Judas Iscariot: Traitor (Nichols)

Much has been written over the centuries about the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. Much has also been written about Judas Iscariot, perhaps the most intriguing of the apostles. To many Judas Iscariot is a man of mystery. Modern theologians have elevated him to a place next to Christ in heaven. Since the mid 19th century many have proclaimed him a revolutionary patriot. The Puritans called him a covetous wretch and a traitor. In this new work, William C. Nichols examines Judas in myth and legend, and Judas in his roles as apostle, covetous hypocrite, traitor, son of perdition, false penitent, and suicide. He also looks at the unregenerate heart and the sovereignty of God in the life of the most infamous man in history.
Judas Iscariot was a classic hypocrite. Charles Richardson described hypocrites in the early 1600s: “They have a fair outside and a foul inside, they have the words of saints, but they have not the lives of saints. Hypocrites are the apes of God’s children. There is no virtue which the child of God hath in truth and sincerity, but the servant of the devil will make show of it, and counterfeit it in hypocrisy...So those having no substance of religion to commend themselves to the church of God, do yet make a flourish with shadows of holiness. They are like the idols that David speaketh of: They have mouths and speak not. They have ears and hear not; they have hands and touch not, they have feet and walk not, etc. Our Saviour Christ, that best knoweth what is in man, compareth them to platters that are clean on the outside, but within are full of bribery and excess; and to painted sepulchers, which appear beautiful outward, but within are full of dead men’s bones and all filthiness...In a word, they are like many trees, which whiles they grow, seem to be very straight and sound timber: but when they are cut down, they prove hollow hearted and good for nothing.” 
Our objective in any study of Judas must be not just to learn more about him, but also to learn that which will have an impact on our own lives. There are many lessons that can be learned from a study of Judas Iscariot which can help us today. It should be a challenge to all to enter into this work with a willingness to learn and apply what is written here. There have always been multitudes in the churches that are very much like Judas and will share his fate in eternity. The chapters in the book are: Judas in Myth and Legend, Judas the Apostle, The Unregenerate Heart, Judas the Covetous Hypocrite, Judas the Traitor, Judas the Son of Perdition, Judas and Sovereignty, The Repentance of Judas Iscariot, The Suicide of Judas Iscariot, and Learning from the Life and Death of Judas Iscariot.