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Judas And The Other Apostles - Message #158 - September 03, 2006
We don't like people who claim to be one thing and turn out to be something quite different. In fact, we are quick to shout, 'hypocrite'.
But we had better watch out. Claiming to be a Christian and actually being one can be two different things too. Now don't get uptight. You know as well as I do that a lot of people claim to be followers of Christ but in the end they live like the devil. Oh sure, they fool us for a time. But later on, they show their true colors.
Judas is a classic example of such a person. He lived in the inner circle of disciples for three years. Christ sent him out to preach about Him. The Bible tells us that Jesus gave Judas "authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness" (Matthew 10:1). I'm sure that Judas had the other disciples fooled too. At one point, Peter defended the twelve, including Judas, by saying, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68). But you know the story. Judas turned his back on Christ.
This is tough stuff. You see, Jesus promises, "Everyone therefore who shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven." But Jesus also warns, "Whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32-33). Now don't be fooled into thinking, "I'm really not denying Christ". The point is, "In the case of those who have... tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance" (Hebrews 6:4-6).
For a free audiotape on this subject, call 1-800-777-0389
email: freetapes@wordfortheweek.org; or visit: www.wordfortheweek.org
We don't like people who claim to be one thing and turn out to be something quite different. In fact, we are quick to shout, 'hypocrite'.
But we had better watch out. Claiming to be a Christian and actually being one can be two different things too. Now don't get uptight. You know as well as I do that a lot of people claim to be followers of Christ but in the end they live like the devil. Oh sure, they fool us for a time. But later on, they show their true colors.
Judas is a classic example of such a person. He lived in the inner circle of disciples for three years. Christ sent him out to preach about Him. The Bible tells us that Jesus gave Judas "authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness" (Matthew 10:1). I'm sure that Judas had the other disciples fooled too. At one point, Peter defended the twelve, including Judas, by saying, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68). But you know the story. Judas turned his back on Christ.
This is tough stuff. You see, Jesus promises, "Everyone therefore who shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven." But Jesus also warns, "Whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32-33). Now don't be fooled into thinking, "I'm really not denying Christ". The point is, "In the case of those who have... tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance" (Hebrews 6:4-6).
For a free audiotape on this subject, call 1-800-777-0389
email: freetapes@wordfortheweek.org; or visit: www.wordfortheweek.org
