The Judas Iscariot Argument for and Against the Doctrine Eternal Security
The subject of eternal security has had several huge debates. Both proponents and opponents of eternal security use Judas Iscariot to defend their claims. Do you remember Judas Iscariot? I remembered there was even an argument that some assume he was supposed to be saved. When I was still a newbie Christian - I thought Judas Iscariot himself couldn't be saved even if salvation was by grace. Why would a true follower of Christ betray his Master? Then I thought it was possible to do so. I was left in the sea of confusion concerning Judas Iscariot. Then I simply assumed that he was a fake believer to start with. I couldn't even buy the idea that you can get saved and sin all you want because the Bible shows that those saved by grace have changed lives.
The conditional security crowd would like to use Judas Iscariot as their example. For example, Dan Corner of Evangelical Outreach uses Judas Iscariot to justify the former's defense of conditional security. Pentecostals tend to use Judas Iscariot as another example that you could lose your salvation. They say that Judas Iscariot was once saved then he voluntarily gave up his personal relationship with Jesus. Some Pentecostals don't teach that you lose your salvation every time you sin. However, they teach that you can lose your salvation by your own free will. This is really a touchy subject that can a truly saved person renounce their faith?
I'd like to talk at the point of eternal security and not the distorted view of Antinomianism. The eternal security crowd would use Judas Iscariot as an example that you can't lose your salvation. The reasoning behind them is that there are Scriptural proofs that Judas Iscariot wasn't saved. John 12:5-6 calls him an unrepentant thief. Luke 6:16 labels him as a traitor to start with. John 6:70 (which is just a few verses after John 6:66) reveals that one of the disciples is a devil - not that he will become a devil. Jesus was already hinting that one of the disciples was not truly saved. John 17:12 further verifies that Judas Iscariot wasn't saved when Jesus exclaimed that none of them is lost but the son of perdition. I don't see those as any proofs of being saved. So why did I once believe that you can renounce your faith in Jesus while believing that Judas Iscariot and so and so were fake Christians?
I remembered reading Arthur W. Pink's book "Eternal Security" and John MacArthur's "The Gospel According to Jesus". They highlighted the reality of Judas Iscariot as a false disciple. The marks of Judas Iscariot were not of a regenerate man. Judas Iscariot was more concerned about the material than the physical. Any true disciple of Jesus as tempted as they are - would never sell away Jesus. Peter may have denied He was a follower of Jesus but he was not caught selling Jesus. He was, in fact, trying to prove his loyalty but failed.
Meanwhile, a distorted view also comes when Antinomians want to promote that a Christian can be saved but never change. This is one view that also makes me sick because how can a man as degenerate as Judas Iscariot even be considered a person saved by grace? True, salvation is by grace through faith but good works follow. Ephesians 2:10 says the saved by grace are equipped unto good works. Titus 2:11-14 says God's grace teaches good works. 1 Corinthians 6:11 says that the saved are redeemed from a lifestyle of sin. Saying that Judas Iscariot was saved is absurdly stupid for those reasons. Besides, didn't John write in 1 John 2:19 about the real condition of apostates that they aren't truly saved?
Judas Iscariot himself would fit more to prove that the perseverance of the saints is real. The doctrine itself reveals true converts from the false ones. Notice also that Jesus frequently chastised Peter but not Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot was simply allowed to do what he wanted while Peter was warned ahead of the backsliding. Jesus' actions towards Peter showed who was truly saved. Judas Iscariot was probably following Jesus for whatever selfish gains considering he stole from the pocket. Perhaps, he had a screwed view of the Messiah. Perhaps, Judas Iscariot expected a revolution against the Romans and never got it. All those selfish expectations and actions prove once and for all that Judas Iscariot was not even converted. He was just a sit-in. No true Christian by the grace of God would ever be in the footprints of such a treacherous man. They may have their sin but it never pleases them. They are direct subjects to God's chastising (even if God must use unbelievers to do so), unlike Judas Iscariot who was simply allowed to do what he had to do to fulfill prophecy.
See also:
The conditional security crowd would like to use Judas Iscariot as their example. For example, Dan Corner of Evangelical Outreach uses Judas Iscariot to justify the former's defense of conditional security. Pentecostals tend to use Judas Iscariot as another example that you could lose your salvation. They say that Judas Iscariot was once saved then he voluntarily gave up his personal relationship with Jesus. Some Pentecostals don't teach that you lose your salvation every time you sin. However, they teach that you can lose your salvation by your own free will. This is really a touchy subject that can a truly saved person renounce their faith?
I'd like to talk at the point of eternal security and not the distorted view of Antinomianism. The eternal security crowd would use Judas Iscariot as an example that you can't lose your salvation. The reasoning behind them is that there are Scriptural proofs that Judas Iscariot wasn't saved. John 12:5-6 calls him an unrepentant thief. Luke 6:16 labels him as a traitor to start with. John 6:70 (which is just a few verses after John 6:66) reveals that one of the disciples is a devil - not that he will become a devil. Jesus was already hinting that one of the disciples was not truly saved. John 17:12 further verifies that Judas Iscariot wasn't saved when Jesus exclaimed that none of them is lost but the son of perdition. I don't see those as any proofs of being saved. So why did I once believe that you can renounce your faith in Jesus while believing that Judas Iscariot and so and so were fake Christians?
I remembered reading Arthur W. Pink's book "Eternal Security" and John MacArthur's "The Gospel According to Jesus". They highlighted the reality of Judas Iscariot as a false disciple. The marks of Judas Iscariot were not of a regenerate man. Judas Iscariot was more concerned about the material than the physical. Any true disciple of Jesus as tempted as they are - would never sell away Jesus. Peter may have denied He was a follower of Jesus but he was not caught selling Jesus. He was, in fact, trying to prove his loyalty but failed.
Meanwhile, a distorted view also comes when Antinomians want to promote that a Christian can be saved but never change. This is one view that also makes me sick because how can a man as degenerate as Judas Iscariot even be considered a person saved by grace? True, salvation is by grace through faith but good works follow. Ephesians 2:10 says the saved by grace are equipped unto good works. Titus 2:11-14 says God's grace teaches good works. 1 Corinthians 6:11 says that the saved are redeemed from a lifestyle of sin. Saying that Judas Iscariot was saved is absurdly stupid for those reasons. Besides, didn't John write in 1 John 2:19 about the real condition of apostates that they aren't truly saved?
Judas Iscariot himself would fit more to prove that the perseverance of the saints is real. The doctrine itself reveals true converts from the false ones. Notice also that Jesus frequently chastised Peter but not Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot was simply allowed to do what he wanted while Peter was warned ahead of the backsliding. Jesus' actions towards Peter showed who was truly saved. Judas Iscariot was probably following Jesus for whatever selfish gains considering he stole from the pocket. Perhaps, he had a screwed view of the Messiah. Perhaps, Judas Iscariot expected a revolution against the Romans and never got it. All those selfish expectations and actions prove once and for all that Judas Iscariot was not even converted. He was just a sit-in. No true Christian by the grace of God would ever be in the footprints of such a treacherous man. They may have their sin but it never pleases them. They are direct subjects to God's chastising (even if God must use unbelievers to do so), unlike Judas Iscariot who was simply allowed to do what he had to do to fulfill prophecy.
See also: