The Danger in Willful Sin, Part 2

If you have your Bible, Hebrews chapter 10, verses 26 and 27 this morning, as we continue to look at the fifth warning in the book of Hebrews, dealing with the danger of willful sin. It's really defined as apostasy. It's a very crucial topic for all of us to study, especially in today's day and age—in the day and age of easy believism, in the day and age where you find people who make a profession of faith, who say they have received Christ, who say they believe in Christ, yet they live in constant sin. They live in rebellion against God.

And some would say, well, because they one day believed and one time received or one time accepted Jesus, they must be saved no matter how they live their lives.

In fact, one author said it this way: "It is possible, even probable, that when a believer out of fellowship falls for a certain type of philosophy, if he is a logical thinker, he will become an unbelieving believer. Yet believers who become agnostics are still saved. They are still born again. You can even become an atheist. But if you once accepted Christ as Savior, you cannot lose your salvation even though you deny God."

My friends, that is a prominent topic of discussion in modern evangelicalism today—that somehow you can believe, profess, accept, receive Jesus, and become an unbeliever, but be a believing unbeliever. What does that mean? But think about that. It happens so often. Can you really deny the Lord and be a believer?

Jesus said, "If you confess me before men, I will confess you before my Father. In other words, if you say the same thing about me before everybody you come in contact with, I will confess you before my Father. But if you deny me before men, I will deny you before my Father who is in heaven."

In fact, listen to this. Turn with me in your Bible to 2 Timothy chapter 2. Paul, in 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and the book of Titus, commonly known as the pastoral epistles, gives five trustworthy statements. They're called trustworthy statements because they're axiomatic. In other words, everybody in the early church believed them. They understood them. They would adhere to them. In 2 Timothy chapter 2, listen to what Paul says.

He says in verse 11, "It is a trustworthy statement: If we died with him, we will also live with him." Now stop right there. We understand that, right? Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me." I've died to self. Luke 9:23: "If any man come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." So, Paul makes it very clear that the early church understood that if we died with him, we shall also live with him.

And then it says this: "If we endure, we will also reign with him." He who endures to the end, that one will be saved. Matthew chapter 24. He who endures to the end, they will reign with him.

Now he says this: "If we deny him, he also will deny us." That's Matthew 10:33—that if you deny me before men, I will deny you before my Father who is in heaven.

Now, listen carefully. It says, "If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself." And the majority of people will tell you: if you're faithless, that's okay because God is faithful, and you'll be all right. That's not what it's saying. It's saying if you are faithless, our Lord is faithful to deny you. He's faithful to his word.

They're parallel statements. If we died, if we endure, we will live and reign. But if we deny him and are faithless, he will deny us because he is faithful to keep his word, and that word is: "If you deny me, I will deny you before my Father who is in heaven."

See, the early church was raised on that, they understood that.

In a day and age where apostasy seems to run rampant in not just America, but around the world, we know that from Matthew 24, verse number 10: that in the last days many will fall away. 1 Timothy 4, verse number 1—the Spirit explicitly says that in the latter days, some will fall away from the faith, believing in deceitful spirits. We understand that from 2 Thessalonians 2, verse number 3, that in the last days there will be a great apostasy. There will be many who will fall away from the faith.

So, when you come to Hebrews chapter 10, the fifth warning in the book of Hebrews, you come to a very crucial statement that the writer wants to make because he wants them to come in faith—cling to the hope, the confession of that faith, and not forsake the assembly of themselves together. Respond to what you've heard about who Jesus is and what he's done. He has spent 10 chapters, 18 verses, looking at the identity of the Messiah, helping you understand who he is and what he's done. That everything that the Old Testament pictured has now all been fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Messiah. He is here. Now you need to embrace Him, need to hold on to Him. And help others understand that importance.

And so in Hebrews chapter 10, the writer of Hebrews says these words: "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin."

Now, some would say, well, don't you believe in the doctrine of eternal security? Absolutely. I adhere to that 100%. The Bible says, what? That we are kept by the power of God. That's what Peter tells us. It's God's power that keeps us. Christ said in John 10, "Nobody will be able to pluck you out of my Father's hand." I believe in the security of the believer.

But listen carefully. That does not mean that God guarantees heaven to everyone who professes faith in God. It doesn't mean that. It means simply that those whose faith is genuine, those whose faith is real, will never fully nor finally fall away from Christ, but by the grace of God, which is a gift, they will continue to persevere to the very end. That's what eternal security is all about.

In other words, it's what the Reformers call the perseverance of the saints. There is that continuance, and it's all throughout the New Testament—the ability to persevere and to continue on. Last week, Romans 15, verse number 5: perseverance is a gift that God gives you, it enables you to keep on keeping on. If God grants you the gift of faith, the gift of repentance, the gift of belief, he grants you also the gift of perseverance to hold on to that which you say you believe in. That is so important to understand.

And so we realize that the Bible explicitly teaches us about those who endure to the end, they will be saved. Not because their endurance saves them, but because endurance is the hallmark of saving faith. If God saves you and God keeps you and God protects you, that will manifest itself in a life that continues in that faith.

It does not mean that you will not sin. It does not mean that you might even continue in sin for a while. It does not even mean that you might even engage in gross sins, right? But there are three factors that keep you from staying habitually and willfully in sin. What are they? Number one: the indwelling spirit. Number two, the interceding Christ. And number three, the impending discipline of the Father.

There is the indwelling spirit. He lives within us. He lives to convict. He lives to convince. He lives to comfort. Do you think the Spirit of God wants you to continue in rebellion and sin for years and years down the road? No.

How about this? The interceding work of the Messiah in heaven. He intercedes on our behalf, he is constantly praying for us. He told Peter, "Peter, listen, you're going to deny me." Peter says, "No, I'm not." He says, "Yes, you are. But Peter, guess what? I have prayed for you that your faith would not fail. That is, you would not fail finally, nor will you fail fully. But after you return, you will strengthen your brethren." Do you think that the interceding Messiah who is at the throne day in and day out, our advocate? His prayers are always answered the way he prays. So you have the indwelling spirit, you have the interceding Messiah.

And you have the impending discipline of the Father. That's Hebrews chapter 12. Because you see, if you're in sin and you're not being disciplined by the Father, you're an illegitimate son. You're not a true son because all true sons are disciplined by their fathers. We know that by looking at our earthly fathers. We know our fathers love us because they discipline us. Well, the same is true with our heavenly father. And when we get to Hebrews 12, we'll explain all that to you as well. Because if you're a legitimate son and you get involved in sin, guess what? You are disciplined by the Father because He wants to bring you back again.

So, think about it that way. You need to understand, it doesn't mean that you don't sin, that you might continue in sin for a while, but you don't continue in sin forever. And you might even commit gross sins, but you don't continue to continually commit gross sins. Why? The indwelling Spirit, the interceding Messiah, the Christ, on your behalf, and the impending discipline of the Father for those who tend to live in sin for a while. So, you need to understand that.

So, we believe in the security of the believer. It's all based on the power of God to keep us. But how do we know the power of God is keeping us? Because we are continually persevering, enduring to the end. Because that is evidence of grave, saving grace and saving faith in our lives.

So, the writer of Hebrews says, listen. Make a positive response because if you don't, and you go on sinning willfully, if you go on sinning willfully, having received the knowledge of the truth, and that is a definition of apostasy. This is the description of apostasy. Those who don't sin because of weakness or don't sin because of ignorance, but they sin willfully. That is, they know the truth.

These Hebrew people knew the truth. Why? The writer gave it to them. For 10 chapters and 18 verses, he gave them nothing but the truth about the supremacy and the sufficiency of the Messiah. Now they know it all. He is the fulfillment of all the shadows and all the ceremonies. He is the actual substance of everything. He's explained it all to them. He said, but now, having known this, having known the truth, if you continue to sin willfully and you reject this truth in full knowledge.

And the word knowledge is epinosis, which means a deep, heartfelt knowledge, not some kind of intellectual superficial experience, but because of some heartfelt understanding and knowledge. You reject the truth, he says. What's the truth? The truth is the understanding of the Messiah, who he is, and what he did in the face of what you know to be true. You reject that and you turn away from that and you fall away from that. The repercussions are huge. Huge, huge. There no longer remains a sacrifice for sin.

Listen to what John says over in 1 John chapter 3, verse number 9: "No one who is born of God practices sin." John's very black and white. John has no gray areas in his life. He never even wore gray. He was always black or white. And John says, no one who is born of God practices sin, continues in sin. Because his seed, the seed of the Messiah, abides in him. You can't continue in sin. If the seed of the truth, if the seed of the God of truth abides, remains in you, you can't do that. So he says this, "and he cannot sin because he is born of God."

Okay, so you don't practice sin. It doesn't mean you don't sin. You can't continue in habitual sin. You can't continue practicing sin because you're born of God. You're a new creation. You've been born again.

You see, we live in a society where everybody who makes some kind of profession or acceptance or belief or reception, they must be saved. After all, we were there when they were baptized. We were there when they said they wanted to follow Jesus. But time always tells the truth, does it not? Sure it does. A lot of people get under Jesus bandwagon. That's what the parable of the sower and the soils is all about.

Remember, Jesus started giving the parables of the kingdom? The very first parable he gave was about how the seed would fall on certain ground. To make sure the apostles knew, listen carefully, guys.

You need to know that when the seed falls, there are going to be a lot of people who look like they receive the truth, but they will fall away. Why? Because of persecution, because of affliction, because of the deceitfulness of riches. And the cares of this world, the affection for the things of the world will drown out the seed, choke out the seed, and they will not remain because they don't bear any fruit.

But the good soil, oh no, it bears fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. There is no doubt about that person. Remember we told you before, a bumper crop in Israel is tenfold. A bumper crop in Israel is tenfold. But if you're saved, you bring forth fruit some thirty, some sixty, some a hundredfold. You're way beyond a bumper crop. Everybody sees that, everybody understands it, everybody knows it.

And then it goes right into the next parable about the wheat and the tares. Why? Because there will be some who will grow right alongside the wheat, the tares, and they look just like the wheat, but they're not. But you won't know it until the end of the age. Only God knows this. You and I, we don't necessarily know this. But God does. That's why this is so crucial for us. So important to examine our lives. Where are we in our walk with the Lord? Where do we stand with the Lord Jesus Christ? Are we truly genuine believers?

So the Bible gives us a description of apostasy. It's those who willfully reject, defect from the faith. Having known what the faith is, having even received that faith, having even believed in that faith. But fall away and continue in known sin, willful sin, not sin of ignorance, not sin of weakness. But they deliberately engage in sinful behavior without the convicting work of the Spirit of God. These people, having received the knowledge of the truth, are in grave danger.

So you move from the description of apostasy to the repercussions of apostasy. And what are they? He says it very clearly in verse number 27. But a terrifying expectation, there no longer remains, I'm sorry, verse 26, a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment. And the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Wow. There's an absence of a sacrifice, and there is an assurance of judgment.

There's an absence of sacrifice because there's only one sacrifice that saves. Only one. That's why over and over again he would reiterate all throughout Hebrews, that the blood of bulls and goats don't take away sins. They don't. It's without the shedding of blood, there is no remission, and the shedding of blood had to be from the one sacrifice that the millions of sacrifices pointed to—the sacrifice of the Messiah.

In fact, he said over in Hebrews chapter 8, verse number 13: "A new covenant he has made, the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear." In other words, all the old sacrifices, all the old covenant, it's obsolete now. It doesn't mean anything. Why? Because of the new covenant. There's only one sacrifice. In other words, if you continue in sin, there's nothing that can save you.

If you continue in known sin, if you reject the truth, having come to a full knowledge of that truth, understanding what the Bible says about who Jesus is, we told you last week, listen. The demons, they know Jesus. They believe in Jesus. They are more theologically sound and astute than all of us put together. They know everything there is to know about God. But in all reality, those demons, they're demons because they apostasized the truth. They fell away from the truth. They no longer want to stick with that which they knew to be true. And the repercussions are grave.

In other words, there is no sacrifice that remains, there's no other way to heaven except through the blood of Jesus Christ. And not only that, there is an assurance, an assurance of judgment. Why? Look what he says. He says, "a terrifying expectation of judgment. And the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries."

In other words, if you are a willful sinner, you are an adversary of God. You're an enemy of God. If you're a friend of the world, James 4, you're an enemy of God. In other words, if you continue in known sin and you turn your back on what you know to be true—the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ—he's telling these people: look, you've known it all. I've said it all to you. You've got it now. You are able to connect all the dots. If you turn away now, you are in the danger zone. The danger zone of never, ever experiencing the salvation that's offered you today.

That's why we tell you: today you're in a danger zone. You're either in a delightful place or a dangerous place. And both are true. Church is the most delightful place you can ever be, but it's also the most dangerous place you can ever be. Why? Because once you hear the truth, you're accountable to what you've heard. And once you're accountable to what you heard, God's going to hold you accountable to that. And you need to embrace that truth and say, yes, I realize there's only one sacrifice for sin. I realize that without Jesus Christ, there is no eternal life. Without embracing Christ as my Lord and Savior, I know I will perish in my sin. And you come out of genuine repentance because you received a genuine gift of grace, which allows you to fall before the living God and beg him for mercy. And he grants it because that's our God.

So you have the description of apostasy, the repercussions of apostasy. Let me give you an illustration of apostasy. Okay? Let's drive it home. Let's drive it home with a man whose name means Jehovah leads. Whose name, to some commentators, means one who is worthy of praise. Think about that. A man's name defined by Jehovah leads, and one who is worthy of praise was led not by Jehovah, but by Satan. And his name is no longer worthy of praise. His name is worthy only, only of scorn. And that's Judas.

Judas is from Judah, right? The Messiah will come from the tribe of Judah. And Judah's name means Jehovah leads, or the one who is worthy of praise. And the one who is worthy of praise is led by Jehovah. That's what the name means. But Judas, hmm. He is the one who betrayed our Lord Jesus.

So let me share some things with you about Judas because what happens with Judas happens in the most glorious light of all. The darkest person of all lived in the glorious, the most glorious light ever that existed. To show you how it is one can experience the beauty of the Messiah and yet betray that Messiah.

Note this about Judas. He is the illustration of apostasy. There is no person in Scripture who enjoyed the supreme and sacred responsibility as a follower of Christ. There is no one in Scripture that enjoyed the supreme and sacred responsibility of following Christ. Listen carefully to Matthew chapter 10, verse number 1. Jesus summoned His twelve disciples. Okay? He summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out. And to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. My friends, that includes Judas. It doesn't say he called twelve of his disciples to him, and 11 of them he gave them authority to cast out demons. Oh no. He gave all twelve of them the authority, even Judas. Because you see, Judas was called like the other disciples were called.

He was chosen like the other disciples are chosen. We don't have a record in Scripture of Judas's specific calling, but we know that he was called and he was chosen. Makes it very clear all throughout the New Testament that Judas is one of the twelve. So he was called and he was committed. Let me show you how committed he was.

John chapter 6 says in verse 66, "and as a result of this, many of his disciples withdrew and were not walking with him any longer." So Jesus said to the twelve, not to the eleven. But to the twelve, "you do not want to go away also, do you?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God." We, us, 12. Have come to believe that you are the Holy One of God.

Now listen to this. Jesus answered. "Did I myself not choose you the twelve?" Answer yes. "And yet one of you is the devil, or is the devil?" Wow. And listen to this: Judas never said, "Yeah, that's me. I'm the guy, I got to go too." No. He demonstrated his commitment. I'm here for the long haul. I'm in with you, Jesus. I'm on the Jesus train. It's so wherever you go, I'm going. I'm with everybody else. He was so deceived. He was self-deceived. He was. So he was called and he was committed like the other twelve were.

You see, he looked like the other twelve. There was no difference between Judas, except his name was always mentioned last in the list, and Peter, whose name was always mentioned first in the four lists of the apostles. Okay? But Peter was as respected as Judas, as Andrew, as Nathaniel, as James, as John. They all had mutual respect one for another. They all argued about who was the greatest in the kingdom, right? It wasn't that Judas sat back and said, "Oh, you guys shouldn't be arguing about who's the greatest in the kingdom. That's wrong. Selfish of you." No, he was arguing right along with them about who was going to have, who's the alpha disciple in the kingdom? Who's the greatest disciple in the kingdom? They all argued that. All the same, he chose them all. And yet, he says, one of you is a devil.

Now, this is the miraculous aspect of the providence of God.

How an individual can willfully choose to accept the Messiah, to believe in the Messiah, and yet still fulfill the prophecy of the Old Testament of being the one who betrayed the Messiah—if you want to figure that out, good luck. You'll never figure it out because that's the providence of Almighty God.

Because you see, Judas is 100% responsible for his actions. He's 100% culpable for his unbelief. Jesus is not going to say, "You know what, Judas, come on in. I know you're one of the 12. I know you healed sicknesses. I know you cast out demons. I know you're a part of the working of what I installed you to do from the very beginning. You know what? Come on in." No. Because you see, he had every opportunity to believe, and he didn't.

That leads me to point number two. Not only did Judas enjoy the supreme and sacred responsibility as a follower of Christ. But he was one who experienced the faithfulness and forbearance of deity. He experienced the faithfulness and forbearance of deity. In other words, Christ was faithful, not to 11 of them, but to 12 of them. He would bear with them all, but he would bear with Judas more so. And he experienced that. And Judas knew that.

Judas knew he was the devil—he was of a devil. Judas knew that he was going to betray the Messiah. At first, I don't think he did. At first, I believe he jumped on the Jesus bandwagon because of what it would do for him, a lot like the other disciples did, right? "Are you now going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" Because it's all about the kingdom. And now the kingdom is going to come. We can rule and reign in the kingdom with Jesus. "Are you now going to restore the kingdom?" He wanted to be a part of the kingdom. He wanted to be a part of all that Jesus did. I mean, after all, the miracle worker—the miracle worker who saw everything, Judas saw it all. Thought, "Wow, this is my key to fame. This is my key to popularity. This is my key to everything—money, possessions, wealth, prominence, kingdom living." He hated Rome like the other disciples hated Rome. He wanted to get rid of Roman oppression. He wanted to follow something different than that.

So at the very beginning, he got on the Jesus bandwagon all for the right reasons, only to realize that as things progressed toward the end, things weren't working out as he expected them to work out. You see, that's where the rubber meets the road. We come to Jesus because we have expectations. We expect Jesus to better my marriage. We expect Jesus to give me a raise. We expect Jesus to cause my children to obey me. We expect Jesus to come through for me. And when he doesn't come through according to my expectations, what happens? We fall away because Jesus didn't fulfill what I wanted him to do on my terms. That's Judas.

So, not only did Judas enjoy the supreme and sacred responsibility and experienced the faithfulness and forbearance of deity, but he exemplified scorn and squandered opportunity. He exemplifies scorn and squandered opportunity. Just think about this. He heard all of his sermons. He was with Jesus as he began to preach and teach and give the parables.

He understood the parables of the sower and the soil, the wheat and the tares, the dragnet, the mustard seed, the leaven. The parable concerning the wedding feast. The parables concerning the prodigal son—all the parables that Christ gave, he heard them all. And he scorned, and he squandered.

Every single opportunity. He thumbed his nose at what it meant to be a genuine follower of the Messiah. It's like people who go to church. They hear the gospel. They hear the truth. And they thumb their nose at, well, you what?

It's not that important I do this today. I can do it next week. After all, I got things to go to today, places to go, people to see. I can do it next week. No hurry! Or you hear, you say, well, you know, like people who heard about Jesus, you know, he is the bread that comes down from heaven. You got to eat all of him, drink all of his blood. And they're, "Ooh, that's just too gross. We can't do that." And you thumb your nose at the words of Jesus.

That was Judas.

Heard every message, saw every miracle. He saw Jesus walk on water. It doesn't cause you to believe what is, right? He saw Jesus walk on water, feed 25,000 people. He saw Jesus make blind people see. He saw Jesus cast demons out of people and put them in their right minds. He scorned and squandered every opportunity.

That's why the Bible says today is a day of salvation.

Number four. Judas eluded the love and longing of our Lord's mercy. He effectively eluded the love and longing of our Lord's mercy. Our Lord is so merciful.

Remember in John chapter 13, verse number 1? "Now, therefore, or now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his hour had come, that he would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end." That includes Judas. He loved Judas to the end. And yet, Judas would elude the love and longing of the mercy of the Messiah.

Jesus would wash Judas's feet. He would cleanse him externally to model to him sacrificial love and how to live amidst pain and anxiety. He did that. Interesting to note that all the while Judas just didn't respond—he kept hardening his heart.

In other words, every time you hear the gospel and you don't respond, you're in danger of coming to a place where it will be impossible to renew you to repentance because you harden your heart. To finally, the Lord hardens your heart, like Pharaoh's.

Pharaoh hardened his heart, God hardened his heart. That's why the third warning, or the second warning, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the day of provocation in the wilderness." Don't turn away from the truth. You're in danger of hardening your heart. And every time Judas did not respond to the message of the Lord, every time Judas did not adhere to the gospel presentation and realize the need to deny himself and take up his cross and follow the Lord, he became harder and harder and harder. And he began to contemplate what he would do as time would progress.

But interesting to note, does anybody know the first time that Judas says anything in Scripture? He doesn't say anything until John chapter 12. Never a word out of his mouth that we know of. I mean, of course, he speaks. We know he speaks, but nothing in Scripture except for John 12. Here it is, which shows you the condition of his heart.

Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they made him supper there, and Martha was serving, but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with him. Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

But Judas Iscariot, which means man from Karioth. Kerioth was a group of homes that became a village about 23 miles from Jerusalem. Iscariot is the man from Kerioth. So he says, and Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, who was intending to betray him, said, "Why was the perfume not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor people?" How pious is that, right? Now he said this not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief. And he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. He was a thief.

But they didn't even know that. John knows because he's looking back and writing about it. At the time, he didn't know, nobody knew. They were collecting money, they were getting money, and he was stealing from the money box. But he was given the responsibility of the money box. Why? Because he was the most trusted person with the greatest amount of integrity among the twelve.

You don't give your money to somebody you don't trust, right? You're not going to put your money in a bank that's always being robbed, right? And losing all your money. You're not going to trust your money to someone you can't trust.

Judas was the guy. He was the one who held the money box. They all trusted him because he was as committed as they were, so they thought. But they did not know that he would be the one who would betray the Lord. So here was Judas who would elude all the love and all the longing of the Messiah. Look at John 13. I'm sorry. Yeah, John 13.

And in John 13, the Lord says these words. John thirteen, verse number twenty one. You guys are probably there before I am. John 13, verse number 21.

When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit and testified and said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray me." This is the eve of the crucifixion, right? Nobody knows. But Judas, every time he's mentioned in scripture, is Judas Iscariot the one who is the betrayer. The disciples began looking at one another at a loss to know of which one he was speaking.

There was reclining on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. That's John. So Simon Peter gestured to him and said to him, "Tell us who it is of whom he is speaking," because none of them knew. They all suspected it was them. None of them said, "It's Judas. Of course it is." No. They all thought it was them. They had no idea it was Judas. Why? Because Judas was at the place of honor at the table. To the right of the host.

Look what it says. He leaning back, verse 25, thus on Jesus' bosom said to him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus then answered, "That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel, and give it to him."

So when he had dipped the morsel, he took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. And therefore Jesus said to him, "What you do, do quickly." Now no one of those reclining at the table knew for what purpose he had said this to him. For some were supposing because Judas had the money box that Jesus was saying to him, "Buy the things we need for the feast."

Or else that he should give something to the poor.

So after receiving the morsel, he went out immediately, and it was night. You see, to the right of the host was the place of honor, the place that was the distinguished seat. That's where Judas was seated. He would dip the morsel, it would be the bread dipped in this fruit mix and a jelly-like substance, that you would dip, and you'd give it to the person of honor first. And he gave it to Judas. Again, showing how Judas would elude once again the love and longing of the Lord's mercy.

And lastly, Judas. Judas is the one who embodies the deceitfulness and destiny of iniquity. He embodies the deceitfulness and destiny of iniquity.

The Bible says in the book of Acts that after he went out and hung himself, remember he took the 30 pieces of silver and threw it down in the temple? Because the Bible says he felt remorse. Didn't repent. He was just sorry that things happened the way they did, but there was no repentance on Judas' part. He was feeling the overwhelming guilt of what he did when he betrayed the Messiah.

So much so that he went out and hung himself. And poor Judas, he can't even do that right because the tree broke and he fell down and all his boughs gushed out. But the Bible says in Acts chapter 1 that Judas went to his own place. Where is the Judas place? The Judas place is what is described in Hebrews 10 as the fury of fire. That's the Judas place.

The one who was exposed to the greatest light and yet lived the darkest life incognito for those three years, every day with Jesus. Everybody believing that he was one, one of the twelve who had genuinely committed his life to the Lord. But he did not. I think that outside the fact that the Lord was going to fulfill prophecy with Judas, it shows you very clearly how easily people can be deceived into thinking someone truly is a follower of Christ.

That's why the warning of Hebrews is so crucial. That having received the full knowledge of the truth, which Judas did, and yet continue to go on sinning willfully, habitually, in light of that truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin, but a terrifying expectation of judgment because you're an adversary of God. And my prayer for you, for all of us, that none of us would be in that category. That you would know for certain that Jesus is your Lord and Savior. Don't leave today without knowing for certain that your destiny is glory.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for today, the opportunity you give us to study your word. We are a blessed people. We pray for everyone in the room today. That Lord, they would know for certain that Jesus, you are their Lord and Savior.

That they've given their life to you and are totally sold out to following Christ. Forever until the end. We pray, Father, that you'd encourage all of us to share our faith with those who are family members or friends who might find themselves in the situation of Hebrews 10, yet we can come alongside of them and plead with them, beg with them to be saved. For today is a day of salvation. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.