Question about a pharaoh and an Apostle's problems.

[Gothedral]

I have questions about Christianity. I will die happily testifying that Jesus is the Only Way for Salvation. My question has to do with the pharaoh Moses contended with (let's call him Ramses), and Jesus' chosen Apostle Judas Iscariot.

I have an agnostic buddy that insists Christ is not real, and two points he made for his argument were what God did to Ramses and Judas. Here is the Word (KJ21) when God commands Moses to ask pharaoh to let His people go:

Exodus 4:21 And the Lord said unto Moses, “When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in thine hand; but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

That is part of my buddy's argument, saying that the Christian God is "not a good guy". And the other part is similar, in the New Testament, John chapter 13:27...

20 Verily, verily I say unto you, he that receiveth whomsoever I send, receiveth Me; and he that receiveth Me, receiveth Him that sent Me.”

21 When Jesus had thus said, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Verily, verily I say unto you that one of you shall betray Me.”

22 Then the disciples looked at one another, not knowing of whom He spoke.

23 Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.

24 Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom He spoke.

25 He then, leaning on Jesus’ breast, said unto Him, “Lord, who is it?”

26 Jesus answered, “He it is to whom I shall give a sop when I have dipped it.” And when He had dipped the sop, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.

27 And after the sop, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said unto him, “What thou doest, do quickly.”

28 Now no man at the table knew with what intent He spoke this unto him.

29 For some of them thought, because Judas had the money bag, that Jesus had said unto him, “Buy those things that we have need of for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor.

30 Judas then, having received the sop, went immediately out. And it was night.

31 Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.

32 If God be glorified in Him, God shall also glorify Him in Himself, and shall straightway glorify Him.

33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek Me; and as I said unto the Jews, ‘Whither I go ye cannot come,’ so now say I to you.

34 A new commandment I give unto you: that ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

35 By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples: if ye have love one for another.”

36 Simon Peter said unto Him, “Lord, whither goest Thou?” Jesus answered him, “Whither I go thou canst not follow Me now, but thou shalt follow Me afterwards.”

37 Peter said unto Him, “Lord, why cannot I follow Thee now? I will lay down my life for Thy sake.”

38 Jesus answered him, “Wilt thou lay down thy life for My sake? Verily, verily I say unto thee, the **** shall not crow till thou hast denied Me thrice."

So... my work buddy remains angry at Christians and Christ because of these two things, for example. He insists that Judas had no choice and that the pharaoh also had no choice because God made them evil and kept them that way.

I said that Judas still had a chance to beg Christ for forgiveness, but Judas chose to do evil unto death. My buddy says I'm lying, and it's all fake. Then there's the Old Testament thing about pharaoh's heart. My buddy does not understand the appeal of those events, and I can only say that the Holy Lord's chosen people simply obey His commandments.

Any insight from you is helpful. Thank you.

 

[KingJ]

On Pharaoh:

1. Pharaoh Hardened His Own Heart First

Before Exo 4:21 “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart,” the Bible clearly shows Pharaoh hardening his own heart'' we have the following:

Exodus 8:15 – “But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said.”
Exodus 8:32 – “But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.”
Exodus 9:34 – “And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart...”

2. God Hardened Pharaoh's Heart as Judgment

Only after Pharaoh repeatedly rejected God does the Bible say God hardened his heart, as a form of judgment — not arbitrary control.

Exodus 9:12 – “But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.”
Romans 9:18 – “Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.”

This "hardening" is not a violation of free will — it's God confirming Pharaoh in the path he already chose. This is similar to Romans 1:24 – “God gave them up…” – a divine response to human rebellion.

3. God’s Hardening Is Never Arbitrary or Unjust

Deuteronomy 32:4 – “A God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He.”
Acts 10:34 – “Then Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.’”

If God is just and shows no partiality, then His hardening of Pharaoh must have been in response to Pharaoh’s own sin, not a denial of free will.

4. Scripture Affirms Human Free Will and Responsibility

Joshua 24:15 – “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…”
Deuteronomy 30:19 – “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life…”
Galatians 6:7 – “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”

These verses establish that humans are morally responsible for their actions and free to choose obedience or rebellion.

 

[KingJ]

On Judas:

John 6:70, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil,

We need to understand that before any disciple was chosen, they were judged. Only God can truly judge a heart and mind.

Jer 17:9-10 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”

There is no partiality from God in Judas being a 'devil'. Judas became a devil of his own free will. He had a dark heart before he betrayed Jesus. The question to ask is rather: 'why did God choose someone who He knew had a dark heart?'

I would think it was for God to show all of us that He is truly impartial. He gave evil people a chance at being His disciple. Seeing miracles. Receiving daily teaching. And yet it all mattered naught as Judas chose to stay evil.

Romans 2:11 plainly states, “For there is no respect of persons with God.”

 

[Gothedral]

On Judas:

John 6:70, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil,

We need to understand that before any disciple was chosen, they were judged. Only God can truly judge a heart and mind.

Jer 17:9-10 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”

There is no partiality from God in Judas being a 'devil'. Judas became a devil of his own free will. He had a dark heart before he betrayed Jesus. The question to ask is rather: 'why did God choose someone who He knew had a dark heart?'

I would think it was for God to show all of us that He is truly impartial. He gave evil people a chance at being His disciple. Seeing miracles. Receiving daily teaching. And yet it all mattered naught as Judas chose to stay evil.

Romans 2:11 plainly states, “For there is no respect of persons with God.”

Indeed, just like Saul persecuted to death the followers of Christ before he became the Apostle Paul. Of course!

Also, on both Pharaoh (Ramses? Meh.) and Judas Iscariot concerning Romans chapter 1... Thank you for pointing this out, brother! That Letter and chapter also covers the heated arguments coming from my work buddy about the matter. He said, "Your so-called God is not a good guy!" because of the aforementioned situations as described by my buddy completely out of context. Haha! I can laugh. He likes to point out the context of things, except Christianity in general.

Thank you again. The other things he argued about get discussed on the Forums now and then, but are clearly stated in the Holy Word. Time and translations cannot erase it, praise Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savior!

The discipline of personal responsibility is also important, but the Atoning Power of Christ Almighty is essential. I pray many more people will be touched by the Holy Spirit of Truth, so they will ask Christ for the help they need to overcome their terrible situations.