What made the difference?

I would like to talk of 2 men who betrayed JESUS and what happened to them
Judas
-was one of the 12
-did NOT believe
-was a thief
-pretended loyalty to JESUS after
planned betrayal of JESUS
& met with priests
-betrayed JESUS for $
-the devil enticed him
-the devil entered him later only
after Judas chose several times
to act on his enticement.
-hung himself
Peter
-was one of the 12
-did believe
-was proud
-was ignorant of his weakness
-planned to stick with JESUS
-spoke words the devil had planted
-betrayed JESUS by denial
-the devil asked to sift him as wheat
-turned back to JESUS
-strengthen others.
–Opened the doors of salvation to both
the Jews and the Gentiles

What was the difference?

Scroll down to bottom for verses to validate these claims…
. Both of these men walked & talked day in and day out with JESUS during 3 years.
. Both of these men were in the inner circle of the 12 disciples.
Both of these men had weaknesses.
. The devil tempted both of these men
Both of these men at one time or another listened to the devil& followed his plans.
. But there was 1 basic difference between these men that stood out from all others. One believed that JESUS was LORD and the other did not.
. One killed himself, the other was a tool used of GOD to open the doors of salvation with the key of confession that JESUS is the Messiah, the Son of the living GOD

What was the difference?
Their ends show that the truth found in John 3;16-18

John 3:16"For God so loved the world that he gave HIS one and only Son, that whoever believes in HIM shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send HIS Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through HIM. 18Whoever believes in HIM is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because HE has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

verses:
JUDAS
John 6: 64 But some of you do not believe ME.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and HE knew who would betray HIM.) … 70Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" 71(HE meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray HIM.)

JESUS knew from the beginning that Judas didn’t believe and that Judas would betray HIM and yet JESUS both chose Judas and honored him as treasurer although he was a thief. John 12:4-6

John 13:2… the devil had already enticed Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to carry out his plan and betray JESUS… but it was not until after Judas pretended innocence and accepted the honored bread dipped in oil that the Satan entered into him. Luke 22:47,48 later that same night Judas led a mob to arrest JESUS and pointed out JESUS to the soldiers with a kiss.

Peter
Matthew 16: 15,16(JESUS speaking) “… who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, ‘YOU are the Messiah, the Son of the living GOD.”

Matthew 16:21-23 JESUS began telling them of HIS coming death but Peter took HIM aside and corrected HIM saying “Heaven forbid, LORD! This will never happen to YOU. JESUS turned to Peter and said, “Get away from ME Satan! You are a dangerous trap to ME (Peter) You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, and not from GOD’s.”

Luke 22:31,32 “Simon (Peter), Simon, Satan has asked to have you, to sift you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you that your faith will not fail. So when you have repented and turned to ME again, strengthen and build up your brothers.

Luke 22:33,34 Peter said, “I am ready to go to prison for you, and even to die with YOU.” But JESUS said , “Peter let ME tell you something, the rooster will not crow before you have denied three times that you even know ME.

Acts 2:14-41 uses the gospel of JESUS as a key to open the door of salvation to the Jews Acts 10 (entire chapter) uses the same key to open the door of salvation to the Gentiles.