Simon Cox Blog: One-on-One with Pastor Colin Smith on “Heaven, So Near

Thursday 29 March 2018

One-on-One with Pastor Colin Smith on “Heaven, So Near – So Far: The Story of Judas Iscariot”

If a person really belongs to Jesus, he or she will persevere in faith

I am happy to welcome Colin Smith to The Exchange today. Colin is the Senior Pastor of The Orchard, a multi-campus church in the Chicago suburbs, and the teaching pastor for the daily radio program called Unlocking the Bible. We also have an academic partnership with Colin and The Orchard, offering master’s degrees through a partnership with Wheaton College. Colin recently wrote Heaven, So Near – So Far: The Story of Judas Iscariot.

Ed: Colin, why did you write a book about Judas?

Colin: I wrote the book because there are a growing number of people who are abandoning the faith that they once professed. I’m not just thinking about people in general, but specific people. Like, for example, a guy who was brought up in a Christian home, but no longer has an interest in the faith. Or a person who really extended herself in Christian ministry, but got disappointed and now no longer wants anything to do with Christianity. Or a couple who have experienced great difficulties in their lives, and they’ve moved away from a faith that they once professed so brightly.

I wrote it because I want to see people like these brought back to living faith in Jesus Christ.

Ed: Don’t you think it’s possible that Judas might be in heaven?

Colin: [Smiles] You know, Ed, that is the question I’m asked more than any other in relation to this book. I think part of the motivation is that if people can believe that Judas might be in heaven, it opens the door to believing that everyone will be in heaven.

But there is no way in the world that Judas is in heaven, and there are three scriptures that speak very clearly to this. First, on one occasion, Jesus said to the disciples, “One of you is a devil” (John 6:70). ...