Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. Matthew 27:3-5
“Judas, are you betraying the son of man with a kiss?” Luke 22:48
The teaching this morning of the Lord was to speak against this idea of once saved always saved. Or how you are saved, because there are many ideas of salvation and how it works. The example he used was with the rich young ruler and Judas. Judas had walked with Yeshua during his time, he knew him at a deeper level than many. Yet because he did not repent of his evil ways, his heart was hardened and he allowed satan to enter into him so he sold Yeshua out for a little money. Many want to believe he is still in heaven, but he is not. The simple point of him taking his own life shows he never repented. Which by the way many believe you can take your life and still get into heaven. Like it is some sort of mental issue beyond your control and God is fine with it as long as you did the religious thing while alive.
This is a lie, because any man right with God would never take their life. Suicide is done in a very dark place in the soul, where God is light and there is no darkness in him. So if you are in the light, you could never do that. And in order to be in heaven, we must walk in the light and not let darkness overtake us. Judas let darkness overtake him.
The rich young ruler went to Yeshua thinking he could justify himself as being good enough for salvation, yet when Yeshua gave him a different answer than what he expected, an answer with a better life than he could have imagined. He turned and walked away sad. Now maybe at some point in the future he did repent, but we do not know that. And the point is on what he did that day, not how his life turned out.
Then there is the story of the two thieves on the cross with Yeshua. One repented according to the accounts of Matthew, where in the accounts of John both mocked him. But let’s look at the account of Matthew to make a point again. The one thief repented and was in extreme despair for him being who he was, seeking the Lord for who he saw the Lord to be. It wasn’t some half hearted “I am sorry” without knowing who he was. He knew who he was, and sought a different way or outcome. He died with his sins forgiven, and Yeshua knew he would be obedient in heaven. Unlike Judas and the rich young ruler. Keep this in mind also, the obedience is not to a set of laws, which the rich young ruler kept according to his words. Obedience is to The King and what he tells you. Keeping the law or torah did not make the rich young ruler perfect and good. But Yeshua said clearly sell it all and come follow me and you will be made perfect.
This is what God wants and expects, for you to give up everything to follow him. Do what he says without knowing what he is doing in your life. From the beginning of my relationship with Yeshua, going where he was leading me, doing many things which made no sense to me, things which were not sinful of themselves. But after obeying and following the Lord in them for a while, it made sense what he was doing in me to perfect me. It is not about obeying the law, no man can obey the law. It is about obeying Yeshua, and in obeying him then he will write the law on your heart and you will obey it, not because you tried even harder but because the way you live your life allows no room for not keeping the law.
For example when he told me to move to Baja Mexico, I could not understand why? I would be leaving my family and friends which made no sense to me. But after a while it became clear that was why he moved me, to get me away from everyone and alone with him. Peter told Yeshua “see Lord we left all to follow you” and they did. Even their wife and kids. And Yeshua said, “yes, and you found salvation in it.’ He did not say you are wrong, you should have stayed with your family. Yet in our way of thinking in the flesh and even what the churches teach, we put family first.
At what point do we give it all up and follow Yeshua, instead of our flesh and religion? We do not get the ways of God without following the son. It is not possible, the story of the rich young ruler makes that clear. Perfection is in following and obeying the Lord, not some laws or rules some men made up. Keep in mind what Yeshua has shown me many times over about how man changes the laws many times over the years to suit their ways which then destroy the way of God in your life. And that will continue until the end of times when it gets so bad and men are so far away from the truth in God that he sends his Son to end it all after the tribulation. Which that time seems upon us. The hearts of men are so engulfed in their religious beliefs, no different than the Jews all throughout the bible, where they made up their own laws and even their own gods instead of hearing and obeying the Lord. We are guilty of doing the same today, yet we believe we are following the truth where the Jews weren’t. But the Jews believed they were following the truth and weren’t. Same old story line with different actors. Do not be a part of it, be a part of Yeshua instead.
To make one more point, and then tie it all together. A story of a niece of ours who is living in a tough environment with the parents making some bad decisions, and the fall out of those decisions is poverty, and some control on her that is very difficult. She is a senior in high school and just won being the homecoming queen. Her dad does not allow her to date, and has many other tough restrictions on her. She is very involved in school especially sports both playing and as a cheerleader. Most people would be very depressed and have the poor little old me attitude. But this young lady separated herself from what is happening and made the best of it.
In my life, I learned the most about success from sports, not school. The school system these days is teaching kids to obey the system, not to thrive and make something good of themselves. My nieces decisions does not equal salvation, that is different. But her decisions and the way she sees life is giving her the foundation to the same way we get salvation. Namely doing things different than the world and bearing good fruit. Her fruit is not the fruit worthy of salvation, but again it is teaching her how to do it, because it is the same process. To overcome the bad in your life and do things which bring good into your life. There will be a day when I can explain this to her, and she will not understand entirely in that moment. But it will plant some seeds so when the Lord starts having his way with her, she will understand.
The same with what I am saying and writing, if your heart is not in the right place with God the words do not make sense, nor will you decide to follow what I am saying over the men teachers. In your mind and heart what I say and what Yeshua shows makes no sense to you. But if you read it and seek to find out if what I say is truth, or if the preachers are telling you the truth. Then the seeds are planted and the Lord will make them grow into good fruit in your life. And it will all start to make sense. But we must also recognize the problems and sin we live in because we do not follow the Lord and instead follow men teachers just like the Jews, Hebrews and Israelites have all these years. Keeping in mind the Lord Yeshua said “many are called and few are chosen.” Be one of the chosen ones, which requires the hearing and obeying of the Lord. This is why the chosen ones are chosen, because they are the few that decide to obey God and what he says. God will not choose anyone who chooses other ways to live their life, because those lives are not pleasing to God, only a life in obedience is pleasing to God.