"And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place" (Acts 1:24-25, italics mine).
"For he (Judas Iscariot) was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry" (Acts 1:17).
Well, in the mouth of two or three witnesses everything is established.
We've already had two blogs concerning Judas: "Judas Rising: Indignation and Insurrection" (February 27, 2009), followed by "Judas Rising, The Sequel: Messiah in One Hand, Mammon in the Other" (April 8, 2009). I thought we were finished with the Judas thing. Guess what? I was so wrong. Judas resurfaced at the end of Pastor Sam's sermon this past Sunday, and there is no doubt that God is warning us!
You can't see me while I'm typing this, but there are occasions when I just have to stop and cover my mouth with my hand because of the shocking implications of revealed Scripture. This Judas Iscariot, this betrayer, is described by Peter. Peter, what's that you say?
Peter said that Judas was an apostle. Peter said that Judas had a ministry.
Judas, you healer, you preacher, you chief financial officer! Judas, you with the curious gift-mix that would have made you the darling of the postmodern church age! Judas, you thief and conspirator! You who operated in the gifts God gave you, then turned around to look for opportunity to betray the one and only Beloved Son!
Friends, let's heed this warning: a man who was a full participant in the work of Christ lost his place in the Kingdom of God because of his own desire for power and position.
God help us all to live for Him only, so that we might avoid falling into error.
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