Readings: Matthew 26:47-50 27:3-10 Acts 1:18,25

THE MAN WHO KISSED THE DOOR OF HEAVEN AND WENT TO HELL

Who do you suppose is the most despised man in USA history ? How about Benedict Arnold. When the colonies rebelled against English tyranny, Benedict Arnold was a successful business man in New Haven,

Connecticut. Shortly after the beginnings of hostilities Arnold raised a body of volunteers and received a Colonel's commission in the fledging army. Because Arnold distinguished himself as a soldier, he had the complete confidence of General George Washington. As a reward for his service Arnold was made of the Government in Philadelphia. However, because of his lack of wisdom in the administration of his duties Arnold was court-marshalled and severely reprimanded.

This reprimand deeply humiliated the proud Arnold, and he determined to get even. Opening communications with Sir Henry Clinton, the British commander, Arnold made a pact to surrender West Point to the enemy. The attempt was discovered and thwarted, and Arnold fled to the English side where he was appointed a brigadier general in His Majesty's service. My .... history remembers Benedict Arnold as the man who sold out.

But in our readings this .... we are confronted with another man who sold out to the enemy. His name is Judas Iscariot. We do not know how or when he became a follower of the Lord Jesus. We do know however that he was chosen by Christ and given the greatest opportunity ever offered to mortal man. His name might have been immortalised for ever and written into the foundation stones of the Celestial City. Instead it has gone in history as synonymous with treachery and shame. My .... as I preach in different places or get into conversation with people I am convinced that many are just like Judas. They have come so close to Christ, and yet there they stop.

My .... are ever tempted to rest upon your knowledge of Christ ? Then remember Judas and beware ! Are you disposed to cling to the world and covet its wealth ?

Then remember Judas and beware ! Are you trifling with some particular sin and flattering yourself that by and by you'll repent ? Then remember Judas and

beware ! For this man is set before us in Scripture as a beacon, a warning light of one who came so close to Christ and yet died without Him. The Lord Jesus said,

" I am the door .... he shall be saved." ( Jn 10:9 ) Christ is the very door to Heaven and Judas kissed Christ. Think of it, he kissed the door of heaven and yet went to hell. He was so close to Christ and yet never committed to Him, so near and yet so far. As we think of this man's life there are vital truths we need to grasp. The first is:

(1) HIGHEST PRIVILEGES IS NOT CHRISTIAN FAITH

The greatest advantages to personal faith in Christ may be available and yet true, saving faith be lacking.

My .... you can all have the privileges of the gospel, all the advantages of the Christian faith, all the knowledge of Christ and yet never have saving faith in a living Saviour. Think of Judas. Did you ever think of:

(a) HIS GOOD NAME:

Judas was a common name and the Greek form of Judah. Some tell us that the root meaning is " Jehovah leads," other think that the word means " one who is the object of praise." Either way its a paradox. If it means,

" Jehovah leads," there was never an individual who was obviously more led by Satan than Judas. If it means

" one who is the object of praise, " there was never an individual more unworthy of praise than he was. One wonders what high expectations his parents had of him when he was born and as they praised God for their blessing. But his name has become a byword and an expression for all that is contemptible. I wonder even in the name your parents chose for you was there a Biblical association ? Did that want that name of yours in some way to be associated with the things of God ?

(b) HIS GODLY HOME:

Iscariot is usually understood to mean a man from the town of Kerioth, this was a little town seven miles from Hebron, that gave birth to a child that became the most hated human being that ever lived. Judas was no doubt brought up in a devout Jewish home, he was probably acquainted with the law of Moses, aware of some of the prophecies concerning the Messiah who was to come.

My .... all the privileges of the gospel were his ! But (1)

Tell me, where in all these islands has the gospel of the grace of God been preached with more fervour, more faithfulness, and more fearlessness than in Ulster itself ?

Unsaved .... your torment in the pit of hell will be greater because you have been brought up in this favoured land ? Can I bring it a little closer ? Of how many here it can be said, " From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

Early were your young feet directed to the house of God, early did your young lips sing the praise of God, early did fall upon your young ears, the gospel of God, early were the claims of the Christ of God pressed upon you. But could it be that in spite of all your privileges you're still unsaved ? Could it be that in spite of all your advantages you're still unprepared ? Could it be that in spite of all your heritage still unwashed ? My .... remember Judas .... (1)

(2) ELEVATION IS NOT REGENERATION

Now Judas occupied an elevated position. Time and again in the gospels he's referred to as " Judas one of the twelve .... " ( 26:47 ) But a person may have an elevated position in Christendom and yet not be " born again." Here was a man who:

(a) LIVED WITH THE LORD JESUS:

For three years he was a close associate of the Lord. He walked and talked with the Son of God. He sat under the stars with him, eat with Him, listened to Him.

1. Judas heard the MESSAGES of the Lord Jesus:

He heard the magnificent " Sermon on the Mount," and parables like the " The Good Samaritan, " The Prodigal Son, " The Lost Sheep," as they first fell from the lips of the Saviour ! My .... he was there all along listening to Christ's simple yet profound teaching. Like some of you, he heard the message so often from the lips of the Son of God yet it failed to make any lasting impact on his soul. How many folk have heard all the teachings of Christ ? Have you ? From childhood were you taught the Scriptures ? Did your mother share Bible stories with you ? Maybe you went to Sunday School. Perhaps, a Christian friend shared " the good news," about the Saviour with you ? Some of you here have heard the message so often, my .... have you become hardened to the gospel ? Does this message now fail to make an impression on your soul ? (1)

2. Judas saw the MIRACLES of the Lord Jesus:

He was there on the lake, in the boat when Christ said to the boisterous wind, " peace be still." ( Mk 4:39 ) Judas saw that Christ had power over nature. He saw loaves and fish multiply in the hands of the Saviour. It seems incredible but he was there when the very dead were raised, but Judas shut his eyes to all of this. My .... is Judas a picture of you this .... ? Do you know all about the Lord's miracles ? Do you know men and women who are miracles of saving grace ? You, have seen people changed by God's grace, but have you ever come to the Lord and said, " O Lord, do a miracle in my heart ?" (a)

(b) LABOURED FOR THE LORD JESUS:

For did Judas not preach the Saviour's message ? Was Judas not a miracle-worker with the rest of the

disciples ? ( 10:10 Mk 3:15 ) Was he not among those who rejoiced in evident evangelical victories ? " Lord even the demons are subject to us .... " ( Lk 10:17 ) Yet in spite of the fact that lived with Christ, and laboured for Christ he was not saved. ( Jn 17:12 ) For elevation is not regeneration. My .... do you realise that you can fall from the pulpit into hell ? That you can go from the elders seat into perdition ? That you can go from the Lord's table to drink the cup of wrath ? That you can go from singing in the choir to the weeping and wailing of a sinners hell ? In 1735, John Wesley, set out as a missionary to Georgia, then a colony in America. After two years of work there he said this, " I went out to convert the Indians, but O God, who shall convert

me ?" Oh, could it be that you serve on the church committee, sing in the choir, teach in the S.School, work with the elderly, zealous in church activity and yet you've never really be born again. " But " Lord, Lord have we not ..." ( 7:22 ) My .... do you know Christ ? Does Christ know you ? (1) (2)

(3) SIN UNCHECKED WILL EVENTUALLY DESTROY YOU

When Leonardo Da Vinci was painting his masterpiece

" The Last Supper," he sought for a model of his Christ. At last he located a chorister in one of the churches of Rome who was lovely in features, a young man named Pietro Bandinelli. Years passed, and the painting was still unfinished. All the disciples had been painted save one .... Judas Iscariot. Now the artist looked to find a man whose face was hardened and disfigured by sin. At last he found a beggar on the streets of Rome with a face so villainous he shuddered when he looked at him.

He hired the man to sit for him as he painted the face of Judas on his canvas. When he was about to dismiss the man, he said, " I have not found out your name," " I am Pietro Bandinelli," he replied, " I also sat for you as your model of Christ." (1) What was the sin, the passion of Judas. It was his " love for money."

( 1 Tim 6:10 ) This sin:

(a) DOMINATED HIS SOUL:

You see, after he was dead it was discovered that he was a thief. ( Jn 12:6 ) Now noone discovered this, while he was living. Time and again he deceived the disciples with his hypocrisy, but never once did he deceive the Lord. Do you recall that Judas was the holder of the only office the disciples had ? Treasurer !

He was the man who carried the bag. ( Jn 12:6 13:29 )

As far as the disciples were concerned he was man of integrity and honesty but he was deceiving them. For

" as keeper of the money Judas used to help himself to what was put into it." ( Jn 12:6 ) All the time he was doing the job, he was stealing the money from the bag

and that greed was beginning to eat away at him. Like a cancer, it was secretly, silently, devouring him. Later he goes to the chief priests and he says, " What will you give me and I will deliver Jesus unto you."

( Matt 26:15 ) Oh, this passion and love for money dominated his soul. It was the master sin in his life !

What's the master sin in your life ? What's the thing that's keeping you from the Saviour ? What is that thing which is holding, dominating controlling you ? What is that which has the mastery over you ? The ruling passion in your life ? Is it the love of money ? Covetousness ? Is it materialism ? Is it drink ? Is it some sexual sin ? Is it something that you did a year ago ? I urge you to trust Christ this .... and I hear you reply, " I would, but .... ? My .... what is the " but,"? The passion that dominates your soul ! This sin (a) and it:

(b) DELIVERED THE SAVIOUR:

For Judas betrayed the Son of God for a couple of handfuls of silver, a mere pittance indeed. Thirty pieces of silver, £10-00 or so just the price of a slave !

( Exod 21:32 ) What are you willing to " trade Christ," off for ? How much is the Lord Jesus worth to you ?

Listen, Christ came to save you ! He died to save you !

He shed His precious blood to save you ! Are you willing to sell Him for a friendship, a farm, a business deal, a drink, popularity ! What little, insignificant things people sell the Saviour for !

" It may not be for silver, it may be not for gold

But still by tens of thousands is this precious Saviour sold: Sold for a godless friendship, sold for a selfish aim: Sold for a fleeting trifle, sold for an empty name.

Sold in the mart of science, sold in the seat of power

Sold at the shrine of fortune, sold in pleasure's bower

Sold where the awful bargain, none but God's eye can see, Ponder my soul the question, shall He be sold by thee.

(4) OUTWARD REMORSE IS NOT INWARD REPENTANCE

Do you see Judas now ?

(a) HIS CONSCIENCE IS STIRRED:

He's got the money, he has it in his purse but its burning hot. Judas reckoned without a conscience, without a conscience awakened and set on fire. So wrapping his cloak around him, he rushes through the streets of Jerusalem, he enters the temple, he opens his purse, he takes those thirty pieces of silver and throws them down on the marble floor of the temple and cries in remorse,

" I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood." ( 27:4 ) His conscience is stirred, but does that mean that Judas had a change of heart and mind ? Does that mean Judas was saved ? No ! For

(b) HIS CONSCIENCE IS SEARED:

Its hardened ! The word " repented," in ( 27:3 ) simply means " to be remorseful." Judas was seized with remorse, his conscience was pricked, but it is clear that he did not " repent unto salvation." ( 2 Cor 7:9 ) For outward remorse is not inward repentance ! My .... there is a great deal of difference between repentance and remorse. Judas took his sin to the wrong people and to the wrong place. He should have wept his way to that skull shaped hill of shame outside the city wall. He should have flung himself at the pierced feet of Jesus. But Judas did not do that. He went and hanged himself.

Like Judas, have you felt pangs of remorse for sins committed, but you've never come right through to

repentance ? Like Judas, when conscience lashes, have you taken your sins to the confessional, and told them to some old Roman priest, instead of bringing them to Calvary and Christ ! My .... what have you got this .... ?

Outward remorse or genuine repentance ? Oh, you say,

" Preacher I have shed tears, made resolutions,

experienced emotions," but have you ever repented ? Have you turned from your sin ? Have you made a clean break with it ? Judas didn't. He went and hanged himself, and he discovered our final truth this .... !

(5) DEATH DOES NOT END ALL

What an awful death Judas had ! I see him as he makes his way from the temple to the field ( 27:5 ) I watch him as with trembling hands he ties a rope around the base of a tree and the other end around his neck. I see him as with one mad rush he runs forward and jumps over the precipice. For a moment he dangles in the air, but his weight is too heavy for the rope.

The rope breaks and there's a dull thud as his body bumps against rock after rock in the gully below, and down there " all his bowels gushed out." ( Acts 1:18 )

What a way to die, but my .... thats not the end of Judas, its only the end of his life on earth, but its the opening up of his eternity, an eternity without Christ. For:

(a) HE DIED WITHOUT CONFIDENCE IN CHRIST:

What a fool ! I can scarcely understand how a person can live without Christ, but I will never fathom how a person dare die without Christ. For there is no reason why anyone should die without Christ. For when Christ was on the cross, God took our sin and laid it on His Son and Christ died as a substitute for sinful man.

" He died that we might be forgiven .... " But (a) What will you die ? In Christ or without Christ ? Saved or

lost ? (a)

(b) HE DIED WITHOUT HOPE OF HEAVEN:

Do you know what Christ said of Judas ? " Woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed, it had been good for that man if he had not been born."

( 26:24 ) Do you what Peter said of Judas ? " He went to his own place." ( Acts 1:25 ) The man who might have taken the gospel to earth's remotest bounds went to a lost eternity. Think of it, Judas kissed Heavens door and he went to hell ! My .... I hear a voice from hell this .... Its the voice of the Iscariot, " I was one of the twelve. I heard the messages. I saw the miracles. I saw people saved. I was so close to Jesus Christ, but now I am lost eternally." Will you be like Judas ? Will you

" trade," the Saviour off for something else ? Will you

" sell out," a heavenly home for some sin ? Will you go down into the same hell into which Judas has gone ?

There's a difference between Judas and Peter. Peter made his way to the cross. He was an " eyewitness of the sufferings of Jesus," ( 1 Pet 5:1 ) Peter made his way to the cross. Will you make your way to the cross ? Will you make your way there ? Will you kneel there confessing your need of Christ ? Will you come and find cleansing though His precious blood ? Will you trust Him and be saved for all eternity ?