"Except the Son of Destruction"

“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 Scripture might be fulfilled.” (John 17:12 ESV)

It is a difficult thing to acknowledge that not everyone will come to the Lord in salvation. It is probably the most critical thing, although clearly stated in scripture, which leads those to shun the doctrine of unconditional election. It falls along the lines of  “How could a loving God send people to hell for eternity?” It all comes from a lack of doctrinal knowledge.

Knowing there are those who will never come to the Lord is one thing. However, acknowledging that there are those who profess to be disciples of Christ who will fall away from the church and return to the world, having never been saved from the beginning, is crushing.

There are haunting scriptures throughout the Bible that illustrate this very point, and they involve the apostle Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot is a constant fearful reminder to many Christians that, despite our professions, despite our service, attendance to worship, somehow we fear we may be hiding that we are still a part of the world.

“As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” (John 13:27). There is a fear that the outward appearances do not align with the inward relationship with the Lord. I think at some point in our lives, every Christian thinks, “ How could I be saved and do what I just did?” It is our reflection on Judas and his willing betrayal that causes us to think, “How could I?”

Then there are those frightening passages, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”(Matthew 7:21-23) Have you ever meditated on these verses and thought, my God, please let that not be me.

When examining the enigma of Judas Iscariot and the notion that we may be deceiving ourselves, it is essential to consider a few key points. One, we acknowledge our depravity. We know we are sinners, and the Spirit convicts us in our sin, and we brokenheartedly repent. The mere fact that we worry about our eternity is a reason to help us in our struggle with our sin and salvation. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said something to the effect of, One lost in the world does not worry about their eternity.  Most importantly, we must understand Judas Iscariot. In John 13, it is written, “Satan entered him” (Judas). Somehow, Judas opened himself to Satan. Was it his true lack of faith that was a crack in the door that allowed the enemy to possess him?

Throughout the gospels, we see Judas, although following Jesus, remained in the world. In Bethany, at the house of Mary and Martha, when Mary anointed Jesus with the expensive perfumed oil, Judas rebuked her. John wrote, “He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.” (12:6). There is a difference between falling in temptation, then willfully, openly sinning, especially when it is hidden sin. Nothing is hidden from God.

There is no out for Judas. If you think that Judas was unwillingly possessed, you are missing the details in Scripture that refer to him. It is the worldly desires of Judas that openly existed and coalesced with the will of Satan that allowed Satan to enter Him. This was not some brutal satanic possession; Satan was invited in. Are your desires worldly, or do you desperately desire Christ despite your sinful nature? We must not possess spiritual naivete. Sin wants each of us, and we must fight it every second of every day. Our call from Christ is to master it through the Holy Spirit, not on our own. However, it is we who must choose to turn from our sin, or we will never grow in our sanctification.

Every day we walk this earth, we reach a crossroad or roads at which stand Christ and Satan, which road will you take? Choose Christ. You who are a child of God refuse Satan. You who do not know Jesus, run to that crossroads and cling to Christ, never letting go, and ask for salvation.

Grace and Peace!