The Failure of Faith in Judas

A follow up on the doctrine of apostasy from other places in scripture.

In my last article I provided my go to argument for the scriptural doctrine of apostasy, I intend to continue here by providing another apologetic that doesn’t rely on the same typology and words I used last time.

To start we must all understand the concept that the names of those who are saved are written in heaven.

Rev 20:15 "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

Isaiah 4:3 "And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:"

Rev 21:7 “and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

Psalm 69:28 "Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous."

Jeremiah 17:13 “O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.” (Jeremiah displays the opposite concept here, that those who are not in the book of life will instead be written by death into hell)

And if you remember from the last article the book of life also appears in one of the first uses of the word we studied, (πικρία[Pikria]) Deu 29:18-20 “Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood(πικρία[Pikria]); And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst: The Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven.”

The book of life is a heavenly record of all those who are saved, are being saved and will be saved; and depending upon the interpretation of other verses it might even contain all the events that will occur to these people. (psa. 139:16, psa 56:8) Regardless, the Book of Life is a fundamental concept core to the Christian understanding of heavenly law and ordinances, and how ritual and order is maintained and carried out within the heavenly temple that is new Jerusalem. 

To see these laws and this book in action we have to find our example of an apostate. We will find him in Matthew 10 and 11 which happen at the same time as most of Luke 10, so to get a full contextual picture we must flip between Matt. 10 and Luke 10, starting chronologically with Matthew 10. Matthew 10:1-8 “And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.”

In Luke 10 Jesus is speaking to the 70/72 Disciples(not the 12) however there we see that this same miraculous power that is subsequently given to the 70 right after the twelve; though not salvific, is given to those who are saved, as proof of the Gospel, for no unsaved person has the authority of Christ. Luke 10:19-20 “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” Here in Luke 10 the direct connection of the authority of the Christian and those with the office of the keys is directly tied to being written in the book of life. Matthew 10:32-33 also states “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” From these passages above we know that Judas did confess, and preach Jesus as well as do miracles under his authority, meaning that Judas’ name was written in heaven. Rev 3:5 puts the conclusion of these verses together so I don’t have to, “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” 

Now, we know Judas was no overcomer, John 13:2 makes it plain “And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;” unable to resist temptation and the devil, Judas eventually hangs himself rather than bein repentant of his sins like Peter was. Matt. 27:3-8 “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.”

We are told a few times in scripture that those who forsake the Lord will be blotted out of his book of life. Peter in Acts 1 actually quotes Psalm 109 while talking about Judas, stating “Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, 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 his bishoprick let another take.” It is of note though that the Psalm specifically refers to the blotting out of Judas and his lineage from the book of life. “Let his days be few; and let another take his office. Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out. Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the Lord; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.”

God made His word clear from the beginning that those who would forsake him will be blotted out of the book of everlasting life and should be ashamed, in Exodus 32:33 after the Israelites build the idolatrous cow, the Lord tells Moses “And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.”

The example of Moses and the children of Israel in the wilderness representing apostasy is given three times in Hebrews as an example of apostasy once in Hebrews 3 again in 10 and again in 12, we are going to go over the example in Hebrews 3-4 and chapter 12.  Hebrews 3:6-19 states “But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” It is because of unbelief and deliberate hardening, which takes place through unrepentant sin that those who died in the wilderness were cut off, this chapter says we are saved by partaking in Christ and rejoicing in a firm hope unto the end, both of which relate to other verses that show it’s the giving of faith that saves such as Romans 8:23-25 “And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” and a similar sentiment to that in Hebrews 3 is found in 2 Peter 1:1-4 “ Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” In both of these verses and in Hebrews the theme of a necessary perseverance emerges, we have received salvation by grace through faith that we may be made sanctified unto holiness and an everlasting life. The importance of this everlasting life cannot be understated as Hebrews 4 picks up on the necessity of Faith being the key to entering into the sabbath rest. “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Hebrews 4 is our lifeline showing us that though yes one can depart from the faith through unbelief we must continue to hold fast no matter what your temptation may be, unlike the examples of Judas and Israel. And this lastly, brings us back to Hebrews 12 which I covered last time in “The Root of Bitterness and Apostasy” 

Heb. 12:14-29 “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness(πικρία[Pikria]) springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.” 

As we talked about last time, Hebrews 12 is excellent because it makes the point that, yes we can apostatize, yes we can sell our birthright like Esau but we do have a better promise in Christ, a promise that God will always take us back. However, that should make us doubly fearful because if God punished the Israelites who disobeyed Moses then how much more punished will we be if we refuse the one who speaks from heaven. When God gave the law He shook the earth but now He promises to shake earth and heaven so that only that which is in the foundation that is Christ may remain this is why we must continue to trust in Christ and serve him with Godly fear. If you fall away or think you have or think you have done unforgivable things do not be a Judas who draws back into perdition in unbelief but instead be a Peter who, like Judas betrayed the Lord on the same night, who, like Judas apostatized and denied God, but who unlike Judas repented and was told by Christ Himself that he should serve the Lord, whereas Judas had everything even his future taken from Him. Hold fast to God even when it seems like you are sinking because though the turmoil is great His promise always remains and He is always faithful. May the Lord ever keep you, guide you and sanctify you, so that you may always trust in Him our great Shepherd who heals our wounds. Amen. ⳨