THE UNFORGIVABLE SIN
Judas betrayed Jesus
· “And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money.” Luke 22:4-5
· “Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, deeply regretted what he had done. He returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.” Mt27:3–4
Judas repented
But that did not save him.
Judas Iscariot stands as an example of a soul condemned to be in hell.
Christ stated that he lost none that the Father gave Him “except the son of perdition” (John 17:12).
And speaking of the one who would betray Him, Jesus said, “it would be better for that man if he had never been born” (Mattew26:24)
Peter denied Jesus three times
· Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. Therefore they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not!” One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed. John18:25-27
Jesus forgave Peter
· So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,“Simon,son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that Ilove You.” He said to him,“Feed My lambs.” John 21:15
Why could Peter be forgiven . . . yet Judas could not be forgiven?
All sin is bad but there is one sin that is unforgivable.
---- What sin did Jesus speak out against the most?
---- Jesus spoke out against hypocrisy many more times than he did against any other sin.
· Jesus replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Mark 7:6
· "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. Matthew 23:27
· But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Matthew 22:18
· "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Matthew 23:25
· …. you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. Matthew 23:29
· "Woe to you,. . . you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. Matthew 23:13
Judas was a hypocrite
· Jesus asked him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?“ Luke 22:48
Why is being a hypocrite unforgivable?
A hypocrite is double minded.
There is always more than one side to a hypocrite.
A hypocrite can never be completely forgiven because there is always another side of them that isn’t included in their repentance.
From time to time we are all hypocrites.
· But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. Galatians 2:11-13
Judas knowingly embraced hypocrisy when he betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Peter acted out of fear and his own weakness.
One could be forgiven and the other cannot be forgiven. In either case hypocrisy is something that Jesus took pains to warn us against.
