What Will You Sell Jesus For?
Posted by: biblenotes <biblenotes@...>
From: Martin M Overfield
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2000
What Will You Sell Jesus For?
"Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you?
And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that
time he sought opportunity to betray him." (Matthew 26:14-16).
Jesus Christ the Son of God is our only hope of salvation. "Neither is
there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven
given
among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12). Therefore, if we are
to be saved, and saved in the end, we must at any and all cost take Jesus
Christ for our Lord and Savior. We must never become willing to sell Him
Who is our only hope.
But, this is what Judas did. He became willing to betray Jesus for
thirty
pieces of silver, the price of a slave. And, by doing this, he became a New
Testament illustration of those who are willing to sell Christ, the
priceless One,
for a certain price, for a certain amount of money. "For the love of money
is
the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from
the
faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (I Timothy 6:10).
By doing this awful deed, "Judas by transgression fell that he might go
to his own place." (Acts 1:25). "His own place" was and now is a place
called Hell, Hades in the Greek, which place will be cast into the Lake of
Fire
after the final judgment (Revelation 20:14).
Notice these words of Christ by which He refers to Judas as "the son of
perdition": "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." (John 17:12). Jesus
knew
that Judas would be lost in the end and that his present condition was one
of a lost soul, because his heart was set on betraying Him.
Now let me ask you a question. Are you willing to sell, or to betray,
Jesus Christ for a price? Many are selling Him for less than thirty pieces
of
silver. Others perhaps will not accept less than a million dollars. But,
any
price is too small. Many are willing to sell Him for other things besides
money. It is not worth it! Our eternal salvation, which comes with the
Savior,
Who "is able ... to save ... to the uttermost" (Hebrews 7:25), is TOO
VALUABLE to give up for any earthly price.
Are you willing to sell Him for some sexual sin -- for someone else's
wife
or husband, for a few moments of pleasure, for a few lustful thoughts? How
about for some worldly entertainment? What about for the approval of your
comrades, relatives, or neighbors? How about for a few dollars, for
gambling,
or for one dishonest gain such as a shady used car deal? Will you sell Him
for
one or more "little white lies" to try to keep out of trouble or
embarrassment?
Will you let Jesus go so that you can decorate yourself like Jezebel,
who
"painted her face" (II Kings 9:30)? Will you compromise what God has spoken
concerning how He wants you to dress and whether or not you cut your hair
and
how you wear it? (I Corinthians 11; I Timothy 2:9, 10; I Peter 3:1-4;
Isaiah 3:16-26; Deuteronomy 22:5).
What about that wrong that someone has done to you? Will you let go of
Christ so that you might nurse a grudge? Will you betray Him just so you
can
have your own way?
How about it, preacher? Will you betray the Christ, because you don't
want to offend Brother Money Bags or Sister Church Boss? Will you tone
down the truth in order to make it acceptable to carnal church members and
worldly professors of religion? Proverbs 23:23 still says, "Buy the truth,
and
sell it not". We should NOT aim to offend, but we should preach "all the
counsel of God" "with the Holy Ghost sent down from Heaven". (Acts 20:27;
I Peter 1:12). Some people will be offended when we tell them the truth.
Woe to anyone of us who would dare to sell Christ! May God help us to
make every sacrifice necessary to have Him and to keep Him in our hearts
and lives.
"The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man
by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had
never been born." (Mark 14:21)
"For it had been better for them not to have known the way of
righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy
commandment delivered unto them." (II Peter 2:21).
Yours In Christ,
Martin Overfield
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