Judas

Today’s reading is Matthew 27.

There are at least two principles that come out in the New Testament writings which, I believe, have Judas as their background.

First, Paul explains in 1 Timothy 6:9-10, that those who want to be rich fall into temptation and harmful desires which plunge people into ruin and destruction. Further, the love of money has caused some to wander away from the faith and pierce themselves with many pangs. Judas is the supreme example. While we tend to throw Judas under the bus, thinking of him as just completely evil and diabolical, remember what we noted last week. When Jesus told the apostles one of them would betray Him, nobody said, “It’s Judas, isn’t it?” Judas wasn’t any more wicked than the rest of us. He was a disciple, following Jesus, but who let the love of money keep a hold on his soul. In the end, he found out painfully what Jesus had meant when He said we can’t serve God and money.

The key we should take from this is if loving money and desiring to be rich could lead Judas this far astray, it can do the same to us. As they say, money is a great servant, but a terrible master. Let us keep our heart focused on Jesus.

Second, Paul told the Corinthians “godly grief produces repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:10, ESV). I struggle to know the difference between these two griefs when they are occurring. However, I know them when they reach their end result. Judas’s grief was worldly. His grief did not glorify God. His grief did not lead him to turn to God, confess his sin, and find forgiveness in Jesus. His grief led him to greater and greater shame which he handled by killing himself. I have a sneaking suspicion, having experienced a fair amount of guilt, shame, and grief myself, Judas’s struggle was ultimately one of pride. He simply couldn’t live knowing he was the one who had betrayed Jesus so badly. If he had lived and sought forgiveness from God, he would still have had hanging over him the memory of, the reputation of, the accusation of betrayer. He knew all of the other disciples would forever know him as the one who betrayed Jesus. Sadly, to his mind, the only escape from the shame would come in death. He couldn’t see a way to escape shame and guilt through God’s grace.

That is a struggle for me as well sometimes. I don’t know about you, but I wanted to be perfect, or at least, a really, really good person. I don’t like the thought of having to claim I’m an awful, rotten sinner who is wicked because of my sin. But I remember my sins. I remember them all (well…a lot of them). Further, there are plenty of people whom I see and know they remember the times I’ve had to confess sin. Sometimes I feel like there is a neon sign flashing over my head, “Oh, yeah, there’s that guy who did such and such.” If they are thinking that, there is nothing I can do about it. I have to mourn the loss of that person I wanted to be. Instead of trying to regain joy by pretending I’m actually that person or that my sins weren’t all that bad, I have to find joy in forgiveness. But forgiveness is all about how awesome God is and not a bit about how awesome I am. That’s a tough pill to swallow. And some people, even if they don’t commit physical suicide, decide to commit spiritual suicide instead of confessing their own sin and letting God deal with it by the death of Jesus.

Don’t be that person. Give God the glory by confessing your sin. Give God the glory by surrendering to Jesus. Mourn the loss of that person you wanted to be. But rejoice with the person Jesus can make you.

Don’t be Judas.

Tomorrow’s reading is Matthew 27.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family

1. What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
2. Why is money such a competitor for our devotion to God?
3. Why is worldly grief easier than godly grief?
4. What other lessons do you learn from Judas?
5. What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?

The Hard Path to Repentance

Today’s reading is 2 Corinthians 7.

Do you know the hardest part about repenting or leading someone to repentance? It’s what has to happen before repentance. Grief. Sorrow. Mourning. Sadness. We cannot just manufacture repentance. Repentance comes only when someone is truly sorry for how they have behaved. This is the problem we often have to face. Many people when they hear about heaven and hell and have some faith in them will sign on the dotted line of Christianity. But some are simply not sorry about how they have lived and behaved. These will often live in hypocrisy, hanging on to behaviors they love while trying to get enough “church” in to make up for it. That is simply not discipleship. Sin, all sin, is a slap in the face to God and a destruction of our relationship with Him. Repentance will not come until we have that kind of honesty about our sin and are moved to sorrow over it. Then repentance comes. I am not saying the truly penitent never fall again. I’m just pointing out where our path to Jesus and salvation begins. And it is a hard place to begin because we avoid sorrow at all costs. But without going through the sorrow, we will not go through the repentance. And without leading others through sorrow, we will not be able to lead them to repentance either. This explains why so many fight against it so hard. It also explains why we must keep trying. People need godly sorrow because it leads to repentance and that leads to salvation.

Tomorrow’s reading is 2 Corinthians 8.

Giving Joy to Your Shepherds

Today’s reading is Hebrews 13.

I get it. It is my natural reaction when someone is looking over my shoulder at how I behave, calling me to account, questioning some of my actions, challenging me to step up, to rebel against them too. Who do they think they are to get up in my business? And yet, that is exactly what God has asked His shepherds to do. They are watching over our souls. They will give account for us. They do care about us. Even when they make mistakes at the job, their goal is our best interests. Their goal is our salvation and God’s glory. So, let’s bring them joy and not grief. Let’s listen and give heed. God put them here to help us. In the end, if we don’t bring joy to our shepherds, the only people we are really hurting are ourselves.

Tomorrow’s reading is James 1.

Good Grief

Today’s reading is 2 Corinthians 7.

Perhaps one of the hardest parts of disciple making is knowing that somewhere along the line the message causes grief. For the person obliviously living in sin or even rebelliously living in sin, even though the gospel message is good news, it starts with bad news. Calling sin sin causes no end of hurt and grief for the person who hears it. Of course, we fear that it will move from grief to anger and then rejection. The problem is if there is no grief, there will be no repentance. Certainly, we don’t go around intent on causing grief. We aren’t trying to manufacture reasons to cause grief to people. However, we must steel ourselves. Grief is part of the process. Be ready for it when you share the gospel. Then hang on to God no matter where the person’s grief takes them. That will be between them and God. As long as you have given the message out of love, you will have been successful and victorious.

Tomorrow’s reading is 2 Corinthians 8.