old man joe
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 Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 4:09 pm Post subject: Some thoughts on Judas Iscariot... "It would have been good |
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" The Son of Man [is to] go, just as it is written of Him; but woe
to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been
good for that man if he had not been born." Mt. 26:24 ( NASB )
here we have a called one into the inner most circle of fellowship
of the Eternal Son of God, having been given the power to heal the
sick and to raise the dead; to perform miracles and even preach the
gospel of grace, ( Mt. 4:10 ff ) yet this one and his kind was
beforehand selected by God to be the betrayer's of their own Messiah.
Acts 2:22,23.
the name Judas is one of reproach to this day just as the literal
snake became since the Garden of Eden. his name Iscariot is variably
interpreted by expositors to be taken from his role of being the
carrier of the money box of donations to the Messiah and the twelve,
from which he used to pilfer ( Jn. 12:4-6; ) from his homeland and
even from his own suicide by hanging whereas his bowels burst out...
" ascara or iscara " ... is a Hebrew word for ' strangling and for a
disease of the intestines; ' it is important to note that accusers of
the brethren like to point out what they call a discrepancy in the
Bible concerning Judas' suicide... that in one place the Word of God
records Judas as hanging himself while in another place it is recorded
that he fell headlong and his bowels burst out. compare Mt. 27:5
with Acts 1:18.
both statements are true and require some sanctified investigation
into the Holy Scriptures...
Judas obviously knew that " he who is hanged is accursed of God "
( Deut. 21:23 ) and that the bowels bursting out of a man is
associated with the wrath of God and reward of playing the harlot
after other gods as in 2 Ch. 21:12-19... he put a rope around his own
neck and leaped from the branch so as to end his feeling of guilt
quickly... his final reward came from God with the sudden tightening
of the rope; the momentum being enough to accomplish this end.
if any person written of in Holy Scripture can so resemble the
coming Anti-Christ, it would have to be Judas Iscariot, in whom was
embodied all the fullness of Satan. Jn. 13:26,27.
but the question remains... how is it that Judas was called to be
an apostle though he was used of God to fulfill God's plan of
redemption by way of his betrayal of Christ, so much so that " it
would have been good for that man if he had not been born " ?
while it is written that " many are called but few are chosen "
( Mt. 21:1-14 ) the fact is, that Judas never was elect in the
salvational sense of the word. ( Jn. 6:70,71 ) he, along with the
Pharisees, Sadducees and the roaring crowds and Satan, requiring the
death of Jesus from Pilate, were all determined beforehand to be the
instruments of accomplishing the Divine Plan of Redemption since
before time began. Acts. 2:22,23.
God did not make any of these kill Jesus, He simply put the Light
into darkness and darkness did what their sin nature was accustom to
doing as we read in Jn. 3:19... from before the beginning of time the
Almighty, to show men and angels the magnitude of His Almightiness,
allowed Satan to fall and man to fall, never intending to prevent it,
so that it would be shown for all eternity that the Lord God is
Supreme Being, Master over all, that " none can stay His hand " nor
devise a plan in which to overthrow His absolute rule as we read in
Romans chapter 9.
lastly, when Jesus said on the cross " "Father, forgive them; for
they do not know what they are doing." ( Lk. 23:34 ) He wasn't asking
forgiveness for those who killed him... but for the elect alone,
otherwise Judas Iscariot would be included in that number of which it
is said, " It would have been good for that man if he had not been
born. " Holy Scripture is not broken nor can be. Jn. 10:35 |
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Randy ®
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 2:15 am Post subject: Why Christ Died For All Men, Not Just The Elect |
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We are saved through faith in Christ's death and resurrection,
not through faith in election or foreknowledge. Only a gospel
which admits Christ died for every man is capable of rendering
objective faith in Christ's death and resurrection, since
otherwise you'd have to first assume you're elect, for no
reason whatsoever, before you could then know that Christ died
for you.
Thus, the Calvinist, while correctly railing against false
gospels that include human will or decision, has to first
decide that God elected him, for no reason whatsoever, before
He can then claim that Christ died for him. By trying to
limit the value of Christ's atonement to only the elect,
Calvinists reveal their own false gospel of faith in election.
Universal atonement, however, is not to be confused with
universal salvation. Since faith is the method by which God
applies the value of Christ's atonement to the account of the
elect, the lost perish not because Christ's atonement failed
to pay for their sins (including the sin of unbelief), but
because God never applied the blood to the doorpost of their
soul, through faith.
I agree God is sovereign in electing sinners to salvation.
Romans 9 makes it clear that only the elect will be saved, not
everyone, and that this is done according to God's sovereign
purposes in election. Universal atonement, however, does not
necessitate universal salvation. The limited atonement theory
is a lie from faulty logic, not exegesis. Unfortunately, your
understanding of "world" doesn't seem to take John 12 into
consideration:
47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him
not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one
that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall
judge him in the last day.
Here, Christ says the world He came to save, includes those
who reject Him and His words. Christ will not judge these
people, because He came to save them. The word He spoke to
them, however, will judge them, because they rejected the
offer of salvation. Thus, the world Christ came to save, and
to whom He offered salvation, includes those who ultimately
reject Him.
You can't be guilty of rejecting Christ and His words of
salvation, if He was not offering you salvation, and He
couldn't offer you salvation, if He were not an atonement for
your sins. The world Christ came to save includes those who
reject Him and His words of salvation.
The Bible makes clear, in no uncertain terms, that Christ died
for all men, tasted death for every man, is the Savior of all
men, specially them that believe, is the propitiation not only
for our own sins, but also for the sins of the whole world,
and even bought the false teachers who deny Him as Lord.
Further, John 12 clearly identifies the "world" Christ came to
save as including those who ultimately reject Him. That's why
they are judged not by Christ, but by the gospel He brought
them.
The objection that if Christ died for all men, then all men
must be saved, is based on erroneous logic, not exegesis. Fact
is, the blood must be applied to the doorpost, before it
became effective, and the angel of death passed over, even
among those who were elect. Faith is the method by which God
puts the benefits of atonement to an individual's account, and
God only gives faith to the elect. The lost, therefore,
perish not because no atonement was made for them, but because
the blood was never applied to the doorposts of their souls
through faith.
You cannot place a limit on the value of Christ's death. As
God, He is infinite, and as man, He died. Death is the
penalty, and Christ died. Therefore, the penalty for sin has
been paid. The idea that you could fix a finite limit on the
value of Christ's death is ridiculous, and implies that sin
itself, and God Himself, is finite.
Further, the limited atonement theory may actually be a false,
damnable heresy. Fact is, we are saved by faith in Christ's
atonement, not faith in election. You cannot have objective
faith in Christ's death as a payment for your sin, if you
believe His death only paid the price for the elect.
Otherwise, you are no longer trusting in the gospel that
Christ died for your sins, and that God raised Him from the
dead, but trusting in the idea that somehow you were one of
the elect.
Paul didn't say Christ died for the elect, of whom He was
chief, but for sinners. All men are sinners, and Christ died
for all men. The benefits of this atonement, however, are
only applied to the souls of those who are elect. Thus the
universal atonement of Christ does not necessitate universal
salvation.
--
Christ died for our sins, and God raised Him from the dead.
Rely on this work alone to escape hell and receive eternal
life (Jn. 3:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-3; Eph. 2:8-10; 2 Thess. 1:8-9).
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself
up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every
thought to make it obedient to Christ. †2 Corinthians 10:5 |
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