Written by Pastor Gardner Tuesday, 03 July 2007 00:00

Judas Iscariot is sometimes referred to as an example that a believer who has trusted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior can lose his salvation. When people make this claim, they typically rely on John 17:12, "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled." We will examine this verse later, but before doing so, let's first look at other verses that speak to Judas Iscariot's spiritual state.

John 6:64-71 - "But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve."

This passage of Scripture clearly shows that Judas Iscariot was not a true believer in Jesus Christ and was not converted.

The words of Jesus Christ, the One who knows the heart of all men, were, "But there are some of you that believe not." Why did he say this? Because ("For") He "knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him." This statement was made to the group of Jesus' disciples, including Judas Iscariot, before the group was thinned down to the twelve. Jesus said that there were some in this larger group of disciples who were not true believers (i.e., false professors), and that the number of false professors included the one who would betray him, Judas Iscariot. Thus, even if John 6:64 was the only verse of Scripture that referred to Judas Iscariot's spiritual condition, we would have undisputable testimony from Jesus Christ Himself that Judas was lost.

But John 6:64 is not the only verse of Scripture that deals with Judas Iscariot's spiritual condition. Later verses in this same passage shed additional light on whether Judas was saved or lost. Although the other false professing "disciples went back, and walked no more with him," Judas Iscariot remained among the twelve. Jesus then addressed the twelve, asking them, "Will ye also go away?" Peter, presuming to speak for the twelve, answered that they had no where else to go because Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, who had the words of eternal life. Jesus essentially corrected Peter's sweeping statement on behalf of all of the twelve by stating that He had "chosen" the twelve (i.e., selected them to follow him[1]), but one of them was "a devil." Lest there be any doubt who Jesus was referring to by the word "devil," John explicitly states that He was referring to Judas Iscariot, the betrayer.[2]

The fact that Jesus called Judas "a devil" is further proof that Judas was not saved. John 1:12-13 tells us, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." If Judas had received Jesus Christ as His personal Savior, he would have been a son of God, not a devil. In addition to being totally inconsistent with the way that God sees us once we are saved,[3] Jesus' use of the term "devil" in connection with people was reserved for those who had rejected Christ. (See, e.g., John 8:44a, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.")

Further proof of the fact that Judas Iscariot was spiritually lost is found in John 13:10-11, an exchange that occurs during Jesus' washing of the disciples' feet. In John 13:10, Jesus says in response to Peter's request that Jesus wash not his feet only, but also his hands and head, "He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all." Jesus' washing of the disciples' feet was a physical action designed to teach spiritual truth. Of course, the obvious spiritual lesson is a lesson in servanthood, but C.I. Scofield brings to light the deeper spiritual lesson of Jesus' statement in John 13:10. According to Dr. Scofield, "The underlying imagery is of an oriental returning from the public baths to his house. His feet would contract defilement and require cleansing, but not his body. So the believer is cleansed as before the law from all sin "once for all (Heb. 10:1-12), but ever to bring his daily sins to the Father in confession, that he may abide in unbroken fellowship with the Father and with the Son (I John 1:1-10)."

Thus, it is clear that although Peter was focused on the physical, Jesus was focused on the spiritual and Jesus' statement, "ye are clean, but not all" was referring to their spiritual condition.[4] Those who trust Christ as their Savior are clean because they have been cleansed from the guilt of sin in salvation.[5] What did Jesus mean when he said, "but not all." John 13:11 tells us that Jesus said this, "For he knew who should betray him, therefore said he, Ye are not all clean." This verse definitely states that Judas had never been cleansed in salvation.

Remember, the discussion recorded in John 13:10-11 occurred at the Last Supper, the very night that Judas betrayed Jesus. This timing precludes any argument that Judas may have become a true believer between the time of John 6:64-71 and John 13. Nor could anyone argue with a straight face that Judas would have trusted Christ for salvation after John 13. Thus, the clear teaching of Scripture is that Judas was an unsaved man.

Additional evidence to confirm Judas' lost condition can be found in John 13:18, where Jesus states, "I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me." Here again, Jesus is making a distinction between the eleven true believers and Judas Iscariot. This time, the word "chosen" is used in a spiritual sense of being chosen in salvation, and Jesus clearly indicates that Judas was not one of the chosen.

Finally, John 18:7-9 teaches that Judas was unsaved. During the confrontation in Gethsemane in which Jesus was betrayed and arrested, Jesus told the group who was seeking to arrest him, "I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way." According to verse 9, this statement was made "that the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none." This verse teaches that those whom the Father gives to the Son (i.e., those who trust Christ as their Savior) will not be lost.[6] The ones who were not lost in both the physical and spiritual sense that evening were the eleven disciples, not including Judas Iscariot. Since Judas Iscariot was lost, we know that he was never given to Christ by the Father. In other words, he was never saved.

John 18:9 takes us full circle back to John 17:12 because the saying that John 18:9 fulfilled was the saying in John 17:12. To refresh your recollection, that saying was, "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled." Those who teach that John 17:12 shows that Judas Iscariot apostatized, spiritually shipwrecked, or lost his salvation, put the exclusive emphasis of this verse on "but the son of perdition." This exclusive emphasis is misplaced.

Consider the explicit statements of Christ in John 17:12 and John 18:9. First, Jesus stated that "those that thou gavest me I have kept." (John 17:12) This is an exhaustive claim that includes every single person that God the Father gave to God the Son, Jesus Christ. Since Jesus Christ is God the Son, we know that He cannot lie.[7] In other words, if God the Father gave them to Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is irrefutably saying that He has kept them.

Second, Jesus stated that "of them which thou gavest me have I lost none." (John 18:9) This further solidifies Jesus' claim that He kept those who were given to him by the Father, and further emphasizes the exhaustiveness of His claim ("have I lost none"). Jesus didn't lose (and still hasn't lost) any true believer who was given to him by the Father.

Third, Jesus stated that "none of them is lost." (John 17:12) This phrase might seem redundant in light of the first and second claims that Jesus made. It certainly emphasizes the exhaustiveness of Jesus' claim (i.e., none means none, nada, zilch, zero, no one), but it also helps clarify the whole grammatical structure of John 17:12. The "of them" in the phrase "none of them is lost" necessarily modifies the "those that thou gavest me" since there is no other "thems" referred to in the sentence. In other words, none of those that the Father gave to the Son is lost.

The one who was lost was "the son of perdition," Judas Iscariot. Why was Judas Iscariot lost? Obviously he was lost because he had never trusted Christ as his Savior. If he had, Judas would have been given to the Son by the Father and would have been among those whom Jesus said were kept and not lost. To say that Judas was saved by Jesus Christ, but later lost is an affront to God. For Judas to have been saved and then lost is to say that (1) Jesus is lying in John 18:9 when He states, "Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none," or (2) Judas was never given to Jesus, which contradicts the teaching of John 10:29. It also mistakes who keeps the believer in Christ and how the believer is kept.

The Bible teaches us that the keeping of the believer is a function of all parts of the Trinity. According to John 10:28-29, the Son and the Father, who are One, keep the believer secure and make sure that he shall never perish. According to Ephesians 1:13 and 4:30, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God. II Corinthians 1:21-2 teaches us that it is God who seals us and gives us the indwelling Holy Spirit in our hearts as proof of our salvation. Romans 8:35-38 tells us that there is nothing and no one who is able to separate a believer from the love of Christ. These are but a sampling of the verses that make clear that it is God who keeps the believer secure, not the believer himself.

Based on the foregoing, the simple answer to the question of whether Judas Iscariot was ever saved is a resounding "no"! To claim otherwise flies in the face of the clear teaching of the Bible about Judas Iscariot and the Bible's teaching on the enternal security of the believer.

 

---

[1] To say that the word "chosen" in John 6:70 refers to choosing them in salvation totally ignores the inclusion of Judas among those who "believe not" in verse 64 and Jesus referring to Judas as "a devil."

 

[2] This reference to Judas Iscariot as the one who would betray Christ provides further confirmation that the person referred to in John 6:64 as the betrayer who was one of the ones who "believed not" is definitely Judas Iscariot.

[3]

[4] This point is further established by the change of words in the original Greek. Up until John 13:10, the word translated "wash" meant "to wash a part of the body." Jesus changed words in John 13:10, and used a word which meant "to bathe all over."

[5] See, e.g., I Cor. 6:9-11; Titus 3:3-7; Rev. 1:5.

[6] John 10:27-30 teaches this same principle of eternal security of the believer. "²⁷ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: ²⁸ And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. ³⁰ I and my Father are one."

 

[7] Titus 1:2.