WAS JUDAS ISCARIOT SAVED? EPHESIANS 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. (KJV) The salvation of man from sin is the main reason Jesus was born, Matthew 1:21, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins”. However, there has been an unending debate about how a person is saved and the security of the salvation a person receives. In recent times, one of the major disagreements going on is "a believer can go to hell" and the major point of reference is Judas Iscariot. The disagreement is Judas Iscariot got saved but because he betrayed Jesus and did not show signs of remorse or repentance and died, he went to hell. One of the things you should know is, that the Bible doesn't have YES or NO answers, rather the bible has explanations, this means that the Bible is a book of explanations. Therefore, to be able to answer the above question, we have to find out when is a man saved. Was salvation possible when Jesus was physically on earth? Or salvation became possible after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? We also need to find out whether Judas Iscariot was saved. In our opening text, Paul the apostle who is the writer told us that, when a man hears the gospel of salvation and believes, that man is sealed with the Holy Spirit. That is a man receives the Spirit of God when he hears the gospel of Christ and believes, meaning the Holy Spirit is the mark of salvation. Paul again in his letter to the church in Rome said this, Romans 8:9, “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his”. Paul here told us that if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his, that is what guarantees that a man belongs to Christ or is saved, is the Spirit of God. Now, what we need to find out is, was Judas there when the Holy Spirit filled the apostles? Did Judas have the Holy Spirit? To answer these questions, let us hear Jesus himself, John 17:12, “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”. Here Jesus called him the "son of perdition" and Jesus said he is lost. And again, Luke 22:3, “Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve". Here we were told that Satan entered Judas so if he has the Holy Spirit, Satan cannot enter him, so clearly, Judas Iscariot didn’t have the Spirit of God and he was not saved. The disciples of Jesus got saved after his resurrection when he opened their understanding to understand the scriptures, Luke 24:36-48, John 20:19-23. That was when they believed in the resurrection according to the scriptures. Judas Iscariot was not part of them. Judas, therefore, was not saved when he died. A person is not saved because he walked with Jesus and did miracles. A person is saved because he has believed in the resurrection of Christ as a promise before the resurrection or as a reality. CONFESSION: I have the Spirit of God; therefore, I am saved. Additional Studies: Romans 10:8-10, 1Corinthians 15:1-5, John 17:12 epignosisofgrace@yahoo.com Visit and like our page Epignosis of Grace