The Gospel Of Judas

Illustration: A paraplegic man I saw, raising his twisted limbs to sing “Your Grace Is Enough.”

Whatever situations you may be facing in life, remember His Grace is enough for YOU today!

He’s saved you from your sins and saved you from the flames and darkness of forever punishment.

His Grace is enough, but you have to accept it to receive it. Some don’t believe enough to accept.

Judas is the unfortunate man for whom God’s Grace would have been enough, but for several reasons (most of which only Judas knows now) he denied that Grace and betrayed The Christ.

Grace wasn’t enough for Judas. Judas wanted more than Grace. He wanted glory. Judas wanted more than a Christ, He wanted a conquest. He was part of a group of disciples for what could be gained in this world and not in the next…

Now, some people sympathize with Judas because he showed remorse and yet was consigned to death forever, and the Gospel of Judas exploits that sympathy. But let it be known that Judas and Satan, and all the others like them were not just innocent bystanders, swept away by fate for the history of the world.

Deep within their hearts, they denied God’s Grace, betrayed the Lordship of Christ and exalted themselves. They willingly chose their path. They refused to believe and passionately opposed the plan of God for a plan of their own. That road always ends in destruction.

Acts 1:16-20, “…concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus-- he was one of our number and shared in this ministry." (With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) "For," said Peter, "it is written in the book of Psalms, "’May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, "’May another take his place of leadership.’”

Today, we’re going to look to the inspired Word of God for a clear picture of what really happened in Judas’ life. We’re going to examine this for the sake of knowing the truth in the face of a heresy: An ancient text called “The Gospel of Judas.”

The Bible clearly reveals the condition of Judas’ heart that led him down the road to a tree of his own. Not a cross of redemption, but a tree of shame in a field of his own blood. The picture of Judas’ death is an anti-picture of the cross of Christ, which redeems. It’s a picture of man trusting in himself, thinking of himself, loving himself and dying for himself - in stark contrast to the picture of Jesus, who trusted in The Father, considered His people more valuable than Himself and our needs greater than His own, who died in your place, to redeem your soul.

Today, when I say, “The Inspired Word of God” what I mean is the books we find in the Bible.

They are called the Bible Canon. These are the books, (most written within 50 years of the crucifixion) which were accepted by the early church to accurately and perfectly reflect the heart and spirit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and they are written by the very authors of the eyewitness accounts and transcribed by scribes.

The Gospel of Judas is an ancient text from about AD 180 (150 years after the crucifixion). It is not an inspired text. It is called an apocrypha: Writings of questionable authorship or authenticity.

That simply means it is NOT considered not to be inspired by God, and the early church deemed it to be a heresy: untrue: unfit for the purpose of teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The letter is entitled the Gospel of Judas but we need to clarify what a Gospel really is…

1: Gospel: The proclamation of the redemption preached by Jesus and the Apostles, which is the central content of Christian revelation.

Nowhere in the text of “The Gospel of Judas” is there mention of the cross or the resurrection of JC.\ The book of Judas totally omits the crucifixion and resurrection account of Jesus Christ. How can you call that a Gospel?

2: Gospel: Something, such as an idea or principle, accepted as unquestionably true: My parents’ rules were gospel.

Most of the information found in the text of the Gospel of Judas is Gnostic theory and nowhere near widely accepted as unquestionably true…

The Gospel of Judas begins with a lie: it is no Gospel at all, and it isn’t written by Judas.

It’s written by the members of a cult religion called Gnosticism. Gnosticism is one of those “ISM” religions: full of heresy and untrue accounts, such as MormonISM.