The scripture reading this evening is found in the Acts of the Apostles, the Acts of the Apostles and the chapter 1. And I'll read from the verse 15 through to the verse 26. This is the Word of God. Come, let us now solemnly hear the Word of God. And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said, the number of the names together were about 120, men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity, and falling headlong he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers of Jerusalem, insomuch as the field is called in their proper tongue, Ah-kel-dah-mah. That is to say, the field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein, and his bishopric let another take. Careful of these men which have accompanied with us all the time, that the Lord went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. And they appointed two, Joseph, called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justice, and Matthias, And they prayed and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. Amen. This is the Word of God. May the Lord Himself grant His own blessing to the public reading and then to the ministry, the preaching, the exposition of His holy, infallible, inerrant, and sacred Word to the glory of His name and to the everlasting good of our very needful and never-dying souls. Congregation, turning once again your prayerful attention to those words that I read in your hearing in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 1, verse 15 through to verse 26. And the Lord enabling me this evening, I take for my text tonight the words found at the end of the verse 25. Judas by transgression fell that he might go to his own place. Let me read those words again. And let them sink into your heart. Judas, by transgression, fell, that he might go to his own place. Now this passage, and this verse in particular, is a very sober warning to each and every one of us. Not just to the saved and those who are the Lord's, but to the unsaved. to all of us, Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. We see in this very verse the consequence, the everlasting consequence of sin. Judas by transgression fell, that is by his sin fell, that he might go to his own place. Judas is not a victim of circumstance. He is not a victim of the providence of God. He is a moral agent. It says here, Judas by transgression fell. It's all very well we can point to the Scriptures and say that he is the son of perdition, and he was. It was predicted that he would be, but does it not say equally? that Judas by transgression fell. And as we look at these words, we're reminded that Judas, his body may be in the grave, but his soul has gone to his own place. That habitation of the damned, of the lost, there he is. He's alive, but he's not well. He's in that place of everlasting torment. And it is by transgression that he fell. Now, before we come to this verse and the surrounding verses, let me set before you the time and the circumstance of these very words. If you look at the verse 7-9, the Lord Jesus Christ has just ascended up into heaven, there at the end of His 40 days here on earth, as He appeared after the resurrection, and the ascension of our Lord is recorded in the verse 7-9. And he said unto them, this is the Lord Jesus, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in his own power, but ye shall receive power. And after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, it says, he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight. Here we have recorded the wonderful sight of the Lord going up into heaven. And after some time, perhaps about a week later, we remember how the disciples began to meet in that upper room and we're told here, we read there are 120 of them. The Apostle Peter stands up in the midst of all of these disciples and he speaks to them about this need to replace Judas. Judas who has hung himself. Judas who betrayed our Lord Jesus Christ. After he hung himself, it seems that either the branch broke, from the tree, the great high tree that he was hanging on, or the rope rug. And then what happened was, as he fell, his bowels were spread all over the earth. In Matthew chapter 27 and the verse 3, we have these words recorded. 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. Remember, he had been given that money for betrayal and so he brought it back, saying, I have sinned in that I betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, what is that to us? See thou to that. 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, that is the money, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field to bury strangers in. And so that field was purchased with that 30 pieces of silver that Judas gave back. And so we come back now to Acts 1 and verse 15 and we read on. And here it says, And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said, Men and brethren, this Scripture must needs have been fulfilled which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity. And some say there's a contradiction here, but it's not. Actually, when you think about it, they gave him the money, he gave the money back, which they couldn't use anymore. So in fact, Judas purchased the field. And it was known unto all the dwellers of Jerusalem, insomuch as the field is called in their proper tongue, Ah-kel-dah-mah. That is to say, the field of blood, for it is written in the book of Psalms, and by the way, that's a reference to Psalm 109, verse 8. Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein. And his bishopric, or the word there is episkopos, or his oversight, let another take. Wherefore, of these men which have accompanied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, Beginning from the baptism of John and unto the same day he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. And there's very clear teaching there what the qualification was for an apostle. It had to be somebody who was an eyewitness of the Lord Jesus and was there at the time of John the Baptist. And then we're told there that they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, and one whose name was Justice, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, Thou Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show where of these two Thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship from which Judas, and here's our verse, by transgression fell that he might go to his own place. Now, it's important when we come to look at these verses here and as we consider them, as Peter here says, by transgression fell, that we understand Peter's spirit. Peter is not saying this with any bitterness towards Judas. He is not saying this with any vehemence, any malice or any glee. But he is saying this in a very measured way. He is simply stating the fact that Judas fell by transgression. He's not speaking here with anger. And of course, you've got to remember that Peter himself, still fresh in his own heart, in his own mind, was his falling, his denial of the Lord Jesus Christ. Three times lamenting that. His own personal denial of the Lord Jesus Christ. even with oaths, even with cursings. Remember how he cursed and how he made an oath that he did not know the Lord Jesus. And so he's not speaking here with any sense of high-mindedness. He's not thinking of himself to be any higher, any better than Judas. It was only by the grace of God that Peter did not fall in the same transgression. The Lord said to him, in Luke 22, 31, the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. When thou art turned back again, the Lord will restore Peter. Peter denied the Lord. Of course, the difference between Peter and Judas was Peter loved the Lord. Judas didn't. And that's the difference. Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. Lord, thou knowest all things. And that is the grand difference between the Christian and one such as Judas. One loves the Lord, though our love is so weak and poor and pitiful, and we decry it. There's the difference. We love Him because He first loved us. And here, it's worth mentioning, the only reason why Peter mentions Judas here is because he's dealing with this need to find a replacement for Judas who was an apostle, Judas who was in this ministry. And I think there's a lesson for those of us who are saved. Let us be very careful how we speak about people who are even what we would call apostates. Let us be very, very careful. Let us speak with a gracious manner. Let us speak with the right spirit, watching our own hearts, thinking what we are. It's only by the grace of God. We are what we are. Remember what Paul said to the Colossians in Colossians 4, 6, let your speech be always with grace. All our words must be always with grace. And so here when Peter speaks of Judas, he speaks very plainly. He doesn't speak with glee or he doesn't speak with any pride, any haughty spirit. But again, I want you to notice that when a sinner dies and he's seen no more in this world, neither the sinner nor his sin ceases to be. Both continue. The sinner continues and his sin remains. And the punishment of that sin is an everlasting punishment. Judas is still alive. Notice the words, Judas by transgression fell that he might go to his own place. And I hope this is going to be a very solemn warning to the unsaved tonight. There is a place called hell and Judas is still alive. His soul lives. We have a body that dies, but the spirit never dies. The soul never dies. Judas right now, is living in a conscious existence. As I preach from this pulpit here tonight, the text says that he has gone to his own place. Judas is fully alive, his soul is awake, and he is bearing the everlasting consequence of sin. He had a remorse, but it was the worldly sorrow. He didn't repent to the Lord. Where it says that he repented, that's not to the Lord. He didn't get down on his knees. No, rather he hung himself. And that is not godly repentance. That is not repentance that leads to salvation. It is a sin to take your own life. It is a violation of the sixth commandment, thou shalt not murder, to take your life. He has also taken his soul to hell. By transgression, he failed that he might go to his own place. And so we have this that we must solemnly keep in our mind. Judas' sin is still against him. It will always be against him. Because when we sin, we sin against an infinite God. And sin remains. You can't wash sin away. If somebody murders somebody, how long do they remain a murderer for? Forever. You can't erase sin. This is why salvation is only through God who must die for sin and pay for sin. The wages of sin is death. That's the longevity of eternal and everlasting wrath in that place of hell. The wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus. We're going to think tonight about ways that Judas fell in this transgression. This is a condemnation here. And He will be everlastingly paying for that sin of His. And we're going to look at the sin, not just the one sin. But as we examine His life very carefully, you will see that it was an ongoing thing in His life. And that's what sin is. And I pray that these words will speak to those in the congregation here tonight who are still impenitent and who are still indifferent to God. Because hell is that place for all who deny God and those who despise the grace of God. Hebrews 10 29 we read these words of how much saw a punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who has trodden underfoot the Son of God and has counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing and has done despite unto the Spirit of grace and Paul asked the question to in Romans chapter 2 in the verse for Despises thou the riches of his goodness and you think of all the privileges that Judas had And you, I hope, want to think tonight of all the privileges you have. Judas had three years of the best ministry. And there are many people that sit under very, very good ministry. And they despise the riches of God's grace. And that is a great and grand sin, my friend. And that is why God sends people to hell. Because of their sin. Notice the text. Judas by transgression fell. It doesn't say Judas because he was not one of the elect fell. It says Judas by transgression fell. My friend, there are too many people that say, I'm going to hell because I'm not elect. Everybody in hell will be in hell because of transgression. The reason why God sends sinners to hell is because of sin. Judas brought about his own fall. He's not a victim of circumstance. He's not a victim of divine providence. He was a moral agent and so are you. And so am I. We are responsible for our sin. Sin was consciously carried out, and it is a falling into transgression. I want you to think about this in the wider context. You think about his betrayal of the Lord Jesus. It wasn't just a momentary sin, was it? How long had this been going on for? It was not just one particular sin, but it was the same sin that was carrying on day after day in his life. We're told in John 12 that he was a thief. He'd been looking after the money bag, and he was constantly having his hand in that money bag. John 12, 5, remember that time when Mary came to our Lord, and she came with that alabaster flask full of spikenard oil. So expensive it was, and remember how she broke it and poured it all over the Lord Jesus Christ. And then Judas, he complained. He said this, why was it not this ointment sold for 300 pence and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief. and had the bag and bear what was put therein. He was the most trusted. He was looking after the money. He didn't care for the poor. He didn't care about our Lord. He was a thief. This was an ongoing thing. And you see, this final betrayal is just the consummation of all of this. It was an ongoing sin. He was a covetous man. He had always been a betrayer. He had always been a liar. And as you know, the name Judas is synonymous, isn't it, with somebody who betrays. They say, oh, he's a Judas, or she's a Judas. And I want to think tonight in ways that people can be Judases. Say, well, I'm not a Judas. I wouldn't betray the Lord. Well, really? Remember what the Lord said to those in Malachi who do not give Him what they ought to? He says, why do you rob me? He was speaking about tithes. He was speaking about devotion. You see, we can betray the Lord. We can steal from Him by taking so many things that belong to the Lord, our lives. We are His creatures. And we are to serve God. And if we live for ourselves, we're stealing from God. There are so many ways that we can steal from God. You're just betraying yourself, saying there's nothing wrong. Judas did that for three years. One of the greatest betrayals was that he betrayed himself. We're going to think tonight of four ways that Judas betrayed. And you'll often find, as I said earlier, this was just not one day that he sinned. But you will often find that those who either fall away, or those who are not Christians, and they pretend to be Christians, they fall away because of a particular sin that carries on. A besetting sin. Something that's got It's hold on them. There's some little idol, there's something keeping them. For Judas it was money, it was covetousness. This is why the Lord said in Matthew 5, verse 29, Those besetting sins are often the ones that will carry people away. And that's what carried Judas away. There are at least four ways tonight, and I'm sure there are perhaps more, but at least four ways that I can identify here that Judas betrayed. First of all, he betrayed a unique privilege, such a unique privilege he had. Think about it, he was numbered amongst the twelve. the chosen. Judas was given the privilege of ministry with the Lord Jesus Christ, learning from Christ day after day, hearing the Lord pray in the garden, seeing all that He did. Notice the verse 17, for He was numbered with us and had obtained part of this ministry. Consider that. Judas had been given the greatest insights into God that a man could ever receive. He saw the Lord Jesus Christ day after day. He learned from the very feet of one who was God. He sat under Christ's ministry. He watched miracle after miracle after miracle that the Lord Jesus Christ did, one after the other. He saw Jairus' daughter raised from the dead. He saw Lazarus raised from the dead. He saw the son of the woman from Nain raised from the dead. He saw the thousands upon thousands of people fed from just a few loaves and fishes. He saw the lepers healed, the blind could see, the lame walk. He saw every single one of those. He was there in the boat, crying out with the other disciples, Lord, don't you care about us? When that storm was raging, and he saw the Lord Jesus stand up and rebuke the wind and the waves. He saw every miracle of that. He saw Christ walk on the seas. Imagine that. He came under the best preaching. He heard John the Baptist. There never was such a preacher like that. Save the Lord Jesus. And then he heard the Lord Jesus Christ preach. He watched his life. He saw everything. He heard Christ pray. He heard the disciples pray. He saw their lives change gradually, gradually, gradually, as they grew in the grace and in the knowledge of Christ. He saw all of that. He betrayed a most privileged ministry. And no doubt, this man prayed himself with the other disciples. Remember how the Lord Jesus said, let us go aside and rest, and they would pray together? He prayed with them. But not only did he betray a most precious and unique ministry, and that was for three long years, not a short time, but he betrayed, secondly, a most unique people, the people of God. For three years, he'd pretended to be one of them. For three long years. And people still do it today. They pretend to be the people of God, whereas they're not. He led others to believe that he was a child of God. And that's a betrayal, you know. You don't just deceive yourself, but you deceive others. And that is a great sin. To cause others to stumble. Think of that pious language he used. concerning Mary. Why didn't we sell this spikenet oil? We could have got 300 pence for it. Mark 14.5, he said, for it might have been sold for more than 300 pence and been given to the poor. And then it says, and they murmured against her. Stop and think about that. Judas led the other disciples to murmur against Mary. He deceived them in that way. To thinking that he was good, Mary was bad. but rather was the other way around. He was the corrupt one. She was pure in heart. She loved the Lord. He despised the Lord. He betrayed God's people. And how often that happens. We see that in the churches today. We see ministers. We see members of the congregation. I'm not saying here. but it's worldwide. People who claim to be genuine, honest, and true have no love for the people of God, no love for Christ, but they're lining their own pockets like Judas, who have no concern for souls, who are more interested in money. And I'm sure he had his eyes on that money that could have been made for that spike. He wasn't going to give it to the poor. He'd been taking from that bag all along. He led others to believe that he was a child of the living God. Meanwhile, he was the son of perdition. He was the son of the devil. And that's what you are if you're not Christ's. The Lord Jesus said, he that is not with me is against me. He that gathereth not scattereth. Blessed are they that hear the words of God and keep them. He heard. But he wasn't a changed man. He had seen the greatest miracles. He had seen the greatest things. He had even seen lives changed in these other men. But he was not changed. Not changed himself. Remember the time of the Lord's Supper? He said, is it I? He knew it was Him. And then the others started to say, is it I? You see that pious language? You can even be the first to say, I am a great sinner. But you can be a son of perdition. Do we realize sin and an empty profession is not only betrayal against God, but it's betrayal against God's holy people. You're not just sinning against God, but you're sinning against the holy people of God. And God takes that seriously. He also betrayed the whole world because he was claiming to be one of these. Meanwhile, he was not. And that's what you are doing, friend, if you are not really the Lord's. If there is not genuine repentance, if you are still holding on to things, it shows you are like one unto Judas, a man, a woman of this world. You know what? You betray the ministry of this church. That's a terrible thing. You betray the church. That's a serious sin. The church, we read, is the pillar and the ground of the truth. And all of God's people are to be people of truth. Something else gets even worse. He betrayed a unique and blessed person the most unique And the most blessed person he who is god and man Now he didn't deceive christ. There's a difference You can't deceive the lord. Can you in fact? It was the lord that said he was going to do all of this But he betrayed him and there is no greater sin than to betray the son of god to work against Him, to work contrary to Him. In Matthew 26, verse 24, we read, The Son of Man goeth as it is written of Him, but 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. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. You can't deceive the Lord, because He knows all things. He knows everything about you, and He knows everything about me. Judas had a false profession. He was like the Pharisees. Looked clean on the outside. He looked the part, but he had no part in Christ. He had no part in salvation. His heart was a million miles away from God. His heart was far from God. He drew near to God with His lips. Is it I? Yes, you know right well it's you, Judas. And you know, friend, tonight. Maybe there's someone here tonight. You say you're a Christian. But the evidences of your heart show very different. You're not the Lord's. You betray Him because His people are true. His people are honest. Remember what Peter said, Thou knowest all things. God's people, yes, they acknowledge that they are sinners. But they repent of their sins. And they ask God for grace. They know they have sinful hearts. And they'll be the first to say it. And they call upon Him. It's interesting, you know, Judas didn't start out to be a deceiver, did he? No. Nobody starts out to be a deceiver. It's the natural condition of the heart. Jeremiah says, the heart is deceitful above all things, desperately wicked. Who can know it? That is the natural condition of our heart. We are naturally Pharisees. We are naturally little popes. We are naturally impious men, sitting on our little thrones, thinking that we're better than others. That's what we naturally are. We're naturally Judas's. He didn't start out to be a deceiver, but I'll tell you what he was. He was a discontented, covetous man. And that's what most people are in this world, discontented and covetous, not happy, covetous, like Achan, like Balaam. Remember Balaam, he deceived everybody, even deceived himself. He said, let me die the death of the righteous. Meanwhile, he was cursing the people of God. He was an enemy of God's people. J.C. Ryle says, let us remember our Lord's caution to be on your guard against all kinds of greed. It's a sin that spreads like gangrene, and once admitted into our hearts may lead us to every wickedness. He says, let us pray to be content with what we have. You see, covetousness, Paul says to the Colossians, is idolatry. When the Lord is not the supreme affection of your heart, everything else becomes the supreme affection of your heart. Your hobbies, anything else you want to do, any other devotion, you devote yourself to that. And that's how natural man is. If we're not devoted to God, we're devoted to something else. This is why John has to warn. Church of God have no idols, little children. God must be our God and God alone must be supreme. It wasn't for Judas. This is how you know God, whether you love Him, you keep His commandments, and He is your all in all. And you take your delight in Him, nothing else. Because I tell you what, not only will you steal from Him what is rightfully His, your life, everything you have. You see, the Christian says, what I have is God's. Everything I have, God owns. God possesses it. It's not mine. It's His. I was bought at a price. My body, everything is His. And I am not free as a child of God to do what I want with the things that I have. But I owe everything to Him. He is mine and I am His. But somebody that's not saved doesn't live like that, doesn't think like that. And he steals from God what is rightfully God's, your time, your money, your efforts, everything. That is a self-deceived man. You may come to church and pay a bit of lip service and sing the hymns and listen to sermons. Judas did for three years. He listened to the finest preaching. He listened to the best preaching you could ever hear. But he remained an unchanged man, hardened in his heart. And he finally betrayed the Lord for 30 pieces of silver. If you haven't given the Lord your everything, you are stealing from Him. You are saying to the world that you belong to Christ, belong to the Lord, but you're not showing the evidence of it. I think not only did he betray Christ, but he betrayed himself. He was what we call self-deceived. Self-deceived. And the Bible speaks so much about being self-deceived. We live in a world, don't we, full of lies. Deceit comes from many different sources. There are lying spirits who lead others astray. 1 Timothy 4.1. There are evildoers. There are impostors looking for dupes. 2 Timothy 3, 13, and perhaps some of the most insidious lies and deceptions are within our own hearts. The heart is deceitful above all things. Our own hearts are so deceitful and we so often deceive ourselves. Jeremiah 17, verse 9. Isaiah 44, 20 speaks of an idolater who is misled by his deluded heart. It says, "...he feedeth on ashes. A deceived heart hath turned him aside that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?" We lie to ourselves. We convince ourselves everything's okay. And I'm sure Judas was saying, I'll just give it a little bit more time. I'll come to the Lord. Three years were up. I wonder how many times he thought, I'll stop stealing. It didn't happen. See how deceitful the heart is? And then eventually he betrays the Lord. Obadiah 1.3 tells us that pride always blinds us to the truth. How true that is. We think better of ourselves than the Scriptures ever give warrant. Proverbs 16.18 tells us pride goeth before destruction and an haughty spirit before reform. That's what he had. Look at his haughty spirit, thinking he was better than the others. But if he would just examine his own heart, not only was he betraying them, not only was he betraying the Lord, but he was betraying himself, esteeming himself to be better than others. James 1.22 warns us against deceiving ourselves. James says, be not just hearers of the Word, but be doers of it and not be deceived. Friend, Judas was not a doer of the Word. And I would ask you tonight, are you a doer of the Word? Because if you're not, the Bible says you are self-deceived. And it is a dangerous, dangerous position to be in, because you will go on deceiving yourself, and you too will fall by your ongoing transgression, and go to your place, and you will be there forever and forever. You know, you can sit in church for years, listening to sermon after sermon, and if we never allow the Word of God to penetrate our hearts, we go away and we pull down the blinds again and say, Preacher, you're not going to get into my heart. You're not going to preach to me. You get angry every time the Word of God is preached. All you're doing is you're deceiving yourself. The Word of God is like a hammer, and it is meant to soften the heart. It is meant to bring you to the Lord. God is gracious and patient, but there comes a time where the sinner goes headlong into his sin. And I know God saves by grace, but friend, He saves by the preaching of the Word. And if you harden your heart against this Word, you are so self-deceived. The Scripture was not given merely to produce theologians. It was given so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Every good work. Is the Word of God producing something in you? It didn't do anything for Judas. Nothing. He resisted the Word of God. My dear friend, consider your plight before the Lord this evening. Have you betrayed the ministry of this church that seeks to preach the truth? Have you betrayed this Word? Have you betrayed the people of God, pretending that you are a Christian and you're not? Have you betrayed the Lord, the Lord of glory? Have you betrayed the Lord of glory? Are you betraying yourself? Oh, it's a terrible thing to betray yourself, to deceive yourself, to say in your heart, peace, peace, when there is no peace. It's an awful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. The text says, Judas by transgression fell that he might go to his own place. Let me just close with this. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All of us. We're not saved by our good works, friend. None of us. Not one of us who will ever go to heaven will be there because of our good works. But we're saved by the works of Christ. By His death, by His life. And we love Him. And we seek to obey His commandments. We humble ourselves before God. The Word of God says, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. And He will exalt you in due time. But if you will continue in pride, To say that you're one of His and yet you keep Him at an arm's distance, that's how Judas was. You will go to a lost eternity. God's people do not have a mere empty profession. But they have genuine heart religion. They're saved by the grace of God alone. And they say it. They say it. And they're happy to say it. They don't boast in themselves. All their boast is Jesus Christ and what He did for sinners. There's my hope in Christ. You see how humble Peter is? He just talks plainly about Judas' sin because he knows his own heart. Peter fell, but Peter truly repented. Peter truly confessed his sin, and he turned from it. And all that come to Christ, God gives a new heart and new desires to follow after him. Judas was burdened for the things of this world. But the Lord says, come unto me, all ye who are burdened and heavy laden, burdened over your sin. And he says, I will give you rest, come. My yoke is easy, my burden is light. You come to Him, cast all your cares. Say to Him, Lord, I can't live this Christian life. I am a hypocrite. I am self-deceived. Help me, Lord. Save me. Do something in my heart. Do something in my life. Change me, God. Make me a child of God. Fall at His feet. Ask Him to save you before it's too late. Has the Word of God found you to be a hypocrite? If so, he doesn't have to be that way. Paul was a hypocrite, zealous for the things of God, but an unsaved man. The Lord changed his heart. The Lord converted him and made him a trophy of his grace. You can't save yourself. The Bible says salvation is of the Lord. The man that comes to God and falls at God's feet and asks for mercy will find mercy. Judas never once asked for mercy, never asked for grace. He wanted the world, he wanted the applaud of others, but he's got his lot. And it says Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. What's your place? The Lord says, where the heart is, that's where your treasure is. Is your heart for heaven? Is your heart for God? Or is your heart for the things of this world, friend? Judas' heart was for this world. His treasure was this world, but he's now gone to a lost eternity. Don't throw your life away, friend. He can do what you cannot do. He alone can save you and make the sinner whole. May God bless his word. and be pleased to save St. Paul's soul here tonight. Amen.