QUESTION: It is true that Judas Iscariot baptized people, but this was before he betrayed Jesus, and it was while the Law of Moses was in force. Is this not the same as Jesus forgiving the thief on the cross? In other words, we can’t use this example today, because we are under the Law of Christ.
ANSWER: I understand the question to be: “Is the reason we do not use the baptism performed by Judas (John 4:2) as an example today because he lived under the Law of Moses?” The answer would be “No!” This would be the case, because the baptism performed by the disciples before the Day of Pentecost was not a part of the Mosaical Law! It had it’s beginning with John, the son of Zacharias (Luke 3:2-3), in about 29AD.
If this question is related to the two preceding questions, i.e., if it is being suggested that non-Christians or sinful people today would have been scripturally approved to baptize others today, had it been the case that Judas performed his baptizing after he sinned by betraying Christ, the answer would still be “No!” The reason for not using the baptism performed by the disciples before the Day of Pentecost as an example today is because this baptism was effective only until the Day of Pentecost. It was called “John’s baptism” (Acts 19:3). On Pentecost Day, the baptism of Christ became effective (Acts 2:38) and it alone will remain in effect until the end of the world (Matthew 28:18-20). In Acts 18:24 through Acts 19:5, we read of Ephesians who had been improperly baptized with “John’s baptism” after the Day of Pentecost. These were instructed by the apostle Paul to be baptized with “Christ’s baptism,” clear evidence that John’s baptism had become ineffective! This is the reason why we cannot use the baptizing performed by Judas as an example today! The only approved examples of baptism for people today are to be found in the book of Acts, from Pentecost day forward!
We cannot use the baptism of John (as performed by Judas) for our example because it is not a part of the Law of Christ for Christians today!