\u201cThen Judas\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew 27:1-10<\/p>\n
As we read the Bible, we cannot help noticing that there are numerous
\nexamples of men and women who appeared to fear God and walk with him,
\nwho in time forsook him altogether and perished under his wrath.<\/p>\n
Beacons<\/p>\n
There are multitudes in hell today who were once considered saints of
\nGod. Lot\u2019s wife, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, Achan, King Saul, Ananias
\nand Sapphira, Demas, and Diotrephes are all names that ought to be
\nalarming. Like the multitude in John 6, though they professed to be
\ndisciples and were considered by all, except the Lord himself, to be his
\ndisciples, they \u201cwent back and walked no more with him.\u201d They are
\nbeacons placed before us in Holy Scripture to warn us of the danger of
\nhypocrisy and carnal security. All is not gold that glitters. \u201cThey are
\nnot all Israel which are of Israel.\u201d Many who profess faith in Christ
\nand are confident that their faith is genuine shall betray and forsake
\nChrist in time and perish under the wrath of God in hell.<\/p>\n
The Betrayer<\/p>\n
No one more fearfully and glaringly demonstrates this fact than Judas,
\nthe son of perdition, our Lord\u2019s betrayer. He is the principle subject
\nof this paragraph. Judas was once numbered with the apostles of Christ.
\nHe once preached the gospel, performed mighty miracles, and carried the
\ntreasurer\u2019s bag for the first church ever to exist in this world. Yet,
\nJudas betrayed the Son of God. Afterward, though he repented, confessed
\nhis sin, and made restitution, he committed suicide, perishing under the
\nterror of God\u2019s justice and wrath. Today that man, who once was thought
\nto be such a great man, such an eminent believer, burns in hell,
\nsuffering the wrath of God! Let none who read these lines follow him.<\/p>\n
Judas shows us that a person may experience much, know much, and do much
\nthat appears to be genuinely spiritual and yet perish at last. I frankly
\ndo not know how to say what needs to be said here forcefully enough.
\nSalvation is an experience; but it is more than an experience. Salvation
\ninvolves knowledge; but it is more than knowledge. Salvation produces
\ngood works; but it is more than good works. In those matters, neither
\nyou nor I come close to Judas. He was not only an apostle, but in all
\nprobability the most highly esteemed of all the apostles. Until he
\nbetrayed the Master, he was never once, in so far as the Scriptures tell
\nus, reprimanded for anything. Judas seems to stand head and shoulders
\nabove the rest. Even after he had been distinctly identified as the
\nbetrayer by the Master (John 13:26-30), no one was suspicious of him.
\nYet, Judas was a lost man. He never knew God.<\/p>\n
Salvation<\/p>\n
Salvation is \u201cChrist in you\u201d (Colossians 1:27). Salvation is a living
\nunion of faith with the Son of God. Salvation is a heart work, a work of
\nGod in our hearts. Salvation is not something you can muster. It is not
\nsomething the preacher can bestow. It is not something parents can
\nbequeath. \u201cSalvation is of the Lord!\u201d Salvation is the utter surrender
\nof a sinner to the rule, dominion, and will of God by faith in Christ.
\nWhen a person comes to know Christ, the last Adam, he does willingly
\nwhat the first Adam refused to do. \u2014 He bows and surrenders to God as
\nGod, acknowledging his right to be God and thus to do what he will (Luke
\n14:25-33).<\/p>\n
Don Fortner.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d Rather Hear AND See<\/p>\n
A popular saying today is: \u201cI\u2019d rather SEE a sermon than HEAR one any
\nday.\u201d One local so-called church had on their sign: \u201cThe Christian Is
\nthe World\u2019s Bible.\u201d As clever as that may sound, it is not true. God\u2019s
\nWord is still The Bible to be read, heard and heeded by all. God\u2019s Word
\nis still His power, the only power He uses to save. I pity the poor
\nignorant person who says such things for they obviously have never heard
\nthe Word of God preached in power. Scripture says: \u201cThe Gospel is the
\npower of God unto salvation.\u201d Scripture says: \u201cFaith cometh by HEARING,\u201d
\nnot by seeing. The miracle of the new birth cometh by the \u201cWord of
\ntruth,\u201d not a vision, sign, fleshly experience, or observing the works
\nof a seemingly devout Christian. Scripture says, \u201cIn Whom ye also
\ntrusted AFTER THAT YE HEARD THE WORD OF TRUTH, THE GOSPEL…\u201d (Eph.
\n1:13). So then, the power of God, new birth, faith, life, joy, peace,
\nwisdom, yea all things, cometh by HEARING!<\/p>\n
However, I want to be like John the apostle on the isle of Patmos, I
\nwant to both HEAR AND SEE CHRIST! John said, \u201cI was in the Spirit on the
\nLord\u2019s day, and HEARD behind me a great voice\u201d… \u201cAnd I turned to SEE
\nthe voice that spake with me…and I SAW…\u201d (Rev. 1:10-12). Upon
\nhearing the Word (voice) of God with such power and glory…\u201cas of a
\ntrumpet,\u201d what did John then see? HE SAW CHRIST! He saw the Son of God
\ncrowned with glory and honour…in His majesty and splendor, and He
\nfeared and fell before Him! John saw the true Christ as He is, not the
\nimagined Jesus, who is standing outside in the rain wanting in… NO,
\nNO! John saw the Mighty Master, the Reigning Ruler, the Sovereign
\nSaviour, High and lifted up, higher than the angels, \u201cFar above all
\nprincipality and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is
\nnamed (even Satan), not only in this world, but also in that which is to
\ncome: and hath put all things under His feet\u201d (Eph. 1:21-22). Is it any
\nwonder that John fell at His feet as a dead man?!<\/p>\n
Scripture says, \u201cThe hearing ear and seeing eye is of the Lord\u201d and so
\nboth go together when God\u2019s Word is proclaimed with the power of the
\nHoly Ghost. Everyone who truly hears the Word of God in power will also
\n\u201csee Christ as the Son of God with power\u201d (Rom. 1:4). Though they do not
\nhear Him with the physical ear, nor see Him with the physical eye, yet
\nwith the ear of faith they hear His voice, and with the eye of faith
\nthey see His glorious Person and work. — Paul Mahan<\/p>\n
\u201che hath set his love upon Me..\u201d (Ps.91:14a). In the love of a divinely
\nilluminated believer there is:<\/p>\n
(1) The sweet property of gratitude. The soul has just and enlarged views<\/p>\n
of the salvation which he has obtained through the name of Jesus. The evils<\/p>\n
from which he is saved; the blessings in hand, and the blessings in
\nhope; the<\/p>\n
salvation in time, and the salvation through eternity, which can and
\nshall be<\/p>\n
enjoyed through the name of Jesus, excites feelings of the most ardent<\/p>\n
gratitude in the soul of the Christian.<\/p>\n
(2) Another delightful ingredient in this settled love is admiration.<\/p>\n
Everything in the scheme and execution of God’s redeeming plan is an<\/p>\n
object of admiration. All that the Lord Jesus is in himself; all that he has<\/p>\n
done; all that he does at the present; and all that he has promised to
\ndo for<\/p>\n
his people, deserves the warmest admiration. This holy feeling is<\/p>\n
experienced in the breast of the man to whom the Lord can say, He hath<\/p>\n
set his love upon me.<\/p>\n
(3) Another ingredient in the illuminated love of the believer is delightful<\/p>\n
complacency. Nothing can afford complacent delight in any excellency<\/p>\n
unless we are persuaded that we either do possess, or may possess it. I may<\/p>\n
go to the palace of the greatest monarch in the world, and be deeply struck<\/p>\n
with astonishment and admiration at the wonder beheld, but there will not<\/p>\n
be one thrill of complacency felt in my bosom at the view of the<\/p>\n
astonishing objects which crowd upon my vision. Why? Because I neither<\/p>\n
have, nor can have any interest in them; they are not mine, nor ever can be;<\/p>\n
therefore, I cannot take complacent delight in them. But the love of the<\/p>\n
Christian is a delightful love, (as Mr. Baxter called it,)because there
\nis in<\/p>\n
the Lord everything that is worthy of infinite and eternal admiration; and<\/p>\n
then there is the thought which produces a thrill of pleasure, \u2014whatever I<\/p>\n
admire I can, in some measure, possess. The illuminated eye of God’s<\/p>\n
favourite sees everything in the Lord to supply his necessities; everything<\/p>\n
to satisfy his desires, all his own; which makes the soul delight itself
\nin the<\/p>\n
Lord, and he rests in his love. Therefore, the Lord says of the object
\nof his<\/p>\n
lovingkindness, “He hath set his love upon me” \u2014he hath renounced sin as<\/p>\n
the greatest abomination; he hath taken off the heart from all idolatrous<\/p>\n
attachment to the creature, and placed it fixedly and supremely upon
\nGod. (William Dawson 1773-1841).<\/p>\n
\u201cVain is the help of man\u201d. Ps. 60:11b<\/p>\n
All men derive \u201ctheir\u201d truth from one of three sources: conscience,
\ntradition, or scripture. Another way to say the same thing is that every
\nperson either looks to themselves, or they look to others, or they look
\nto God for truth. Man, in his pride does not know that his conscience is
\nboth fallible and limited in its ability to know the truth. Yet, he
\ncontinues trusting himself for life, both temporal and eternal. Those
\nwho are unsure of themselves lean on the opinions of others. They trust
\nthe traditions of men established in social mores or religious
\nconfessions and creed for their truth. Many in this group will say \u201csola
\nscriptura\u201d (only scripture) and then turn around and test the scriptures
\nby their man-made, handed down traditions.<\/p>\n
Then, there are those who have no place else to go other than the Word
\nof God. By God\u2019s grace they have been made to believe every word. By
\nGod\u2019s grace they have been brought to see Christ, the Living Word, on
\nevery page of His written Word. By God\u2019s grace they have come to
\nbelieve, \u201cvain is the help of man\u201d.<\/p>\n
~Greg<\/p>\n
God\u2019s Thoughts<\/p>\n
\u201cHow precious are Thy thoughts unto me, O God.\u201d<\/p>\n
God never had a new thought. His thoughts are eternal. Being infinite,
\nHe has all of His thoughts before Him at all times. There has never been
\na time when His children were not in His conscious thoughts – thoughts
\nof love, joy, peace, complacency, and satisfaction. Thoughts that never
\nhad a beginning and thoughts that will never end. And God\u2019s thoughts are
\nimmutable. They never change. He said, \u201cI know the thoughts I think
\ntoward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give
\nyou an expected end.\u201d And what is that end? Perfect conformity to the
\nimage of Jesus Christ. \u201cFor Whom He did foreknow, He also did
\npredestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be
\nthe first born among many brethren.\u201d Truly, \u201cHow precious are also Thy
\nthoughts unto me, O God. If I count them they are more than the number
\nof the sand: When I awake I am still with thee.\u201d ~Todd Nibert<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cThen Judas\u201d Matthew 27:1-10 As we read the Bible, we cannot help noticing that there are numerous examples of men and women who appeared to fear God and walk with him, who in time forsook him altogether and perished under his wrath. Beacons There are multitudes in hell today who were once considered saints of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-editions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5145"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5146,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5145\/revisions\/5146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}