Judas Iscariot betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ for thirty pieces of silver; but when the chief priests and elders condemned the Savior to death, Judas was filled with remorse and changed his mind. The sacred text says that he “repented himself.” So, he returned to the temple to give the money back to the Jewish leaders, but they refused it. Judas then went out and hanged himself. If Judas repented, why do the Scriptures tell us he went to hell? The implication is clear: false repentance never saves a soul. Is your repentance true or false?

It's always a great blessing to be here, to fellowship with you, and to open the Word of God together. I thank the Lord for every opportunity to do that. Would you Please open your Bibles with me to Matthew 27. We're going to read verses 1 through 10. Matthew 27 verses 1 through 10.

Would you please stand with me and let us give our attention to the inspired and infallible Word of God. Matthew 27 verse 1. When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people "'took counsel against Jesus to put him to death, "'and when they had bound him, they led him away "'and delivered him to Pontius Pilate, the governor. "'Then Judas, which had betrayed him, "'when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself and brought again the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned, in that I have betrayed the innocent blood." And they said, what is that to us? Seeth out to it.

And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, it is not lawful for to put them into the treasury because it is the price of blood. And They took counsel and bought with them the potter's field to bury strangers in Wherefore that field was called the field of blood unto this day then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet saying and They took the thirty pieces of silver the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value and gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me. Amen. May the Lord add his blessing to the reading of his holy word.

Blessed Father, we come into thy presence. Do we thank thee for the word that has been preached to us already this evening. Father, may its truths take root in our hearts. And now as we come to this sacred text, we pray that thou which grant us much grace, O God of grace and mercy, meet with us. We don't need a lecture.

We don't simply need the next session to check off. But, O God, we need to hear from Thee. Please come in Thy mighty power. Pour out Thy Spirit here. Deal with our hearts.

Do not let us go out of this room unchanged or untouched by Thy truth. And we pray it in the name of Christ, amen. Please be seated. The scene that unfolds before us is one of the darkest in human history. The Sanhedrin has condemned to death Jesus, the Lord of life.

Matthew's Gospel records that Jesus had prophesied this very moment to His disciples. He said, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be betrayed under the chief priests and under the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify him. And the third day, he shall rise again." At the heart of this satanic betrayal was Judas Iscariot. His name has become synonymous with treachery. For he was the villain who betrayed the holy, harmless, undefiled Son of God into the hands of murderous Jewish leaders.

And what was Judas paid for this act of infamy? 30 pieces of silver. That amounted to approximately four months wages of a common laborer, about $7, 500 in our day. Furthermore, in the book of Exodus, we find that when an ox gored a slave to death, the owner of the ox had to pay the slave's master 30 pieces of silver. So Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, who was of greater value than all the wealth of a billion universes, was worth no more than a dead slave to Judas and the Jewish leaders.

Never in the history of sinful human beings has there been a more contemptible and shameful act than Judas betraying Jesus Christ. His treachery gave the English language the term Judas kiss, which means an act of betrayal disguised as a gesture of friendship. This is treachery at its lowest sort, or of the lowest sort. Nevertheless, the text that we have just read tells us Judas repented himself. Did God forgive him of his vile act, of his kiss of death?

No. Judas is in hell. Judas Iscariot is in hell. Well, how are we to understand this? And the answer lies in the title of the message, Judas in Hell, the Dangers of False repentance.

And may our loving Heavenly Father grant us Holy Spirit-wrought understanding, understanding of this sobering subject, and may our own hearts be turned to the Lord Jesus Christ in true repentance and faith. So let us consider first the dreadful scene that the Holy Spirit has set before us. The sacred text unfolds this way. Sinful Jewish leaders condemned the sinless Son of God to death. We should gaze upon the following words with humility and a profound sense of awe.

When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. These are astonishing words. Consider them carefully. First, when the morning was come. Oh, what a morning this was.

The previous night, Jesus had instituted the Lord's Supper, which symbolized His brutal torture, His crucifixion, and His inauguration of the new covenant in His blood. In the context of that supper, Jesus announced that his betrayer sat at the table among his disciples. Verily I say unto you that one of you shall betray me. Following the supper, Jesus took the remaining disciples to the Mount of Olives. And in a place called Gethsemane, Jesus prophesied that all his disciples would be offended in him and would abandon him.

When Peter protested, Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him three times. And there in the garden, his disciples dozed off to sleep while he sweat, as it were, great drops of blood, agonizing in prayer before his holy father, agonizing over the looming death of the cross on Calvary. Judas, having covenanted with the chief priest, to deliver Jesus to them for 30 pieces of silver emerged from the darkness with a huge mob armed with swords and clubs. He betrayed Jesus with a kiss. With an act that should have displayed love and affection, the traitor turned Jesus over to a bloodthirsty mob.

Gripped with fear, his disciples abandoned him and fled, and the mob led Jesus away to the chief priests, elders, and to the council. They unjustly condemned him for blasphemy and then spit in his holy face and brutally beat him. And in the darkness of that night, Peter denied the Lord three times, exactly as Christ has said. So by the time that infamous morning dawned, The rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ. And in fulfillment of the prophecy of Psalm 2 the text says, All the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.

Look at this scene and wonder. The leaders of the religion that God Himself established determined to execute the Lord Jesus, the promised Messiah. When they had bound him, the text says, they led him away and delivered him to Pontius Pilate, the governor. Now under Roman law, the Jews could not put Jesus to death themselves. Therefore, our savior was led away to the pagans to Pontius Pilate.

Now let this image sink deeply into your mind. He that inaugurated the kingdom of heaven and demonstrated its power on and demonstrated its power on earth by healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons, and preaching the words of life was tied up like a common criminal and led away as a lamb to the slaughter. Lying at the heart of these events was Judas Iscariot. Was Judas Iscariot. Realizing his sin against Jesus, Judas was overcome with remorse.

The text says, Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned, in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. The word saw means to take special note of something. So the words when he saw do not mean that Judas simply had a visual experience. It means when he recognized, When he perceived, when it came home to his heart, that Jesus was condemned to death, he repented himself. The word repented here is not the usual Greek word translated repent.

Both words mean a change of mind and that is why some translations use the word repent in this context. Judas clearly had a change of mind. But the word Matthew uses for Judas also means to have regrets about something in the sense that one wishes it could be undone. That's the idea. When Judas saw an innocent man led away to death and he realized that it was all because of his love for money, he had a change of mind and he wished he could have changed it but it was too late.

Judas was sorry. Judas was deeply sorry in agony of soul and overcome with sorrow. Now let us consider this. Judas had heard the most astonishing preaching human beings had ever heard. He had seen the most astonishing miracles and had labored alongside the most astonishing human being that ever walked on this planet.

And as his eyes fixed on the dreadful spectacle of Jesus being led away, he understood what he had done, and his conscience roared Like a lion. He knew that his love of money, not the love of Christ, had put this horrifying scene in motion. And that drove him back to the temple. The sacred text goes on to say, he brought again the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. With bitter regret, Judas met with the chief priests and elders again.

He carried with him the pieces of silver for which he had sold the Lord. That money burned in his mind as a symbol of betrayal. It stood in his conscience as a prosecutor and chief witness to his greed. And now he wanted to be rid of the silver coins that he had wanted more than Jesus. It was blood money.

All this squeezed a confession out of Judas' troubled soul. I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. Judas knew that God's law condemned the shedding of innocent blood. Maybe Deuteronomy 27, 25 was in his mind. Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person.

Maybe Proverbs 6, 17 rang in his conscience. These six things doth the Lord hate and it included Hands that shed innocent blood Judas knew What he had done Judas felt the curse in his heart but the chief priests and elders were unmoved by Jesus' confession and his return of the money. What is that to us? Seeth out of that. That was their cold, calloused reply.

Judas had betrayed innocent blood, but they had condemned innocent blood. His confession meant nothing to them because they were bent on one thing, his death. Death to Jesus the troublemaker. The spotless Lamb of God was now headed toward his death, toward the cross of Calvary, and Judas knew that he could not stop this execution, nor could he convince the chief priest of the elders to take back the blood money. His conscience could no longer take the flood waters of guilt that were drowning his soul.

So he threw the money down in the temple and departed. Driven by despair and gripped by guilt, Judas hanged himself. Deuteronomy 21 23 declares, He that is hanged is a cursed of God. The curse of innocent blood fell on Judas' head as he executed himself. Meanwhile, the chief priests' consciences bothered them just a little bit because of the pieces of silver.

What troubled them? It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury because it is the price of blood. What miserable hypocrites! Deuteronomy 23 18 teaches that money acquired by sinful activities was not to be brought into the house of God. So they did not want to break God's law by putting blood money, dirty money, into the temple treasury.

But they had no pain of conscience for breaking God's law by condemning an innocent man. Not one shred of evidence of wrongdoing could be laid to the Son of God. They were truly straining at gnats and swallowing camels. So the text continues, they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field to bury strangers in. Wherefore, that field was called the field of blood unto this day.

Matthew then tells us that this entire scenario was the fulfillment of prophecy and Luke describes it this way, for of a truth in the book of Acts, against thy holy child Jesus whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done." Here even in Judas's foul betrayal is God's eternal purpose of redemption unfolding before our eyes. Behold the sovereignty of God. Secondly, let us examine Judas's genuine remorse, which the Holy Spirit has set before us. We must consider the solemn fact displayed throughout the Bible that there is eternal difference between true repentance and false repentance. True repentance coupled with faith is true conversion and ends in heaven.

False repentance ends in hell, and Judas is in hell. We know this first because Jesus said, Woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It had been good for that man if he had not been born." Second, Jesus called him the Son of Perdition, that is, the Son of Destruction, the Son of final condemnation, the Son of Hell. Third, Jesus said to his disciples, one of you is a devil, which can also be translated, one of you is the devil. Martin Luther writes here, Judas too hears these words, but he pays them no heed.

Nothing reforms him, he becomes an apostate. That is why the Lord calls him a devil but this could also refer to what happened just before Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus then entered Satan into Judas sir named Iscariot Luke 22 3. And at the Last Supper, after the sop, Satan entered into him. And fourth, Luke tells us in the book of Acts that Judas by transgression fell, that he might go, oh these terrible words, to his own place, which was an early church euphemism for hell. Children, a euphemism is taking something that sounds hard and harsh and trying to say it a little more softly.

He went to his own place means he fell under the eternal judgment of God and he will suffer forever in that terrible place. Judas heard Jesus say, "'Fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.' but no such fear rose up in his heart and that may be the case of some here this evening pray it would not be so Judas's sorrow did not turn away God's judgment. Listen carefully. Judas was deeply grieved. It did not turn God's judgment away.

His sorrow will not keep him from hearing on the day of judgment depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Can you hear that? Can you hear that? And not be sobered. Judas Isara will not keep him from being cast alive into the lake of fire burning, burning with brimstone.

You can be sorry that you sinned and go to hell. Judas shows us the way. So let us consider what this inspired text tells us about Judas' remorse. And as we do, listen please, as we do, let us examine our own repentance with judgment day honesty. 1.

Judas realized the consequence of his sin. An innocent man was going to die and Judas knew that it was because of his greed. Number two, Judas regretted his sin and was filled with sorrow. Three, Judas changed his mind about his sin. To prove this, Judas returned the betrayal money.

Number four, Five, Judas identified his biblically defined sin. He betrayed innocent blood. Six, Judas recognized and confessed his sin. Seven, Judas displayed his change of mind by throwing down the money in the temple. He did something about his sin.

Eight, Judas sealed his remorse with his life's blood. So Judas understood his sin. He was sorry for his sin, he confessed his sin, he changed his mind about his sin, and he did something about his sin. And he was filled with such great sorrow. He committed suicide, self-murder.

Compared to many professing Christians, Judas' repentance looks convincing. His sorrow was real, But his suicide did not atone for his sin. Judas is in hell. So then, number three, let us consider our true condition in light of what the Holy Spirit has said before us. And may the Holy Spirit of God help each one of us to understand the implications of this passage, to believe the truth contained herein and to apply it to our lives.

The repentance of many professing Christians does not display even the characteristics of Judas' repentance. And Judas is in hell. Each of us then must carefully weigh the following five things. Number one, your true remorse may still be false repentance. As Spurgeon's Catechism puts it, repentance to life is a saving grace whereby a sinner out of a true sense of his sins, and apprehension or understanding of the mercy of God in Christ does with grief and hatred of his sin turn from it to God, with full purpose to strive after new obedience.

That's a beautiful, beautiful definition. We might not remember that, but everyone here can remember true repentance, as our brother said earlier, is a change of mind that leads to a change of life. Now change of life, Your repentance does not rise above Judas. And Judas is in hell. Repentance that saves the soul includes grief.

It includes sorrow. But grief itself is not repentance. Sorrow is something we feel. Repentance is something we do. Many professing believers in our day declare that they are sorry when they are caught in sin.

Sorry that they committed sin. Sorry that they hurt others with their sin. This sin arises, or this sorrow, arises from a sense of danger, a sense of guilt under the condemnation of God's law, or from fear of hell. But that is not repentance. The Scriptures present us with numerous accounts of false repentance including Cain, Saul, and Judas as he's presented before us here.

John Calvin said, while Scripture recounts their repentance to us, It represents them as acknowledging the gravity of their sin and afraid of God's wrath. But since they conceived of God only as a vinger and judge, that very thought overwhelmed them. Therefore, their repentance was nothing but a sort of entryway to hell. False repentance cannot and does not save, though it often comforts the mind of the worldly. The religious person who's hoping for heaven, while in his heart he loves this world.

Friends, True repentance drives the heart to God. To God. Judas' repentance drove his heart from God and to suicide. Though he had labored with Jesus over three years, he had no apprehension of the mercy, no apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ. True repentance drives the believer to hope.

Hope! Judas' repentance drove him to despair. And he is the biblical example, the perfect commentary of Paul's declaration, the sorrow of the world worketh death. In true repentance, a sinner mourns after sin. He mourns over his sin, which flows from a spirit-wrought sense of the vileness and the rebellion of sin against a good and holy God.

False repentance simply fears the wrath of God and punishment. True repentance is accompanied with a genuine desire to be free from sin for the glory of God. But false repentance wants to be free from the eternity of punishment for sin. True repentance changes one's life, continues in the life, and produces obedience to God and all by faith in Christ. False repentance only reforms a few aspects of one's life and Love for sin never departs from the heart.

My dear friends, Your remorse may be true, but your repentance may still be false. Judas is in hell. Will you join him? Oh, repent of your sins. Believe the gospel and walk with Christ by faith second thing you must remember your true confession of sin may still be false repentance nevertheless we find this confession we find a confession on the lips of men throughout the pages of Scripture who said, I have sinned!

But their lives didn't change. Pharaoh declared, I have sinned this time! The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked." That was a true confession. But his life did not change, and his confession did not save him. God later drowned him in the Red Sea.

Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, I have sinned, for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me. His confession was true, but His life did not change, and his confession did not change him. God killed him by the hand of Israel. And Judas openly confessed, I have sinned, I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood. This was heartfelt.

His confession was true, but his life did not change and his confession did not save him God killed him by his own hand Judas is in hell Judas is in hell and so are many who have nothing but false repentance. The Word of God tells us, it proclaims loudly, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Praise God! In true repentance, a sinner confesses in order to be delivered from sin, he confesses to change his life and he confesses to obey God through faith in Jesus Christ. Not saved by works.

It's not what this is saying. It's saying that because he believes the promise of the gospel, he serves with love the God that saved him. He's not driven by a whip of guilty conscience but by a heart that flows in love for the one who hung upon Calvary's cross to save him from his sins. In false repentance, a sinner confesses in order to be delivered from his misery, or to quiet his aching conscience, or to feel better because he's done something religious. Judas confessed to men, but not to God.

Not a word in the text anywhere that He could ever confess to God. In the same way, my friends, your confession may be true, but your repentance may still be false. Judas is in hell. Will you join him? Confess your sins to Christ alone.

Ask for the gift of his Spirit and live by faith in the conquering Savior. Number three, your true change of mind may still be false repentance. Judas changed his mind about his sin but it was because of fear. He did not hate his sin because it was sinful, vile and offense against God, but because it was painful. He could not bear the discomfort it caused him.

Judas' change of mind did not cause him to look to God's mercy in Christ. Let's not forget, for over three and a half years he walked with the living God on earth. Judas had heard Jesus preach, come, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." He heard it. He probably nodded. He might have even said, Amen.

But in his heart of hearts, he was not a changed man because his repentance was false, because in him was an evil heart of unbelief. In false repentance, a sinner may cease from big sins, gross sins, public sins, but he still harbors secret sins and loves them. He will part with some sins but keep others. Sadly it is not unusual for him to return to the greater sins later, like a dog returns to his vomit. Even though Judas was full of remorse because he betrayed an innocent man, John's gospel said Judas was a thief and had the bag and bear what was put there in.

Nothing in Scripture indicates he repented or confessed his thievery, does it? Your change of mind may be true, but your repentance may still be false. Look to Christ crucified. Look to Christ crucified. Christ risen again.

Christ ascended into glory. Trust his grace, trust his mercy, trust his love, and obey him by faith that works by love. Fourth, your true desire to get things right may still be false repentance. Judas wanted to undo what he had done. He wanted to take it back.

He wanted to undo. He wanted to give the money back, which must mean that in some way he thought that this would distance himself from his sin, maybe even absolve him. His was a true attempt to get things right, but it was not biblical repentance. Every day in this world, lost people attempt to get things right with others, and it is a true desire for peace and harmony. Your true desire, my friend, to get things right may still be only false repentance, unless you understand what our brother preached earlier and the things I am setting before you in contrast to Judas.

Believe Christ's promises, Trust your eternal soul to Him and Him alone and out of love for Him make restitution to His glory. Finally, fifthly, your true self-reproach may still be false repentance. Judas was so gripped with despair and hopelessness, he took his own life. The traitor wanted to be free from his guilt. He wanted to be free from his shame.

Though he loathed what he did, It was not because he believed Christ. In true repentance, a sinner loathes himself, despises his sin when the Spirit of God reveals its filth. And then he looks to Christ alone for cleansing and receives the gift of everlasting life by childlike faith in the crucified and risen Savior. If you would see the darkness of your heart, if I would see mine, if you would despise your love for sin, look at Christ's crown of thorns, look at his beaten, swollen face, Look at his hands and feet nailed to the cross, his spear pierced side, and then, loathe yourself for loving the sins that nailed him to the tree when I survey the wondrous cross on which the prince of glory died my richest gain I count but loss and poor contempt on all my pride. Can you sing that smiling?

Contempt on all my pride. Believe on that Christ and the precious flood tide of blood that paid the penalty for your rebellions and rejoice in everlasting life. Well my dear friends, Judas was a hand-picked disciple of Christ. He lived in the presence of the incarnate Son of God and walked in the company of his disciples. He heard the greatest preaching any human being has ever heard and saw the greatest miracles any human being has ever seen.

He received personal instruction from Christ himself. He preached the message of the kingdom, repent and believe, and he worked miracles in the name of Christ. He was not suspected of being the betrayer of the Lord, and he sat in the presence of Jesus when he announced the new covenant in his blood. Judas Iscariot experienced and participated in the outworking of God's eternal purpose of redemption of his people. And he is in hell because his repentance was false.

Will you join him? Pray to God that you will not. What about your repentance? There is nothing, listen please, there is nothing more calculated to bring your soul to true repentance, true humility, and true mortification of sin than to gaze by faith upon the crucified Christ. The law can make you fear God's wrath but a believing look at the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ, can make you understand the horror of your sin.

It can make you understand God's burning hatred for sin and Christ's gracious love for sinners. This can melt the hardest heart. Humble the most arrogant pride and draw the most sin-stained soul to a change of mind that leads to a change of life. Judas repented himself, but Judas is in hell. Do not join him.

Do not join him. Examine your repentance. Look to the crucified and resurrected Savior by faith and walk with him. Walk with Him in the joys of everlasting life. Amen.

O God in heaven, take the truths of Thy word and set them before thy people, and get glory to thy name. Draw the lost unto thee, grant them true repentance. Smoke out the hypocrites, those that are living a double life, and draw them to the glories of Christ, and encourage Thy people, warm their hearts to think of true repentance and faith that worketh by love. In Jesus' name, Amen.