Jesus told them that one of them would betray Him.  That, as we all know, was Judas Iscariot who, like the other 11 disciples, was sure that Jesus was “… the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus acknowledged that He had chosen all of the disciples, including the 70 who had left Him and gone back into the world.  That short statement carries momentous Truth: ONE IS EITHER WITH (OF) JESUS OR WITH (OF) THE WORLD (vs 66).  Now back to the subject at hand.

Knowing that Judas was a thief and had been a thief all along (Jn. 12:6), the question arises: what was his mindset during those three and one/half years when he was accompanying Jesus Whom he knew was “the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” when he was preaching the Gospel, healing the sick, casting out devils, etc?  How did he view is relationship with Jesus while stealing money out of the group’s moneybag?  Did he believe that he was as close to the Lord as the other disciples?  Did he believe himself to be in good standing with the Godhead?  He had been given the same ministry as the others (Acts 1:16,17) and had conducted that ministry as had the others.  His ministry was powerful and productive.  Did Jesus not know what he (Judas) was doing?  If so, He obviously did not care.  Did Jesus overlook his sins because of who he (Judas) was?  WAS HE SPECIAL BECAUSE HE WAS PART OF CHRIST’S GROUP, BECAUSE HE PREACHED HIS GOSPEL AND PERFORMED MIRACLES?  As the Holy Scriptures tell us, Judas was not the first man to find himself in that situation.

Case in point–King David–“a man after God’s own heart.”  The sordid episode concerning David and Bathsheba is found in Second Samuel chapters 11 and 12.  This was David, whom God had picked to rule Israel.  He was the one God used to slay Goliath and bring about victory for God’s chosen people.  This was David whom God elevated to the kingship over the mightiest, most prosperous, most famous kingdom on earth at that time.  This man after the heart of God has lusted after and seduced a married woman, then had her husband killed.  After all that, ….  Nothing changed.  It was as if David had not sinned.  Israel continued to win battles.  The nation continued to prosper in every way.  David’s guilt faded and over time, then left his mind altogether.  Obviously God had forgotten his sins, if He had noticed them at all.  After months of waiting for the Lord to punish him but seeing only more good times, the king probably concluded that God agreed with what he had done, or at least overlooked it.  And why not?  After all, he was KING DAVID, the master of all he gazed upon.  Months had passed since his he sinned.  All had gone on as before.  His future, like his past, looked rosy.

Upon King David’s death his son Solomon assumed the rule over the world’s greatest empire.  King Solomon improved upon what he had inherited.  Kings and queens came from far and wide to experience the grandeur of his kingdom.  He increased the power and influence of Israel by joining in covenants with other nations in the area.  The fact that they were heathen nations whom God had forbidden Israel to associate with seemed not to matter.  Against the expressed will of God, King Solomon married the daughters of the many of the heathen kings with whom he made covenants.  These women brought their heathen religions and pagan gods with them.  In order to keep them happy, King Solomon joined in the worship of their gods and led the nation to join him.  What their gods required, Solomon and the Israelites did, including sacrificing their children to those gods.   The nation grew larger and more powerful.  Its grandeur and riches increased exponentially.  Years went by as Solomon grew more and more famous and powerful.  He was at the top and was enjoying himself.  Life could not be better and was getting better with the passage of time.  All was well in the kingdom of Israel.

In the third chapter of the Book of Revelation Jesus instructs the Apostle John to write a letter to the Lord’s church located in the city of Laodicea.  This church was riding high.  It was very successful–a shining star in the Christian world.  In His letter Jesus addressed the church in Laodicea relative to her “success” and “closeness” to Him.  In the letter He said to them about their exalted status in the church world: “You say ‘I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.'”  Truly these people were on top of the church world.  Their services were obviously packed out.  New people were showing up and joining up.  Tithes were pouring in.  They were rich and needed nothing either materially or spiritually.

In the 25th chapter of Matthew we find the story of the five foolish virgins who had backslidden away from God but thought nothing about it.  And why should they?  Their lives had not changed.  Everything remained as it had been prior to their apostasy.  They were accepted at home and in the church.  The fact that they had fallen away from the Lord was having no effect on their lives.  Time went by and life was as it had always been.  Things were going so well that they did not see that they needed to refill their lamp oil (symbolic of the Holy Spirit).

Now let us backtrack and view the final outcomes of those happy, successful people who, in spite of their sin-soaked lives, were feeling extremely good about themselves.  If asked about their relationship with the Lord each parishioner would have given a positive response.  However, in the end, when having to face reality, what happened?  Judas hung himself.  David suffered greatly both personally (his and Bathsheba’s baby died) and politically.  He lost the love and devotion of the people as they suffered individually and nationally.  There is no indication that Solomon ever repented.  There is no record of him returning to God.  His son caused the Israelite kingdom to be divided, defeated militarily, enslaved and scattered throughout the world.  The Laodiceans passed down their sinfulness to the following generations that are today known as “the church.”  The five foolish virgins were turned away from meeting the Bridegroom and cast into outer darkness.  As the old hymn says, “You can run on (continue to sin) for a long time, but let me tell you God almighty gonna cut you down.”  Billions of people are living in total ignorance of their spiritual conditions.  They are happily going about their spiritual lives believing that they are spiritually “rich and in need of nothing.”  They are unaware that they are “wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.”

Let us return to Judas for the summation of this series.  Long before he betrayed the Lord, Judas was a devil.  In John 6:64 we are told that Jesus knew that Judas would betray Him.  Notice in verse 70 where Jesus said: “one of you IS (at that time) a devil.” Note that He did not say that Judas HAD a devil, but that he WAS a devil.  Judas was a thief.  Theft is no worse than any other sin.  Sin is sin.  Judas, who spent 3 1/2 years in Jesus’ presence, serving Him as His preaching, healing, miracle-working messenger, was no different from any other sinner.  Judas was a sinner long before Jesus called him to the ministry.  He never stopped sinning and therefore never stopped being a devil–EVEN THOUGH HIS OUTWARD LIFE REFLECTED THE EXACT OPPOSITE.  The question is: how did Judas feel about his relationship with Jesus during that time?  Obviously, quite good.

Using Judas as His example, the Lord tells us that anyone who continues to sin after meeting Jesus “is a devil” regardless of his/her religious standing or his/her feelings about him/herself.  God does not make differences based on a person’s spiritual status (Acts 10:34) or self-image.  What is sin for the atheist is sin for the believer.  The outcome of their respective sins is the same.  One who continues to sin “after coming to the knowledge of the Truth” (Heb. 10:26) is a sinner for whom Christ’s death has no effect.  Therefore, just as Judas was a devil because he knowingly sinned, anyone who continues to knowingly sin after knowing the Truth is both A devil (Jn. 6:70) and “of THE devil” (1 Jn. 3:8).

Satan tempts man to sin.  The result of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) because Satan “has the power of death” over ALL sinners (Heb. 2:14).  Like all New Testament writers, John wrote TO the church ABOUT the church.  John defines sin as the transgression of God’s Law (1 Jn. 3:4).  Therefore, to break His Law (to sin) makes one A devil and a child of THE devil regardless of his/her religious standing–SO SAYS JESUS CHRIST.  To break one of His commandments is to break the entire Law (Jam. 2:10).  The fourth commandment is part of the Law.  Read Holy is no Longer Holy.  Key word–Longer.

Jesus died, not to enable us to sin and get away with it, but to provide the Holy Spirit to empower us to resist/overcome Satan’s temptations.  As Jesus said in Revelation 3:21, those “who overcome (Satan’s temptations to sin) as I overcame will sit with Me on my throne.”  Note that it is he who overcomes Satan’s temptations (refuses to sin) who will join Christ in the Kingdom of God.  To sin is to be overcome by Satan, making one a devil and the child of the devil.  SO SAYS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.  L.J.