Baptized Sin
The name “Judas” is famous for betrayal; the worst kind of betrayal but you and I may have more in common with Judas than we think.
Judas was one of the original 12 called by Jesus to be a disciple. Judas was literally there to see and experience every great miracle and hear every great teaching. While the other disciples were gradually coming to the conclusion that Jesus was the son of God and were giving their lives wholeheartedly to him, Judas was resisting. There was something dark lurking in Judas’ heart, something selfish, something unworthy that he simply glossed over and never confronted. Judas was a thief, a betrayer, an embezzler and a rat. Even though he followed Jesus physically he had created an environment in his heart where Satan was welcome.
Judas was living a life of compromise but he thought that he could manage it. He thought he could manage his sin and control it to a safe outcome. He thought that his sin could serve him but he soon found out that he was serving his sin. He knew that what he was doing was wrong but he had a plan and one day he wouldn’t be doing it anymore. It’s almost like he was saying, “I’ll date this sin but I’m not going to marry it!” And that is why we are a lot like Judas; we sorely underestimate the gravity of sin.
In Luke 22:3 we are told, “then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the 12 disciples…” That is shocking that Satan could enter into a disciple of Jesus but why shouldn’t he? After all Judas had a special room for Satan in his heart with a private entrance. The sin that Judas was dating finally moved in and when Satan moves in he’s not content with just a room, he is there to take over. We know how the story ends; Judas betrays Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, regrets it later, and then kills himself in shame.
We’re not so unlike Judas. Judas had a chance to drag his ugly sin out into the open and repent of it and crucify it but he never did. He left it undisturbed in his heart and it eventually took over his life. The same story could be ours as well if we don’t crucify our sin. Don’t baptize your sin believing that God is okay with it. He’s not. Crucify your sin before it takes over.
