Grace Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Sunday,
February 9, 2020
The barrier to truth is when one presumes that they already have it.
We are living in one of the greatest periods in all human history, which I personally believe is the last generation before the Rapture and the Second Advent or the Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“has lifted up his heel against me” is an idiom meaning to try and over-throw or discredit one’s authority, to seek one’s destruction.
There were two Judas’ in the disciples, only Judas Iscariot can fit in the definition of being a Traitor or a Betrayer.
One of the disgusting traits of Judas Iscariot is that, not only did he betray our Lord, but he also pretended to love the Lord when all he really loved was himself; 2Ti 3:2.
His lust for approbation, recognition, money, power, and authority is about to be brought to the surface.
To be the “son of perdition” means that Judas is a man identified with eternal destruction, whose destiny is the Eternal Lake of Fire.
Act 1:25 = Judas went “to his own place” meaning the place that he chose on his own — therefore, his own place of his own choosing.
It is not that Judas was predestined from eternity past to betray our Lord and to go to hell without opportunity to be saved, but that he had every opportunity.
(1) He experienced the privilege of selection into the unique circle of the “12,” becoming an apostle;
(2) Judas also observed great crowds flocking to our Lord Jesus Christ as He was becoming more and more popular every day.
(3) Judas saw Christ’s own family thinking Him crazy.
They called this same type of principle something like we would call today an intervention, that’s what our Lord’s family thought about the Lord.
(4) He observed that Jesus had extraordinary charisma and attracted large crowds, which meant potential political power, influence, and wealth and Judas wanted in on the action.
We might have supposed that Matthew would handle the money needed to sustain the Lord’s ministry because he had been a tax collector and well acquainted with money matters.
Judas was the treasurer of the Lord’s group of apostles indicating that he was no imbecile; Joh 12:5-6; Joh 13:29.
Judas knew the ins-and-outs of collecting, managing, and spending money better than the others did, including Matthew, who was a Tax Collector for the Romans to the Jews.
We also find some very interesting principles of our Lord’s Final Passover, where Lazarus had been raised from the dead; Joh 12:1.
Mary anointed our Lord’s feet with expensive “oil of spikenard,” “wiping His feet with her hair” (JOH 12:3).
Character trait #1: Judas did not care about the poor. He was a hard-hearted man, too concerned with feathering his own nest while others, less fortunate, suffered around him.
Character trait #2: He was a thief, pilfering funds from the Lord’s money box, which exposes that Judas was full of avarice, or greed.
Our Lord is telling them that there is a traitor in their midst and that he is about to betray Him.
Prin: Judas became a traitor because the verb that is mentioned is known as the aorist-middle-indicative of the Greek verb ginomai which means to become something that one was not before.
I do not believe that the Lord chose Judas to fulfill a prophecy of damnation.
Hyper-Calvinism is a branch of Protestant theology that denies the universal duty of human beings to believe in Christ for the salvation of their souls.
Those who take these principles to the extreme teach that man is either chosen by God to go to heaven and live with Him forever or man is chosen by God to go to eternal damnation.
These types of believers usually function under what they call TULIP which is an acronym of five essential tenets or points concerning the Sovereignty of God and the depravity of man.
T.U.L.I.P.
(T) Total Depravity;
(U) Unconditional election;
(L) Limited atonement;
(I) Irresistible grace;
(P) Perseverance of the saints.
When our Lord was around adult believers, or Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes, all of them were astonished by His knowledge and spiritual strength; Luk 2:40-52.
This is not to say our Lord was not strong physically, because it took a lot of human strength to endure the beatings, the punches whip, the forced crown upon His head.
All of these principles apply to betrayers and traitors who make a living by manipulation, lies, broken vows; broken promises; etc.
It doesn’t really matter if you love our Lord, because if you love the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, there is divine blessing waiting just for you.
The Lord is rebuking the shepherds for betraying the people of God by denying them doctrinal teaching and therefore, the Lord uses a prophecy that points to the ultimate betrayer, Judas Iscariot.
“I was not telling the truth when I said I studied the Bible myself and I said I don’t believe it because it was written by man and not by God:” — I was just saying what I heard others say.”
The only real barrier to truth is the arrogance of presumption whereby one presumes that they already have it.
I told you — give it a chance —- you’ll love it — be honest — you will begin to know the real meaning behind statements like; “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.
“Those born once will die twice and those born twice will die once.”
It means theologically that all of us were born in sin, we were born physically alive, but spiritually dead; Psa 51:5; 58:3; Rom 5:12.
Can he be born again which means that he would be born twice, once physically, the other spiritually.
Marvel is the aorist-active-subjunctive of thaumazo (thou-mad’-zo); to marvel, to admire, to be amazed, be astonished, and to have reverence and adoration.
“Those born once will die twice and those born twice will die once.”
If you are born once that is only physical birth, then you will die twice which refers to physical death followed by the second death; Rev 2:11.
We have the prophecy of the blood on two sides of the door-posts and under the door; Exo 12:7 “Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.”
1Co 5:7 “For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.”
The prophecy of the brazen serpent being lifted up; Num 21:9 “And Moses made a bronze serpent and set in on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.”
This was fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ in Joh 3:14, 12:32, Heb 12:2.
Joh 3:14 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.”
Joh 12:32 “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”
We have the prophecy of certain events which took place around the Cross in Psalm 22:6-8.
Psa 22:6 “But I am a worm, and not a man, a reproach of men, and despised by the people.”
Psa 22:7 “All who see Me sneer at Me; they separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying,”
Psa 22:8 “Commit Yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver Him; let Him rescue Him, because He delights in Him.”
Luk 23:35 “And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, slaying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen one.”
We have the prophecy of His hands and feet being pierced in Psalm 22:16.
Psa 22:16 “For dogs have surrounded Me; a band of evildoers has encompassed Me; they pierced My hands and My feet.”
This was fulfilled throughout the gospels when they nailed His hands and feet to the cross, Matthew 27:31 and Mark 15:24.
MAT 27:31 And after they had mocked Him, they took His robe off and put His garments on Him and led Him away to crucify Him.
The prophecy of casting lots for His garments; Psa 22:18 “They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.”
Mat 27:35 “And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots;”
The prophecy that not one of His bones would be broken; Psa 34:20 “He keeps all His bones; not one of them is broken.”
Joh 19:34 “But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.”
Joh 19:36 “For these things came to pass, that the scripture might be fulfilled, “not a bone of Him shall be broken.”
The prophecy of the false witnesses; Psa 35:11 “Malicious witnesses rose up; they ask Me of things that I do not know.”
Mar 14:57 “And some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying,”
Mar 14:58 “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.'”
There is the Old Testament prophecy of the betrayal of Judas Iscariot; Psa 41:9 “Even My close friend, in whom I trusted, who ate My bread, has lifted up his heel against Me.”
Luk 22:47 “While He was still speaking, behold, a multitude came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them; and he approached Jesus to kiss Him.”
Luk 22:48 “But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of man with a kiss?”