Spiritual Suicide Matthew 27:5 (NIV) - So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. This is one of the saddest stories in the bible. I think very few people see it this way, including you perhaps. Likely, many think that Judas deserves to die. After all, he betrayed the Saviour. It is an atrocious sin! It is a sad story because here is a man who had been given the opportunity to come face to face with our Lord Jesus. Not merely meeting Him on occasions but Judas had the privilege of being one of Jesus’ twelve closest disciples. Like all apprentices and disciples at that time, he lived with his master and moved around with Him. For three years, he did that, watching and learning from the extraordinary Rabbi in close proximity. Yet, Judas betrayed Jesus! But it did not take long for his conscience to prick him. When he learned that Jesus was condemned to be crucified, he hit rock bottom. He was seized with remorse as his guilt overwhelmed him. He even acknowledged his sin. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4). He returned the thirty silver coins for betraying Jesus to the chief priests. It seems like Judas was doing all the right things so far but this is the tragic part. His remorse did not drive him to repentance. Instead, he took things into his own hands. He hanged himself. He committed suicide. Judas responded to the conviction of sin by hiding and running away. Let us look at another group of people in the bible who responded in a completely different but similarly wrong manner. Consider the Pharisees. When Jesus pointed out their faults and obvious hypocrisy, they reacted. They retaliated angrily and viciously against Him. They tried to find fault with Him. They tried to undermine Him. When they failed in all of their efforts, they spun lies and resorted to false accusations. Finally their hatred turned into murder, and they killed Jesus. By refusing to face the truth about themselves and checking their own hearts, they gave themselves no opportunity for repentance. On the surface, their action was different from Judas but essentially, the consequence was the same. Without repentance, there was no forgiveness from God. Not owning up and repenting from our sins is spiritual suicide. It leads to spiritual death. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins in various ways. Sometimes, He pricks at our conscience. Sometimes, He overwhelms us with guilt while at other times He uses people to point out our faults. How would you respond? Over the years, I have observed that many believers do not respond well when others, like their church leaders, point out their faults. This is so even when it is done graciously with the best intention. Some choose to run away and hide. They stay away from their small groups or they leave their church. Like Judas, they would feel remorseful over their sins but they do not repent. Instead, they would wallow in self-pity and soon they began to spiral downward spiritually. On the other hand there are those who react like the Pharisees. Usually, these people are more aggressive in their temperament. They might have blind spots. But usually, they know that they are wrong but instead of repenting, they become angry because they have been exposed. The tendency is they would rationalise away their sins and justify themselves. They would convince themselves that they are not wrong but they have been wrongfully accused instead. Those who point out their errors are either genuinely mistaken or they are victimising them. In extreme cases, some might even retaliate by fighting back. They would resort to false accusation and undermine their leaders. Both these two groups of people refuse to face up to their sins and mistakes. Don’t respond like these people. Don’t commit spiritual suicide. Face the truth and repent. It may be difficult. It may be embarrassing. It may hurt your ego. But you have to humble yourself. Only by facing the truth will you receive God’s forgiveness and be set free! Pastors Les & Adeline Chua
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 10:33:08 +0000