Counterfeit Christian(s)

We're going to be exploring as we continue in the the series of John Spirit and Truth.

We're going to be looking at the life of Judas.

According to a 2023 Gallup Research poll, 68% of Americans identify as Christian.

68%.

By my math, that's a little over two-thirds of the entire U.S.

population.

I find that number somewhat hard to believe or maybe shocking, especially in times like today or in particular months like June, in which sin is so openly celebrated, not only by individuals, but entire denominations of professing Christians.

This morning, as we explore and look through the betrayal of Judas, we should be humbled by another statistics.

See, Judas was one of 12.

He was one of the 12 closest friends, one of the 12 that Jesus hand selected to be in his inner circle.

And he was ultimately the one of 12 that was going to betray his master.

See, outwardly, Judas was no different than the other 11.

He looked apart, he fit the mold.

But inwardly he was superficial.

He was phony.

He was counterfeit.

See, Judas made the same commitment to Jesus, and there's no reason to think anything other than his confession and profession and falling was anything but stemming from sincere faith.

And like the rest of the disciples, he left everything to follow Jesus.

Judas was actively involved in ministry, and he was given remarkable spiritual giftings.

We read in Matthew chapter 10.

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

And he called to him his twelve disciples, and he gave them, this is Judas, he gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal every disease and every affliction.

The names of the 12 apostles are these first: Simon, who's called Peter, Andrew his brother, Jesus the son of Zebedee and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alpheus and Thaddeus, Simus the zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who would betray him.

And not only that, Judas walked with Jesus for three and a half years.

We have any football fans in the room?

You ever heard of a coach that say, oh, this coach came from the Bill Parcell's coaching tree or the Andy Reid coaching tree, the quarterback guru, right?

Who's able to take Donovan McNabb and make him into something, right?

He's able to have Patrick Mahomes be one of the greatest, right?

Everybody that this guy touches, Nick Foles, he wins a Super Bowl, right?

He's the quarterback guru.

Here we have Judas, who for three and a half years sat underneath the tutelage of the best teacher of all time.

God incarnate.

Jesus Christ.

He saw the greatest life that had ever lived up close and in person.

He witnessed the miracles firsthand.

When Jesus fed the 5,000, Judas was there.

Judas took part in handing out the bread and the fish to the crowds.

When Jesus calmed the storm and walked on the water, Judas was there.

When Jesus gave sight to the man that was born blind, Judas saw it firsthand.

And Judas was there when Lazarus, who had been dead in the tomb, was raised.

You can't have better evidence for faith than what Judas experienced firsthand.

Judas heard all the teachings of Jesus.

He heard the Sermon on the Mount.

He knew that there was a narrow road that leads to life and a broad road that leads to destruction.

He heard the parable of the prodigal son, so he knew that God was always ready and welcome, and ready to welcome his son back.

With his own eyes he saw, with his ears he heard, and with his feet he followed God incarnate, the exact image of the invisible God.

Yet in the end, Judas was found to be counterfeit.

See, Judas had a heart problem.

He had seen and witnessed and heard, but his heart remained unchanged.

John Flavel, he was a 1600s English pastor, and he's quoted in his book, Keeping the Heart, How to Maintain Your Love for God.

I've read this like three times.

It is a phenomenal Puritan paperback small book, John Flavel, Keeping the Heart.

He's quoted saying this: the heart of man is his worst part before his regenerated, and the best afterward.

It is the seat of principles and the foundation of actions.

The eye of the God is, and the eye of the Christian ought to be, principally set upon it.

The greatest difficulty in conversion is to win the heart to God.

And the greatest difficulty after conversion is to keep the heart with God.

Let's pray.

God, we come before you this morning.

God, we ask that your spirit would just work in this place, that you wouldn't somehow seem fit to use me to proclaim your truth, to draw attention to the glory that is due your name.

God, I pray that you would just work mightily in this place.

God, we need you this morning.

We ask that you would meet us, that your word would pierce through our hardness of heart, that it would breathe life into our weary souls.

God, that it would speak of your excellencies, that we would worship you, that we would see the splendor and glory and strength and infinite wisdom that you alone hold.

God, we praise you that we get to sit underneath your word today.

We pray that we would be transformed in the image of your son this morning as we behold your ways.

In your name we pray.

Amen.

So we pick up in our text John chapter 13, verse 21 through 22.

John 13:21–22

21 through 22, it says, And after saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit and testified, Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.

And the disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke.

The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of the one of whom he spoke.

And so we are in the upper room.

Jesus is preparing for the this fast, this Passover feast with his disciples.

He had just finished washing their feet and telling them that the soul, the heart is actually what needs wash.

This external washing is not what saves.

And Jesus reminds them that one of them is going to betray him.

And this week has really just struck me as astounding that even to this point, the disciples look at each other and they're completely dumbfounded at who it is.

They have no clue.

Is it you?

Is it me?

Is it Simon?

Is it Matt?

Who is it?

Who is it that's going to betray?

How could that happen?

See, a lot of times when we read the scriptures, we come become so familiar that we know that it's Judas, right?

We have the rest of the story.

We know that Judas is the one that's going to be betrayed, but in this moment, Judas hasn't played his card.

He looks the part.

He's just like the other eleven.

And they begin to question who is it?

The scriptures don't really give us a whole lot about Judas.

We don't really hear much more than his name being always labeled last in the order of the disciples in each gospel.

We hear that Judas Iscariot, and Iscariot might be the birthplace of where he came from.

It might be just his father's name.

We're not a hundred percent certain.

But we always see that it's Judas the betrayer.

That's the title, that's the adjective that's placed with his name.

We know that Judas was in charge of the money bags.

And I've always kind of read through that thinking that is a selfish way, right?

Like Judas was in charge of the money.

But it didn't initially start like that.

Why would the other eleven give Judas charge of all the money if they knew that he was wicked and he was going to use it for his own good?

No, Judas had a particular set of giftings and skills.

He was savvy.

And the disciples, this inner circle, entrusted him with the money to be able to do the work of ministry.

He was somewhat savvy or meticulous.

He had some degree of confidence that was instilled in the minds and hearts of the other eleven to trust him with the finances.

But really, what I really want us to look at in this opening two verses is what we read in verse 21.

It says, after saying these things that one would betray, Jesus was troubled in spirit.

Jesus was troubled in spirit.

This is the same exact words and language we learned in chapter 11 when Jesus comes back and he sees that Lazarus has been laid in the tomb.

His dear friend is gone.

And it says that he cried aloud and he was troubled in spirit.

See, Jesus, although completely sovereign and in control, all knowing all the while that Judas would be the one to betray, is not unmoved by the fact that Judas was going to perish.

That Judas was going to be the one to betray him.

He was troubled in the spirit, not only for Judas, but for the sake of the other eleven.

We read last week in verse 19 of chapter 13.

I am telling you these things before it takes place, that when it does, you may believe that I am He.

See, he was concerned for the other eleven's faith.

Jesus is not unmoved.

And so to summarize these first two opening verses, I'd submit that God takes no delight in the perishing of the wicked.

God takes no delight in the perishing of the wicked.

Ezekiel chapter 33 says it like this As I live, declares the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.

Ezekiel 33 · chapter mention

Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?

And so we see this deep love that Jesus has, not only for Judas, but for his disciple.

And we re we read his final plea in verse 23 through 27.

One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at the table at Jesus' side.

And so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking.

So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, Lord, who is it?

Jesus answered, It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.

So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.

Then, after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him, and Jesus said to him, What you are going to do, do quickly.

So the disciples still have no clue who the betrayer is.

They are leaning on their sides on the floor, it would have been custom for this type of meal.

And we learned that the one whom Jesus loved, that would be John, is probably leaning up against Jesus.

And Peter from across the dining area nods at John's like, hey, ask Jesus, who is it?

Who's the one that's going to betray?

And so John leans back and he asks.

And Jesus tells him, the one that I give this morsel of bread, the one that I dip and hand it to, that will be the betrayer.

And Jesus says it to John, but the other disciples don't hear it.

This is a very intimate exchange of conversation between John and Jesus.

And Jesus answers, it is he whom I give this morsel of bread.

And as Judas received the bread, as Jesus hands it out to him, we read this chilling death sentence that Satan entered into Judas.

Satan entered into Judas.

See, there's no inclination in this text of Judas being some type of puppet or pawn in this entire exchange.

Rather, Judas had opened the door when he did not resist the devil throughout his life.

See, Satan holds power in our lives where sinful passions reign.

Satan holds power in our lives when sin goes unchecked.

Ephesians 2 says it like this and you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work, and the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.

See, Judas was an innocent bystander.

Rather, Judas opened the doors of his heart.

We see in the life of Judas much about how the devil works in the life of anyone.

J.C.

Row, another Puritan, goes on to say that first he, Satan, suggests and then he commands.

First, he knocks at the door and asks permission to come in.

And once he's admitted, he takes complete possession and he rules the whole inward man like a tyrant.

See, Judas should have submitted to what we learn from James in his playbook.

It says, Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

And so while we don't know exactly where it began, we see over and over through the Gospels, Judas is non-submittal towards the ways of Jesus.

We see this in Judas' questioning of Jesus, who Mary uh who Mary was anointing in Bethany.

And what we read in chapter 12, verse 5 through 6, it says, Why was this ointment not sold for 300 denari and given to the poor?

This is Judas's question to Jesus.

Why was this ointment not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor?

He said this, why?

Not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief.

And having charge of the money bag, he used to help himself to what he had put into it.

See, we see that Satan's power was welcomed by Judas's sin.

So to summarize verse 23, Satan's power in the life of Judas was welcomed by his own sin.

We read on in 28 through 30.

Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him.

Some thought that they might, because Judas had the money bag, Jesus was telling him, Buy what we need for the feast, or that he should give something to the poor.

So after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out, and it was night.

And it was night.

So even to this point, they still don't know who it was.

They still don't know why Jesus told Judas to go out and do what you're gonna do, do it quickly.

They still have no clue.

And we read the last section of that text, and it was night.

Night, darkness, wickedness, death.

As Judas was on his way to betray his master, the deed was as sure as done.

You would have thought that the words of Jesus, the words of warning of one of you will betray me, would have shook Judas and caused him to wake and turn from his wickedness.

But this was to fulfill the words of the prophecy that Jesus would be betrayed by a close friend.

John 17, 12, 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 scriptures might be fulfilled.

See, we see this morning that it was the Father's plan for Judas to betray and ultimately be destroyed.

We see the contrast between Jesus' brokenness towards his wickedness and suffering and the hardness of heart that Judas had towards Jesus as he takes the bread and as he walks without looking back.

Judas saw firsthand his master, his friend's anguish and sorrow and pain, and he rejected it.

Like one whose conscience had been breathed, its last, he rises and goes forth to do his wicked work.

See, Judas serves as an illustration to all of us that God's sovereignty and human responsibility go hand in hand.

God's sovereignty and human responsibility go hand in hand.

See, Jesus had to suffer.

And even so, Judas chose to betray.

Judas was not chosen to be saved.

And Jesus' words and Judas's work confirm it.

John chapter 6 says, Did I not choose you the twelve?

John 6 · chapter mention

This is Jesus.

And yet one of you is a devil.

He spoke of Judas, the son of Simon Isariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

Ultimately, Judas didn't repent because it was not granted to him by the Father.

True repentance.

And yet he was still guilty.

Really guilty.

Really accountable.

Really blameworthy.

He was responsible for what he did.

And Judas himself says this.

We see as Peter denied Jesus.

What did Peter do?

Peter ran back to Jesus and Jesus makes him say, Do you love me?

I do.

Do you love me, Peter?

I do.

Do you love me, Peter?

He asks them three times.

And Judas, full of shame, takes the money bag that he had exchanged for selling out his master.

And he goes back and he tries to do something about it and they reject it.

And he throws the money bag down.

And in shame, he runs away and he hangs himself.

And before taking his own life, in Matthew 27, we read that Judah says, I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.

No repentance.

So to summarize, verse 28 through 30, God's sovereignty does not diminish man's responsibility.

God's sovereignty does not diminish man's responsibility.

This brings us to our main idea this morning.

God knows and desires your heart.

God knows and desires your heart.

See, Judas's presence among the disciples warned us that even the most wicked can masquerade or be mistaken as true believers.

Man can be easily deceived, but God sees our hearts.

And that's good news.

Going back to that quote the heart of man is the worst part before it is regenerated, and the best afterwards.

The eye of God is, and the eye of the Christian ought to be principally set upon it.

The greatest difficulty in conversion is to win the heart to God.

And the greatest difficulty after is to keep the heart with God.

This is good news.

God sees your heart.

So we can stop pretending.

We can be real.

We can be authentic with one another.

With our brothers and sisters, with our spouses.

Jesus sees us.

We don't have to pretend.

It's ultimately what drove him to send his own son.

The Father sent his son because he knew your heart.

He knew my heart.

He knew that there was no other way.

And so can we just stop pretending?

Can we begin to confess our sins, to turn from our ways, to be authentic?

Like Judas, we act like we have it all together.

Many of us toy with sin.

We allow it to go unchecked.

And thereby we open a door for Satan and his wreckage and his destruction.

Genesis 4 says, sin is crouching at the door, and its desire is to have you.

But you must master it.

You must master it.

James 1.15.

Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown, brings forth death.

Sin when it's fully grown brings forth death.

God knows our hearts.

And that's why he sent his son.

The greatest difficulty after conversion is to keep the heart with God.

Proverbs 4, keep your heart with all vigilance.

Keep your heart with all vigilance.

For from it flow the springs of life.

This word for vigilance is wakeful alertness.

Are we keeping our hearts with wakeful alertness?

Are we maintaining a heart that is longing for God, that is longing for fellowship and communion with Him?

Or our hearts chasing after these lesser pursuits that will leave us empty in vain.

A love for the things of this world which are going to perish.

Our story this morning, kind of have two spectrums here that we're going to look at.

Some of us, our pursuit of holiness is absent.

Our pursuit of holiness is absent.

Being a Christian means being Christ-like.

To grow in holiness is to be, have this complete overhaul of our soul after the image of God.

And so what does holiness look like in our life?

Holiness looks like our pursuit of self-dependence is now removed for faith.

Faith in God.

Our pursuit of self-love is submitted to the will of God revealed through His holy word.

Our pursuit of self-seeking is exchanged for self-denial.

And so I ask you, brothers and sisters, this morning, are you pursuing diligently holiness and communion with God?

Or are you toying with sin?

Are you downplaying the effects that it is having on your life?

My fear is that we can hear the story of Judas and almost treat it as some type of fairy tale, nonfiction narrative.

Like, man, that really stinks that that happened to that guy, right?

Like, man, he he was the one that betrayed, but you know, it happened, right?

My fear is that we can read that and become completely unmoved to the fact that we, if we let sin reign in our souls, that we are on that same trajectory of letting Satan's power take foothold and reign in our lives, in the life of this church and in our homes, in our workplace.

Throughout this coming month, we might see this most clearly.

As many who claim to be Christ's followers openly celebrate sin.

How did that happen?

It wasn't overnight, it was a progression of sin that was unchecked and wickedness that took full hold.

And here we are.

And so I asked this morning, where do you need to die to self?

To put off the patterns and behaviors of the old man that are not submitted to the holiness and a life after God.

God knows and desires your heart.

And we're told that we cannot serve two masters.

So whether that be money like Judas, whether that be self, whether that be sex, whether that be church and a platform and prestige and honor and glory and affection and to be loved.

Church, where do we need to die to self?

We must diligently keep our heart after God.

And so that's one end of the spectrum.

And the other end of the spectrum is that our best will never be enough.

Our best will never be enough.

See, God knows and desires your heart so well that he chose to murder his son to make a way for you and I to have communion and fellowship with him for his own glory.

We particularly see this in the church.

It seems so easy to forget that we sinfully believe the work that we do, this work of ministry, this work of singing songs every Sunday, or greeting people, or working in the kids, or telling our neighbors about Jesus, is somehow able to save us.

All the while forgetting to commune with God, to keep our hearts in alignment with Him.

See, we saw this with Judas.

Judas is this vivid illustration of what we learned in Matthew 22, where it says, On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name?

Didn't we cast out demons in your name and do mighty and many works in your name?

And Jesus declares to them, I never knew you.

Depart from me, you worker of lawlessness.

As one of your pastors, I need to confess that many times in my life, I have been more preoccupied with Christianity than Christ.

And I don't think I'm alone.

I've been more preoccupied with the things that seem to be pressing, the things that, man, this is important, this is someone's emergency, or man, if we don't get a new building, if we don't have the space to grow, all these things all the while, not keeping my heart with all vigilance, with all wakefulness.

And I learned that if I don't do that, guess what happens?

Sin rains.

I start running down the wrong road.

I start making poor decisions.

I'm not gospeling my family.

I'm not praying with my wife because my my brain space and my attention and my affections are now on lesser things.

Oftentimes, it's not sinfully, like I'm trying to end up on the preacher in sneakers conversation.

What do I have?

I got Oakley's on today.

These were$20, right?

I can't make that a Twitter channel, but there's certainly foolish decisions that we make.

We let lesser pursuits consume our mind in time for the sake of ministry.

Some of us in this vein think that our works can somehow actually save us.

And so we try to fix or we try to hide our own mess.

See, Judas did this when he returned to the temple.

Instead of running to the Savior, instead of running to the teacher who had taught him that true forgiveness and true washing of his sins is only found in him.

And he tried to exchange the money back to cancel the record of wrong that he had done.

And it didn't work.

It didn't work, and we are no different.

Brothers and sisters, your best will never be good enough.

And that is good freeing news.

And so the reflection this morning for all of us is to consider your carelessness or your carefulness as evidence of the sincerity or hypocrisy of your confession.

Consider the carelessness, the licentiousness, the running after sin and allowing it to just take hold of our lives, or the carefulness, the religiosity, the amount of money that we tithe, the amount of weeks in a row that we serve as evidence of the sincerity or hypocrisy of our profession.

What sin needs dealt with?

What vain pursuits need put to death.

Where do you need to be freed from the lie that your good works can somehow save you?

That we may not be found as counterfeit Christians.

Our gospel conviction is that Jesus' betrayal intensifies the glory of the Son and the gracious gift of salvation.

Jesus' betrayal intensifies, magnifies, you know that word.

Draws attention to the glory of the Son and the gracious gift of salvation.

See, Judas' betrayal ultimately foreshadowed the nature of Jesus' crucifixion.

When the full weight and judgment of sin was poured out to the dregs on the innocent son.

When the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world would be put to death.

We sing this song, how deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that he should give his only son to make a wretch his treasure.

How great the pain of searing lost, the father turns his face away, as wounds which mar the chosen ones bring many sons to glory.

And as the Father turns his face from the Son, Jesus cries aloud, My Father, my Father, why have you forsaken me?

Judas' betrayal wouldn't compare to the depths of darkness experienced that night at Galgotha.

And as it was night when Judas left that room, so it was when the sky went black following the murder of our Lord.

And this was the Father's plan.

This was the Father's plan, ultimately for his own glory and for the good of his chosen ones.

See, it was God's foreknowledge of our rebellion, God's great love for his image-bearers, and ultimately God's love for his glory that demanded his perfect son to be slain.

Romans 5.8 says this, that God has shown his love for us, and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

And this is the beauty of the gospel that God knows your heart.

He sees your heart.

You don't have to pretend.

He sees your brokenness.

And he was broken so that we might be made whole.

Jesus was in complete sovereign control.

He chose his betrayer and he chose his crucifixion.

He says that no one takes his life from him, but he lays it down freely for his own glory and for our good.