Judas Was a Protestant

When most people think of the first protestant they call to mind Martin Luther. Some people like to give John Calvin the credit. Still others consider the twelve apostles to be a form of proto-protestant. My claim is that the apostles as a whole were not protestants, but one of their number – Judas Iscariot – seemed to have a very protestant-esque theology.

Now before I go any further allow me a disclaimer: this article is deliberately tongue in cheek. I do not believe that Judas was actually a protestant (although there are conspicuous similarities). As Catholics we have many beliefs in common with our protestant brethren and a much smaller number of theological differences.  

It is, however, with one of the aforementioned points of contention that I begin this reflection: sola fide. Protestants believe that we are saved ‘by faith alone.’ As Catholics, we believe that having faith is a necessary prerequisite, however, what gets us into heaven is the works we did (or didn’t do) while we were alive. Another common way of articulating faith alone theology is with the expression: ‘once saved, always saved;’ meaning that once you acknowledge Jesus as your personal Lord and savior, then you are going to heaven, period. It doesn’t matter what sins or shortcomings you might display afterwards – it’s all good – you’re still headed for the pearly gates.

Now let us consider Judas.

We moderns are quick to deride poor Judas. It’s always easy in hindsight to criticize decisions made in the moment. For example, when Simba went to that Elephant Graveyard after Mufasa strictly forbid it – obviously a terrible decision in retrospect. Even those with a cursory knowledge of the gospels could tell you that Judas made a terrible decision; hindsight is 20/20 after all. But as a protestant it would be easy – dare I say compulsory - to make the claim that Judas, despite betraying the Son of God, still made it to heaven… somewhere in the world, a protestant just spit out a mouthful of coffee after reading that – but humor me.

According to the tenets of ‘once saved, always saved’ theology, Judas has a strong case. Did he accept Jesus as his personal Lord and savior? You better believe it. Judas dropped everything to follow Jesus; he literally gave up hearth and home to travel around the desert in the footsteps of Christ. He suffered persecution, poverty, hunger and thirst. No one alive today could claim a more intimate relationship with our Lord and savior than did Judas Iscariot. Sure, he flubbed things up pretty bad there at the end, he had his ‘Elephant Graveyard moment.’ But the theology of ‘once saved, always saved’ is very accommodating to Judas (and Simba, I’m sure).

The Catholic perspective is pretty cut and dried. The Church will never claim to know for certain that any one person went to Hell. But the Church does claim the possibility that anyone (even baptized or ‘saved’ Christians) could wind up in Hell. At the end of the day the decision is God’s and God’s alone, but the status of salvation is dynamic and subject to change based on our actions (a.k.a. works).

Jesus frequently references the ‘vine and branches’ analogy. He is the vine and we – Christians in a state of grace (a.k.a. ‘saved’) - are the branches. But does Jesus say that those ‘saved’ Christians (branches attached to the vine) will stay in that state forever? Negative, ghost rider. Jesus addresses this issue in the gospel of John, Chapter 15. He says the branches that do not bear fruit will be “taken away” by God and the people will “… gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned.” Jesus doesn’t sound too optimistic about the ‘faith alone’ cause.

Now let’s return to poor Judas, hanging in the balance all this while. Is he saved or not? According to protestant theology it would be difficult to claim that he isn’t. According to Catholic theology however, his odds appear much less certain. Why leave it up to us though? Let’s ask Jesus Himself, since He already addressed this very question 2,000 years ago (open your Bible to Matthew 26:24 if you want to follow along).

Me: “Jesus, did Judas go to heaven?” ß Not an actual Bible quote.

Jesus: “Woe to that man [Judas]… It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”

So, there you have it folks. Whether Judas was truly a protestant or not, he was certainly led astray by protestant-like theology. Which then begs the question: Is hindsight really 20/20? I guess I can’t answer that. I can however, leave you with this piece of advice: don’t be like Judas.