“Wherefore
let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12 (KJV)
In this 21st century,
I would say it’s pretty easy to get lost in society. One could easily get
trapped in things that satisfy our lusts. Prostitution is at its peak, divorce
is increasing by the hour and pornographic material is easily accessible these
days.
It’s startling how some once known men of God, worship leaders,
instrumentalists in God’s house, ended up in sin and even rebellion against the
church of God. We are in times that are dangerous and as the elect of Christ we
need to be extra careful and vigilant in all things in order to persist unto
death. The devil may have succeeded in pulling some of the elect into his
circus but we see in the scripture above that when we think we are okay and
stable in Christ, that’s the time to be more careful.
Let’s consider Judas Iscariot.
This man was a follower of Jesus, yet he betrayed God in the end. He valued thirty
pieces of silver far above the life of Jesus, far above the promises of Jesus
and far above the love Jesus had for him. He treasured money over Christ. This
man was standing, yet he fell. Let’s reflect on these eight (8) things about Judas and consider what happened unto him as an example unto us.
1. Judas was an apostle. (Matthew
10:1-3)
Judas may
have fallen but he was a direct follower of Jesus, who considered him worthy to
send him forth to do his work. This man was able enough to send the gospel of
Christ to people. Blessed to heal and empowered to cast out devils.
2. Jesus trusted Judas. (Psalm
41:9)
This
scripture is a Messianic psalm about the betrayal of Judas. The text reveals
that Jesus trusted Judas very much. He was someone Jesus could count on but in
the end he was the one who sold him out.
3. Judas was the first treasurer of
the church. (John 13:29)
In the text
we see that Judas was the keeper of the money bag. The church of God had its
treasurer in the trusted Judas. He was the financial man of the church. He knew
how much was available and how much could be spent. This apostle was trusted
with the money of the church.
4. Judas was a baptizer in water. (John
4:1-2)
The
disciples of Jesus were the ones who baptized the people who came to repentance
with water and Judas was numbered amongst these disciples. This man was
qualified to baptize people.
5. Judas was ordained to preach and
heal and was successful in doing so. (Luke 9:1-10)
Judas was
numbered amongst the apostles when Jesus gave unto them power to heal, cure
diseases and cast out all devils. He was counted worthy by God to wield such
amazing power.
6. Judas was filled with the Holy
Spirit and endued with power. (Matthew 10:20)
Judas was
anointed by Jesus and the Holy Spirit spoke in him. The Holy Spirit considered
him worthy to be anointed and used to speak unto people.
7. Judas was promised eternal
kingship with Jesus Christ. (Matthew 19:28)
Judas was
destined to rule beside Jesus in heaven. He had a reserved throne for himself
in heaven. This man was called unto greatness before God.
8. Judas was a covetous thief. (John
12:4-8)
Last but not
least, this apostle was a thief who coveted more money.
Christians have been promised
everlasting life and eternal kingship with Christ, we have been empowered to
spread the gospel, filled with the Holy Spirit, wisdom, power and faith. We
have been blessed by Christ generously and given hope in His promises. We need
to learn from this example and many other cautions in the word of God to combat
the temptations we face. Sin brings guilt upon us once we receive the knowledge
of the truth and this guilt unconsciously condemns us. What we need in order to
overcome this is power from the word of Christ. It is this power that we wield
in the face of our temptations. Our pastors, counselors and friends may not
know the sins we are indulged in or the temptations we face but Jesus knows it
quite well. The fact that your sins have not been exposed is not because Christ
consents with it but because He is challenging us to rise high above it.
Christians need to take heed to their faith because our careless actions could mock Christ and make His blood void unto us.
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