JUDAS THE ELECT

 JUDAS THE ELECT (CHOSEN)

God can choose and use you like His servant to underline the truth that He is willing to receive whoever turns to Him. When it comes to those who will be saved, however, He is no respecter of persons. 

"Jesus answered them, 'Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.' He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him." (John 6:70‭-‬71 ESV)

Being chosen therefore doesn't guarantee salvation, so no one should be swollen-headed and complacent, and all must persevere to the end to be saved. 

The story of Judas Iscariot shows the need to guard yourself from inordinate indulgence, especially when you find yourself being used of God. God is free to work through any of His creatures to achieve His purposes. That doesn't mean that anyone God ever works through is secure.

After all, after the fall, there was no perfect or sinless person God could call and use to declare His work of salvation. He first chose people in their imperfection as His messengers, but He also required that they turned away from sins and walk blamelessly with Him to the end in order to be saved. That is the message they carry, and they are not exempt from its requirements.

He called imperfect Abram before He told Him to walk in perfection before Him (Genesis 17:1). In the same way, even all the Apostles Jesus Himself chose and appointed as His messengers NEEDED to themselves walk as He did. One of them, John writes:

"The one who says 'I have come to know God' and yet does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in such a person. ... The one who says he resides in God ought himself to walk just as Jesus walked." (1 John 2:4‭, ‬6 NET)

The Israelites recognized themselves as the ELECT OF GOD, and some took that to mean they therefore did not need to walk blamelessly in order to be saved (Isaiah 45:4). John the Baptist directly tore that worldview into shreds. He told them:

"Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance, and don’t begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:8‭-‬9 NET)

Members of the church also call themselves THE ELECT, and rightly so, for we are chosen to bear the Good news of salvation to the world. (1 Thessalonians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:1). Being part of the church, however, by no means exempts one from the requirement of walking blamelessly  before God to the end in order to be saved. Jesus said:

"and because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold. But the person who endures to the end will be saved."(Matthew 24:12‭-‬13 NET)

If there ever was one who typifies love growing cold, Judas fits the description.

#Luke2447 #BibleBriefs