Short Answer
Judas is described in Scripture as lost, not saved, despite being one of Jesus’ disciples. Although he felt remorse after betraying Jesus, his sorrow was not true repentance that leads to salvation. Genuine repentance involves turning to God in faith, not just feeling regret over sin.
The Overview
The question of Judas raises an important distinction between outward association with Christ and genuine salvation. Judas was one of the twelve disciples and spent years alongside Jesus, yet the Bible clearly indicates that he was not truly saved. In John 17, Jesus refers to him as the “son of destruction,” showing that his ultimate destiny was judgment, not redemption.
Judas’ life reveals that external involvement in ministry does not guarantee a transformed heart. He was entrusted with managing the group’s money, but later it was revealed that he had been stealing from it. His betrayal of Jesus for thirty pieces of silver exposed a deeper issue—his love for personal gain over genuine devotion to Christ.
After betraying Jesus, Judas experienced deep regret. He returned the money and was overwhelmed with sorrow. However, the Bible distinguishes between worldly sorrow and godly repentance (2 Corinthians 7). Judas’ response was driven by guilt and despair rather than a true turning to God for forgiveness. His remorse led him to take his own life, which further demonstrates that his sorrow did not result in restoration or salvation.
Ultimately, Judas serves as a sobering example that being close to spiritual truth is not the same as embracing it. True repentance involves humility, faith, and a desire to turn toward God. While Judas felt the weight of his sin, he did not respond with the kind of repentance that leads to life.
Key Takeaways
- Judas Was Not Saved
Scripture identifies him as the “son of destruction,” indicating his lost condition. - External Association Does Not Equal Salvation
Judas was close to Jesus but did not have a transformed heart. - He Struggled with Sinful Motives
His actions revealed greed and self-interest, including stealing from shared resources. - Remorse Is Not the Same as Repentance
Judas felt sorrow but did not turn to God in true repentance. - True Repentance Leads to Life
Genuine repentance results in forgiveness, restoration, and hope—not despair.
The Source — The Speaker Transcript
00:00:00
from our chat feed. Uh Dr. Lee says, “Is Judas in hell?” Multiple verses support that he is. What did he do wrong as a disciple? Why was he not saved? Did he not repent correctly? Uh tried to return the silver spilled. Okay, great. Well, I I know in John 17, um when Jesus is praying the great high priestly prayer, uh Dr. Lee, he um called him the son of predition. So, yes, you’re right. Let’s start with the first thing you’ve said and you’ve already admitted this, but yes, he is he’s lost. He’s the son of of
00:00:32
of destruction, right? He that’s how it’s it’s presented. So, he’s not he’s not saved. We’re not going to see Judas in heaven. [snorts] What did he do? John says as he looks back on his life that he was pilfering out of the treasury. So, he was somehow the one uh who was elected the treasurer of the 12. And whenever they had money, they put it in a bag that Judas would take care of. And John says when that situation came up about the woman giving uh you know this this spikenard this this expensive
00:01:03
perfume he objects hey no no no we could sell it we could put it in the treasury and John said it wasn’t because he cared about the poor right because he said we can give it to the poor said it’s because he used to help himself so he’s an embezzler and they figured that out once they checked the the Excel spreadsheets when it was all done but it was clear that he was in it for himself and for the Now there’s a difference according to 2 Corinthians chapter 7 between being sorry for your sin which Dr. Lee
00:01:33
certainly Judas was sorry for his sin right he cried he he end up uh you know hanging himself and then distended and and bloated he uh fell or was cut down off of this uh tree and uh he his bowels exploded and and it was gross. So he he died an ignoble death. He died uh as a a person very sorry for his sin. So sorry that he hung himself. But uh that does not mean that that’s biblical repentance. Uh you don’t you don’t end your life in in suicide. So 2 Corinthians 7 says it’s not the kind of
00:02:09
uh repentance that leads to life. And in God’s description of Judas, it comes talk keeps talking about the scriptures that said that they were going to be a a a betrayer just like David had his betrayers with a hyheld and others. There are situations where I think what Christ had clearly had planned for his ministry was to have someone who stabs him in the back in part to remind us that as Christians, we’re always going to have people that betray us and stab us in the back as even our calls today
00:02:38
have been witnessed to. So this was God’s plan for an insider to betray him. This was God’s plan to have a betrayer. It’s God’s plan to have someone who went along with Christianity, at least all the externals of it, but privately was helping himself to the money and then ends up privately going to cash in his relationship with Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. And even though he felt bad because he can only imagine in his own conscience what it was like to see Christ who he really knew was a man of
00:03:07
integrity and righteousness and godliness uh dying on a cross the most horrific death you could imagine. Yeah, he felt bad about it. He threw the money back. But that’s not the kind of repentance according to 2 Corinthians 7 that saves. It’s just a it’s it’s a feeling of uh remorse over doing what is wrong. But that’s not the kind of sorrow that leads to real repentance. So I’m going to say, “Yeah, he might have thrown the money back. That looks like an expression of repentance.” That was
00:03:34
nothing other than a self uh pity that leads him to then go out and hang himself. So I’m not going to uh debate what the scripture says and certainly what Christ was recorded as praying in John 17, which is he is certainly a son of predition. So Dr. Lee, yeah, I think uh why was he not saved? Because uh he did not have genuine repentance. uh why didn’t he repent correctly? Because he repented with sorrow and self-pity and not with uh concern for the glory of God and righteousness which would always by
00:04:06
the way uh lead us to a kind of repentance that uh leads to great joy and relief and salvation clinging to the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ. So that’s my answer to you Dr. Lee. I hope that helps and uh great question. Thanks for the feedback even there.
