Was Judas treated unfairly?

Was Judas treated unfairly?

There are various and differing opinions within the field of theology. Every Christian and Unbeliever has to do theology. It is inescapable. Thinking that theology is only for those in the seminary is not clear headed thinking. Theology is done by every soul; the difference is whether it is done well or not.  The theology of a church is most readily heard from its pulpit and seen in the lives of the members. Preaching biblically means saying what the Bible says – "Thus sayeth the Lord." One of the most difficult cases to work through theologically is that of Judas. In John 17 when the Lord is praying He says "While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled." Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane says, "Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?" Upon taking the entire biblical record as related to Judas the student of the Bible comes to a place of true difficulty. David under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit condemns Judas before he is born, and yet when Judas betrays Christ with a kiss it is Judas who freely chooses to do so. Is it consistent or fair for Judas to be condemned prior to drawing his first breath? It appears as though that's exactly the case. The inconsistency is not with God, but with us. There are strange theological contortions that many do here when faced with Judas. Some would say Judas is unique. Others would say God looked through time and saw the betrayal of Jesus and simply reported it. The problem with these ideas is that they are not supported biblically. The condition of Judas is much like that of every man in that he is free to choose, while at the same time beneath the sovereignty of God. Men in their fallen estate are free to choose right and wrong and are judged according to their choices. The difficulty comes when we try to so compartmentalize our thought process and any areas of overlap are trimmed away. Can a man be guilty of sin, have that sin proclaimed and judged before he even begins his existence and still be operating freely? The answer is yes. It seems inconsistent when we first think about it. The reason for this apparent inconsistency rest within our theology, and not with the bible or with God. The bible does not portray the human soul as diminished if it rest beneath the sovereign rule of God.  Judas as is the case for all men is free in as much as a person in their fallen estate is free. Libertarian free will is something much of the church dogmatically fights for and will brand someone not holding to it with every low label that they can. The problem is that libertarian free will is a matter of philosophy rather than theology. Biblically speaking I do not believe it exists. Free will exists, just not libertarian free will. Judas was perfectly free to choose the course of his life, including his betrayal of Christ, while at the same time God had authoritatively proclaimed how it would take place. The life of the creature always falls beneath the rule of the Creator. Was Judas treated unfairly? When our minds are more philosophical than biblical, we proclaim this to be so. When we are willing to do the work of a theologian, we come to an understanding of humanity as free, but fallen. Our dependence upon God is in all things, including salvation. Our problem begins when we don't take the advice of Paul, "For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned." We sometimes forget we are the creatures of God and fall beneath his authority. We wish for ourselves things that we have never been given. Those in the church are not somehow superior to those outside it in any way which caused our salvation. Our greatest distinction is "For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." The conclusion is this, all men are free creatures who exist in a fallen estate and will choose based upon being dead in sins and trespasses, unless they are made alive in Christ. Some of our biggest problems theologically speaking occur when our philosophy gets in front of our theology and our theology ahead of the scriptures. Finally, we must be able to find contentment with being biblical even when it makes us uncomfortable. Trying to box everything up in a nice neat way sounds admirable, but in theology sometimes it causes problems. Better messy in the ordering of our thoughts and neat in our obedience to Christ. It is not inconsistent to say I acted freely, while God's sovereignty ruled over me.

Rick Lauterbach

Senior Pastor of Sovereign Grace Baptist Church