Betraying God

Scripture: (Luke 22: 3-5) Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. 4 So he went his way and conferred with the chief priest and captains, how he might betray Him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.

Judas betrayed a man that he called friend. The Bible tells us that Judas was counted among the twelve men who were friends of Jesus; and yet he made a conscious decision to betray Him
(Luke 22: 4). The Bible also tells us that Judas was so consumed with remorse that he hung himself after admitting to the chief priest and elders that he had sinned by betraying innocent blood. (Matthew 27:3-5). Judas was aware that he had sinned against Jesus and that he had hurt Him deeply. As believers we can also hurt Jesus deeply, and we too can be so consumed with grief over sin that we commit spiritual suicide. Many times, after consciously sinning we refuse to repent, refuse to confess our sin and even ignore the pleading of the Lord because we may actually enjoy the sin that we are actively participating in. Believers know that the flesh is weak; they know that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and often use that as an excuse to continue to practice sin. Even though we are sinners saved by grace, failure to repent, failure to acknowledge sin is betrayal to God. Yes, it is betrayal and yes betrayal is a harsh word. The dictionary defines betrayal as an act of deliberate disloyalty. It is described as the most devastating loss a person can experience. Let’s go a little deeper: betrayal is when someone you trust lies to you, cheats on you, abuses you, or hurts you by putting their own self-interest first. Therefore, the decision to commit sin is a form of betrayal to God. As believers, we are in a relationship with God. Our Lord has invested in us and trusts us.  Depending on the type of sin, you may be lying to (I know I promised to never do it again), cheating on (Lord, I know I’m not to have any gods before you, but this is my child, my job, my significant other, my things), or hurting God.  Remember, by definition, betrayal is a form of hurt that puts your self-interest before God’s. If you are honest there is sin you still enjoy. There are times when you are just tired of doing right. Of course, we know that the Lord has instructed us to not grow weary of doing good, to put away the old man (stop lying, gossiping, signifying, drinking, drugging, etc), to not be conformed to this world and instead set our minds on things above. In truth, dying to self-daily can get to be a bit much. We are only human after all. It should be noted that when you stop working on daily sanctification, you are more prone to sin and that sin, your betrayal, grieves the Holy Spirit. Thankfully, we serve a forgiving God. The Bible tells us in 1 John 1: 9 that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Failure to confess/acknowledge your sin to God is a form of spiritual suicide because the wages of sin is definitely death.

Prayer: Dear Lord, our Father, our Redeemer, we come to you seeking forgiveness for those sins that we purposely do. Lord, please forgive us for grieving You, for betraying You, for disappointing You. Help us Lord to stay on the narrow path even when it’s difficult. Lord, destroy those things in our lives that don’t bring You glory. Take the desire away from us for those things that are contrary to Your Word and Your way. Thank you for Your Word that reminds us that we can do all things through Christ. Thank you for reminding us that we are Your workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works. More than anything, thank you for Your Son, Jesus Christ, who became sin for us so we might live. Without you, we are slaves to sin; but with You, we are victorious over sin. Thank you, Lord for Your faithfulness. In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen.

(by Patricia Towns)