The Apostle Judas Iscariot:
A problem for eternal security (perseverance of the saints) proponents!
Dan Corner
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The most exhaustive refutation
to the teaching of eternal
security ever written.
801 shocking pages.
Eternal security proponents face many difficult passages of
Scripture, that is, difficult for them because they clearly contradict their treasured and beloved
doctrine. The contradictions from Scripture concerning their teaching exist either by specific
example or simple declaration pertaining to this subject.
Regarding examples that contradict eternal security, perhaps the Apostle Judas Iscariot is
most difficult for them. It seems that the facts revolving around this apostle must be distorted,
twisted, read into and/or overlooked to maintain their erroneous view of the believer's security.
Even illogical statements and Scripturally unsubstantiated statements surface to reconcile events
in his life to eternal security!
It is obvious that the Apostle Judas Iscariot went to Hell after betraying Jesus and
committing suicide: "Woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if
he had not been born" (Mark 14:21). Because of this fact, the eternal security proponents are left
with no alternative but to dogmatically insist that Judas was never really saved to begin with or
forfeit their belief in eternal security, something which few of them seem to be willing to do.
John MacArthur, Jr. is no exception to this! Though he has many fine teaching cassettes
and books available, when it comes to the subject of eternal security, even when it is not directly
the issue, he becomes Scripturally unsound and illogical, like Charles Stanley and other
perpetuators of this teaching.
The following are excerpts from MacArthur's book, The Gospel According To Jesus
(1989) regarding Judas from his eternal security perspective:
In his first aforementioned paragraph, MacArthur mentions twice that Judas "followed the
Lord"! In the latter of these two, he elaborates by saying of Judas, "He had left everything to
follow the Lord." Yet, later in this same article, he states, "Judas illustrates false discipleship"
(p.104)! This is illogical! A false disciple cannot be one who has "left everything to follow the
Lord"! According to Jesus, one must "give up everything he has" or he can't be His disciple (Lk.
14:33)! Certainly, Jesus wasn't speaking of false discipleship here.
Furthermore, as you can see, MacArthur has Judas "join[ing] Christ's band," as if it
already existed before he came on the scene! In contrast, the Biblical account states the following:
Please note: the first time we hear of Judas Iscariot, we are informed that he already was a
"disciple." Furthermore, he was "called" and "chosen" by Christ Himself to be an "apostle" at the
same time as the other twelve. See also Jn. 6:70. Judas did NOT just "join" Christ's band which
already existed, as this eternal security teacher writes, for he was already part of that group!
MacArthur also erroneously has the Twelve, that is, minus Judas Iscariot, "growing into
apostles" instead of instantly being made "apostles" by Christ Himself! Judas too was of this
group "chosen" over the other disciples that were present to be the Lord's apostle! This fact about
instant apostleship is also shown elsewhere in Scripture and confirmed by the origin of Paul's
apostleship (Rom. 1:1). One NEVER "grow[s]" into an apostle, as MacArthur teaches!
Going back to the Scripture passage, please note that Judas "became" a traitor (Lk. 6:16).
The word "became" for Judas suggests a change for the worse that occurred sometime after he
was chosen as a disciple by Christ to be His apostle, or "special messenger," as that word means.
In other words, Judas went from "disciple" to "apostle" to "traitor." Or we might say he was once
a "disciple" of the Lord's elevated to apostle, who later "became a traitor," as Scripture words it.
Either way, the spiritual condition of this apostle regressed to the place where he betrayed Christ,
committed suicide (self-murder) and then went to Hell! What an awesome thing to contemplate!
Also, remember this about Judas: he was sent forth to preach, heal the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse those having leprosy and to drive out demons (Matt. 10:6-8)! Mk. 3:14,15 state that the
Twelve, including Judas, were given spiritual authority by Jesus to drive out demons! For a
person to indirectly say that Judas was never saved is to say that Jesus chose Judas, who was
unholy, to be his holy representative! [Please see our article, "He was never really saved to begin with."]
Moreover, Jesus quotes from Ps. 41 and attributes it to Judas in Jn. 13:18b. That full verse
from Ps. 41 is: "Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up
his heel against me," v.9. Please note that Judas was once Jesus' "close friend whom I [Jesus]
trusted"! Since Jesus "knew what was in a man" (Jn. 2:25), that is, in his heart, how then could
Jesus trust Judas in the early days of their companionship if Judas was never saved? Also, Ps. 41:9
states that Judas was Jesus' "close friend" at that same time. Could that be possible if he was never
saved?
MacArthur also made the statement, "his faith was not real" in reference to Judas based on
Jn. 13:10,11 where we read, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole
body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you. For he knew who was going to
betray him and that was why he said not every one was clean." MacArthur "reads into" those
verses as he wears his eternal security glasses and sees that Judas was not "clean" in contrast to
the other disciples. But does this say that Judas was never "clean"? It merely says, at that point in
time, Judas wasn't "clean" then! Remember, he was a disciple in the beginning, chosen to be an
apostle, so he must have been "clean" at the beginning! Hence, MacArthur tries to make Jn.
13:10,11 say that Judas didn't have "real" faith -- without a solid Scriptural basis!
Other eternal security proponents say Judas was called a "devil" (Jn. 6:70), a "thief" (Jn.
12:6), and "Satan entered into him" (Jn. 13:27), how then could he have been saved? Such
overlook the truth that one's spiritual condition can CHANGE from righteous to evil as
exemplified with Demas, the Prodigal Son and Solomon.
Some have also confused the truth stated in Jn. 6:64 to mean Judas never believed even
from the beginning. However, it doesn't say that at all! The verses read, "'Yet there are some of
you who do not believe.' For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them (plural) did not
believe and who (singular) would betray him." Notice there are TWO groups referred to here.
This is evident in the Greek. One is plural in tense that didn't believe from the beginning and the
other is singular in tense referring to Judas who would betray him! The Wuest translation renders
Jn. 6:64 as follows: "But there are some of you who are not believing. For Jesus knew from the
beginning who THEY WERE who were not believing, and who the ONE WAS who was
betraying him." (For other eternal security arguments about Judas and their refutations, please
consult pages 32-34 in my first book, The Believer's Security: Conditional or Unconditional?) or see our what's new page for information on my new 801 page book entitled, The Believer's Conditional Security.
Eternal security proponents are obviously so accustomed to hearing illogical
argumentation such as these to support their doctrine, they seem to be desensitized as to how
absurd it is to be taught that one of the original Twelve apostles, "chosen" by Christ Himself, was
never really saved, as must be asserted! If not, eternal security would be logically refuted! This
apparent absurdity might be why the teachers of such almost never refer to Judas by his church
title -- "Apostle," the highest office in the New Testament church (1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 4:11)! Can
you remember the last time you heard an eternal security teacher refer to the Lord's betrayer as
"the Apostle Judas" or "the Apostle Judas Iscariot" who became a traitor?
Again, to maintain a belief in their doctrine, the eternal security proponents shockingly
believe the Apostle Judas Iscariot was never saved! Wow!
How sobering it should be for all to ponder what happened to the Apostle Judas in the
New Testament and Solomon, the builder of the Temple, in the Old Testament, that is, how their
righteous and pure hearts became evil and corrupted over the course of time. This intense spiritual
warfare, which we are now fighting, has destroyed many that were saved at one time, according
to Scripture.
Reader, be on your guard against the devil's various efforts to plunge even YOU into ruin
and destruction. Paul wrote:
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so
that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God
so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have
done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with
the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes
from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the FLAMING ARROWS OF THE EVIL ONE. Take the helmet of salvation and
the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the spirit on all occasions with all
kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the
saints" (Eph. 6:10-18).
To adopt the eternal security understanding that the Apostle Judas was never saved is to
do away with his fall from such a high spiritual position, which is also a prime indicator of our
intense, spiritual warfare and its casualties! Our spiritual war will never end for us, that is, until we
die physically or get caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Considering this, Jesus both advises
and at the same time declares the sad future for many who know Heaven is a reality, "Be
endeavoring with a strenuous zeal to enter through the narrow door, because many, I am
saying to you, will seek to enter and will NOT be able" (Lk. 13:24, Wuest)."Judas is a prime example of a professing believer who fell into absolute apostasy. For
three years he followed the Lord with the other disciples. He appeared to be one of them.
Presumably he thought of himself as a believer, at least at the outset. It is doubtful that he
joined Christ's band with the intention of turning against him. Somewhere along the line
he became greedy, but that could hardly have been his motive in the beginning; Jesus and
the disciples never had anything of material value (Matthew 8:20). Apparently Judas
initially shared the hope of Christ's kingdom, and he likely believed that Jesus was the
Messiah. After all, he also had left everything to follow the Lord. In modern
terminology, he had 'accepted' Jesus ...."
"Yet, while the others were growing into apostles, Judas was quietly becoming a
vile, calculating tool of Satan. Whatever his character seemed to be at the beginning, his
faith was not real (John 13:10-11). He was unregenerated, and his heart gradually
hardened so that he became the treacherous man who sold the Savior for a fistful of coins.
In the end, he was so prepared to do Satan's bidding that the devil himself possessed Judas
(John 13:27)" (p.99, emphasis ours).
"When morning came, he called HIS DISCIPLES to him and chose twelve of them
whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who
was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor"
(Lk. 6:13-16).
The true plan of salvation is repentance towards God and faith in Christ Jesus (Acts 20:21). We prove our repentance by our deeds (Acts 26:20). The Lord Jesus taught the road to life is "hard" and only a "few" will find it (Mt. 7:13,14, NKJV). Many get saved, but afterwards fall away (Lk. 8:13; Jn. 6:66; 1 Tim. 1:19; etc.). In other words, after initial salvation we must endure to the "end" to enter the kingdom of God and escape the lake of fire (Mt. 10:22; Heb. 3:14; Rev. 2:10,11). Eternal life comes to the repentant the moment such believe on Jesus for salvation (Jn. 3:16; 6:47; 1 Jn. 5:12,13), but there is another important aspect of eternal life that many are totally unware of in our day because of the false teaching of eternal security. According to true grace teaching, eternal life is also a HOPE (Titus 3:7), yet to be REAPED (Gal. 6:8,9) in the AGE TO COME (Mk. 10:30) for only the ones who PERSIST IN DOING GOOD (Rom. 2:7) and DO NOT GROW WEARY AND GIVE UP (Gal. 6:9).
If a saved person sows to please his sinful nature he'll die spiritually (Rom. 8:13; Gal. 6:8,9). The prodigal is a clear example of this (Lk. 15:24,32). The end result of sin is spiritual death, so DO NOT BE DECEIVED (James 1:14-16). For more information regarding the believer's security, see our what's new page. Our 801 page book, The Believer's Conditional Security, is the most exhaustive and comprehensive refutation to eternal security ever written. It will not be refuted!
Because of the teaching of once saved always saved, grace has been taught as a license for immorality for so long, and without challenge, that when Scripture is quoted, such as 1 Cor. 6:9,10 or Rev. 21:8, it is disregarded, and the giver of God's Word is falsely accused of teaching legalism, bondage, works, etc. This reflects how truly dark are the days in which we live! The ACID TEST question to know if a ministry or local congregation is teaching a license for immorality as condemned by Jude 3,4 is: Does true grace allow the sexually immoral in heaven? If their answer is "YES," avoid it like the AIDS virus! To sit under this teaching influence could mean that your soul and the souls of your loved ones will be eternally damned as a result. To support and promote such a ministry and teaching is to share in its wicked work (2 Jn. 9-11). This includes your financial donations! Flee from such a ministry or congregation and encourage others to do the same before it's eternally too late.
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