Living by faith: Do the ends justify the means?

Judas Iscariot was one of Jesus' twelve disciples whom he sent out on the first missionary journey to minister to people oppressed by the devil. The twelve were given power to 'heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.' (see Matthew 10:1-8)

Yet when the time came (see Matthew 26:15), Judas betrayed Jesus to the chief priests for thirty pieces of silver (the price of a servant or slave - see Exodus 21:32).

Judas believed in Jesus' power but did not have faith to allow the plan of God to unfold as God willed. Instead, Judas took matters into his own hands and either (i) cashed out his association with Jesus for the highest price he could, or (ii) tried to force the issue of Jesus becoming king. We don't know his exact motive. But, whichever it was, for Judas, the ends justified the means.

If he was cashing out, then the end he desired was the greatest possible profit even if it meant betraying Jesus and the rest of the disciples. If he was trying to force Jesus' hand, then the end he desired was to bring about the kingdom of God. Either way, Judas chose the end by whichever means and did not exercise faith in God to bring about the proper end.

Judas gave us an example of how NOT to live by faith. The life of faith requires that the means be lived according to God's dictates (love the Lord and love our neighbor - see Matthew 22:36-40), trusting God to work out the proper end or outcome. Living the life of faith means that we leave the end - the outcome - up to God and not try to control it ourselves.

If Judas had lived by faith, he would not have betrayed Jesus but would have continued as a disciple. Of course, if Judas had faith in God to provide for all his needs, he would not have been stealing from the disciple's money-box either (John 12:6). If Judas had faith, he would have trusted God to provide for all of his needs rather than steal and betray.

Living by faith means that we concern ourselves with the means and let God take care of the ends. The means God wants us to live by are (i) love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind - seeking first his kingdom and (ii) love our neighbor as ourselves - doing for them as we would have them do to us. If we do these, then Jesus promises that the outcome will be good for us: and all these things will be added unto you (Matthew 6:31-34).