Did God force Pontius Pilate to Kill Jesus?

Earlier this week I was asked if God was actively involved in fulfilling his prophecies or was it just a matter of foreknowledge?

I thought this was an excellent topic to discuss so I decided to dive right into the subject. This subject crosses several theological debates so trying to answer it in a blog section will be difficult. I will give my opinion and present Scripture with it. I am not very dogmatic on these issues but I will present what I believe. I will give a brief answer in what I believe.

The problem verse presented to me is as follows:

Acts 4:27-28 (NASB): Herod & Pilate, along with the Gentiles & the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your purpose predestined

This verse read at face value presents a problem. It appears that God forced people into doing evil. Is this true? Is God the author of evil? So we need to do a little research of the Bible to build a case. If God causes evil then we have a whole bunch of problems in which to deal with.

Isaiah 55:9
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

We can never obtain to God's standard that's why we need a Savior. We have fallen short of God’s standard.

Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

The hardest thing to say is I'm sorry I was wrong. We are all sinners.  Sin is doing what God does not want you to do or not doing what God wants you to do.


Pilate had a choice. He did not have to let Christ be crucified. He could have said no. Would that have been the easy decision? Of course it would not. Would there have been consequences to Pilate had he said no? You betcha.

Colossians 2:15
When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.


You see Satan does not know the mind of God. He did not know that Christ would die and rise again. He was at work trying to get Christ crucified. Satan is the author of evil not God. Did God withdraw some grace from Pilate that day? Perhaps! We don’t know. But we do know that God is not the author of evil.

See God knew that we would sin against Him. He is outside of time. He knows the end from the beginning. We chose to do wrong. He knew we would that’s why he predetermined to put into place a plan for our salvation. There is no sin in God. All of us would have buckled in Pilates’ shoes and had Christ crucified. Pilate was more interested in his political gain then doing what was right.

How many of us everyday do something against God’s will to try and further our own careers or finances or whatever?

God is Faithful (2 Timothy 2.13)

“If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”

This is the fourth part of the four difficult or trustworthy statements. This is the verse that to me makes the other three not so difficult. What can we say about this verse other than to praise our God?  If we are faithless He is faithful. That if is really a since. Since we are faithless He is faithful. 

None of us are perfect we all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3.23). We are all faithless at some point in our Christian walk. We have doubts.

He remains faithful.  In spite of our sins, doubts, and willful disobedience God is faithful. This is not a license to sin but it is an assurance that God is not fickle like we can be. We get resentful, hold a grudge and get vindictive towards others that wrong us. He remains faithful though. He does not hold a grudge against us or get resentful or vindictive. God loves the unlovable.

You can trust God because He loves you or you can trust him because He cannot lie. He cannot deny Himself. There has never been a time in my life that God has let me down. I may have thought He did but He did not.  

Hindsight is always 20/20. We look in the past and see that God was there all the time. He had a better plan for us they we did for ourselves. He is faithful to us because He cannot deny His own name.  He promised those who believe in Him that He would be there for them. He cannot lie.

How does this make you feel?

Does it make you want to serve Him more?

We have an awesome God.

Denying Christ (2 Timothy 2.12b)

“If we deny Him, He also will deny us.”

This is part three of four of the difficult sayings or trustworthy sayings. This is also probably the hardest one to take at first glance. What does this verse mean? Will God deny us if we deny Him? I am sure all of us have denied Him at one time or another in our lives. Did we all lose our salvation? Are we all without hope? Did Christ die for nothing?

As a child I used to have horrible thoughts of what this verse meant. This verse disturbed me greatly. This is how I used to think about this verse. I was standing at the judgment seat of Christ and after my judgment Christ would say I never knew you. Then just before I was about to be kicked out of heaven the Book of Life was read and I was found in it. True story this how I used to think verses like this meant.

Fortunately for all of us that is not what this verse means.  This is a here and now statement. This deals with progressive sanctification. Progressive sanctification is the ups and downs of walking in your faith. Three steps forward two steps back.

When we deny God a part of our lives we deny ourselves His blessings. This is what this verse means. God denies us a blessing that we would have if only we had not denied Him. It is so important to learn this. This verse has nothing to do with salvation. It has to do with our Christian walk.

Think of it this way. Denying God a part of our lives is like having dial up internet. We still have a connection but it could be way better. Allowing God fully into our lives is like having DSL or cable internet. We just cruise along at high speed with a full connection.

What part of your life are you denying God? Is there a corner or closet that is off limits to Him?

Enduring for Christ

“If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.”

This is part two of the four trustworthy sayings or I would call four difficult sayings. The first part of this verse is “if we endure.” Now at first glance that seems to be an English if then statement.  It also appears that our salvation is conditional. It appears that God’s love and salvation are conditional. We know from Scripture that is not the case. So what does this tiny little two letter English word mean in this passage.  It is important to figure this out. Many bad doctrines, cults, and heresies   come from not correctly interpreting the Bible.  Scripture interprets Scripture.

We know we did in fact die with Christ the moment we asked Him to save us. We know in fact that we live with Him currently and we will in the next life.  So these four difficult sayings seem to be facts. So you could look at this verse like this: since we endure, we shall also reign with Him.  Endurance is part of the Christian life. We all have to endure.  Jesus said take up your cross and follow Me.

How are some of the ways Christians endure? Believe it or not we endure every day. We tolerate Satan’s onslaught against us. We tolerate our own sin nature pushing us to do wrong.  Yes we still sin yes we fail. The difference now is there is an eternal struggle.  We follow the difficult path.  If you try to live for Christ you are going to be given a hard time.  You will struggle. Satan and his forces will come after you.

The positive side of this verse it the “we shall reign with Him.” The first part of the verse describes what happens to us now while we are on earth. The second part describes what will happen when we get to heaven.  One day all those who are in Christ will rule with Him. During the millennium we will be rulers with Christ. We will help in watching over His kingdom.  What a great God we have. For our mortal struggle we get eternal rewards.


How are you enduring today? Are you living for Christ? Are you trying to do His will?

Living with Christ

“we shall live with Him.”

The first part of this verse talks about is death with Christ. Romans chapter six gives a fuller description of this process if you want to read it. The second part of this verse states the opposite. When we die with Christ we live with Him. That is the process. What does this mean?

Accepting Christ as your savior gives you spiritual life. Spiritual life gives you the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came into your heart the moment you were saved. Spiritual life means you no longer have to worry about dying physically. You know where you are going after your physical body passes away. Spiritual life also means that one day your physical corrupted body will be reunited with your soul and changed to an uncorrupted body.

Spiritual life means living with Christ eternally. Forever and ever you will live with Christ. If you read Romans chapter one you will read that humans have a God shaped hole in them. Humans need God. This is part of being made in God’s Image. Now they may find other ways to fill that hole and cloud God out but there is still that internal yearning for God.

The real tragedy with not accepting Christ as your Savior is that you will be eternally separated from God. Right now the unsaved still enjoy some of the benefits of the presence of God. In the afterlife the unsaved will no longer have those. How sad it will be to be eternally separated from what you were created for. This is not what God wants but it is your choice.

Below is an old hymn written by T. O. Chisholm I thought was appropriate for this:

1.      Living for Jesus a life that is true;

        striving to please him in all that I do,

        yielding allegiance, gladhearted and free,

        this is the pathway of blessing for me.

Refrain:

        O Jesus, Lord and Savior,

        I give myself to thee;

        for thou, in thy atonement,

        didst give thyself for me;

        I own no other master,

        my heart shall be thy throne,

        My life I give, henceforth to live,

        O Christ for thee alone.

2.      Living for Jesus who died in my place,

        bearing on Calvary my sin and disgrace,

        such love constrains me to answer his call,

        follow his leading and give him my all.

        (Refrain)

3.      Living for Jesus wherever I am,

        doing each duty in his holy hame,

        willing to suffer affliction or loss,

        deeming each trial a part of my cross.

        (Refrain)

4.      Living for Jesus through earth's little while,

        my dearest treasure, the light of his smile,

        seeking the lost ones he died to redeem,

        bringing the weary to find rest in him.

Dying with Christ 2 Timothy 2.11

“For if we died with Him, we shall live with Him.”

This verse eleven of chapter two contains four faithful sayings as the passage says or you could say four trustworthy statements. This verse explains what will happen when you come to Christ and decide to be real Christian. This first part describes what happens to you spiritually the moment you come to know Christ. This is not an allegory.

You died the moment you accept Christ. You became dead to sin. Sin’s power no longer has an eternal bearing on you. Jesus paid for your sins so you did not have to pay for them yourself. When God the Father looks at us He sees us through Christ’s blood. We were once dead in our sins but through Christ we are dead to sin.

A big fancy word for that is positional sanctification. It means that no matter what you do your place is still held by God. Does that mean we have a license to sin? Of course not! When we sin God will punish us. He will convict us of sin. If we continue in sin the consequences will become greater. Hebrews 12.6 says that whom the Lord loves he chastens.

If you truly believed one way to prove it is to live in sin and see God come after you. This would be called progressive sanctification. It means like a roller coaster ride your Christian walk will have ups and downs. It will not be the sweet by and by as they say. If you live in sin and God is not punishing you perhaps you need to reconsider your salvation. God does not want us to be a slave to sin. No matter how much sin may appear to be freedom it is not.

We are created in His image. There is a part of every person that longs to follow God’s ways. We are built that way. The sad part is we are so taken over by our sin nature we reject the things of God. We become like a petulant child where nothing is good enough.

The Father does not want us to live this way. He loved us so much He sent His Son to die for us.  

Suffering for the Cause of Christ (2 Timothy 2.9)

for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained.

I was sixteen at the time I met the youth pastor at Calvary Baptist Church. He was a man of passion, and a 

man of God. He was young, energetic and had a heart for ministry. His preaching was full of conviction. He 

was a youth minister at a successful church. It was a stalwart in the community for almost forty years at that 

point. It was a comfortable church. The youth pastor challenged that. He got to preach to the congregation 

many times due to the health of the senior minister. The Lord used his preaching to get many right. I remember 

many going forward at the altar calls. He was fired a year later by the deacon board.

Fast forward some fifteen to twenty years in a different state. I met another youth minster. He was a different 

man than the other. He was not a great preacher or teacher. He was a great minister. The youth group 

exploded with life. Many were coming to Christ. Many were trying to live a better Christian life. The church 

became a light to the neighborhood. From kindergarten on up was solid. There were plenty of workers to 

do the work. Church had become a celebration. A couple years later he was forced to resign.

Those who live truly for Christ are those who rock the boat. They challenge the status quo. They are going 

against the grain of the world’s system. See right now the devil runs the world’s system. He runs most 

churches. Those who live for Christ are considered troublemakers. These two men I mentioned were deemed troublemakers.

How do we suffer as evildoers today?

Does your faith cost you something?

Consider What I Say: 2 Timothy 2.7

Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

           

            Two years ago I had the swine flu. I was stuck in bed for the better part of two weeks. I could barely move. Getting out of bed and going to the bathroom was a major deal. I was miserable. I could not breathe well. I could not eat or sleep. God had me right where He wanted me. See I had allowed anger and pride to enter my life. It was blocking my relationship with God. Those two weeks I had nothing but time to lay and bed and think. What does God want me to do? Am I being a faithful Christian? Do I care what God thinks?

There is an old song that says “I live my life like there’s no tomorrow.” It is a fun song but unfortunately, it describes what so many of us fall into everyday. We do not think about the long term consequences of our actions. Many of teenagers who engage in sex and drugs do not think about the long term consequences. People who drink and drive do not think about the consequences. When people speed while driving, they do not think of the possible consequences. The list goes on and on. What we do in this world has long-term ramifications.

The Apostle Paul is telling Timothy to think about what he is saying. Think about the long term consequences of being a faithful Christian. To say some words someone else tells you to say and going to church once or twice a week is easy. Being a faithful, Christian takes dedication. A faithful Christian is a twenty-four hour a day three hundred sixty five days a year job. Paul is telling Timothy to think about it. Reflect and put some thought into it.  Make sure this is what you want to do. Reflection is an important part of life. If you do not reflect on life there is no possible improvement.

Today reflect on your spiritual life. Are you doing what God wants you to do? Are you living for Him? Have you brought everything to Him in prayer? Are you holding back from God? When we consider what God wants us to do, He will give us understanding. 

Part 3: I am a Christian what do I do? (2 Timothy 2.5-6)

And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops.

1. Be honest.

I was eight years old. The Pittsburgh Steelers played the Denver Broncos to a 35-35 tie. I thought it was great. I was a football fan from that point. Terry Bradshaw was my hero. Football and baseball were my two favorite sports. I grew up a big sports fan. Sports became a big part of my life. Through the years I noticed a disturbing trend in sports.  More and more athletes were doing anything to succeed. More and more leagues were doing anything to sell tickets.

The great thing about accepting Christ as your Savior is that the rules never change. We don’t have to do anything unethical. We just have to be honest. We need to compete for God according to His rules. We don’t have to come up with gimmicks to get others to come to Christ. We just need to stick to the message. It’s the same as it always has been. Grace through faith. Honesty and integrity are important aspects of the Christian life. The reason the world doesn’t notice a difference is that we do not live lives that are honest. We talk about following a certain code but we really don’t. We just end up being hypocrites. Saying one thing and doing another. The most honest thing we can do in our lives is ask God are we honest with You? Do we love Him? Do we live for Him? Do we tell others about Him?

2. Be hard working.

I live around forty miles southwest of Columbus, Ohio in a rural area. Drive south on US-62 and you will find my town. You will drive down a two lane road the whole way. Corn and bean fields litter the landscape along the way. Every spring I notice farmers plowing, and planting. Every fall they harvest. Sure as the sun and the moon exist this happens every year. If the farmers neglected one of these activities they would have no produce.

We as Christians are to be hard working as farmers. Christianity is not some designation we fill out on some paperwork. It is real life. We don’t stop being a Christian at conversion we work harder. Some just want to do enough to get to heaven. That is really sad. Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead for us. We should be willing to return the favor but many of us are content to just do the bare minimum. I had a friend once said that no matter what he did his wife would always love him. His attitude was what is the least I can do for you? Many times this is how we are in our spiritual lives. God what is the least I can do for you today? It should be what can I do for you today?

God the Son (Jesus Christ)

God the Son. (Jesus Christ)

• We have redemption and the forgiveness of sins through God the Son. Col. 1. 14
• God the Son is Superior in Creation Col. 1.15-18
• God the Son is the image of the invisible God. Col. 1.15
• God the Son is the firstborn of all creation. Col. 1. 15 
• Jesus Christ is the Creator of the Universe. Col.1.15
• The Universe was created for God the Son. Col. 1.15
• God the Son existed before anything was created. Col. 1.17
• God the Son holds the universe together. Col. 1. 17
• God the Son is the head of the body of the church. Col. 1.18
• God the Son is to have first place in everything. Col. 1.18
• God the Son will stand upon the earth one day. Job 19.25
• I believe when Yahweh of hosts is used in the Old Testament it is referring to the pre incarnate Christ. (Isaiah 8.13-14
• Jesus Christ is fully God. (Colossians 1.19)
• God the Father sent God the Son to die on the cross for the sins of mankind. (Col. 1.20)
• Jesus Christ has made us holy and blameless in His sight. (Colossians 1.22)
• Jesus Christ has given us freedom.  (Colossians 2.4-3.1)
• We know that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. (Col. 2.9)
• We are complete in Jesus Christ. (Col. 2.10)
• We have been spiritually circumcised by Christ. (Col. 2.12)
• We have been spiritual buried with Christ through a spiritual baptism. (Col. 2.12)
• We have been spiritual raised from the dead through faith in Christ. (Col. 2.12
• )God the Father raised Jesus Christ from the dead. (Col. 2.12)
• We have been forgiven of all our sins by Jesus Christ. (Col. 2.13)
• We have had all of our sins nailed to the cross by Jesus Christ. (Col. 2.14)

Seeing Jesus for who He Really Is (Isaiah 6.1-5)

In today’s world life rarely appears as it really is. Everyone wears a mask hoping to only show what they want people to see. We hide so many items in our lives. We even put on blinders to only see what we want to see. Then we have our own special glasses that filter everything so it fits to our own presuppositions. Christians are not the only ones who do this. Everyone does. Everything has its own spin just watch two different news shows or read two different newspapers. We have so many barriers no wonder so many don’t come to Christ. Suddenly though everything gets stripped away. You see Jesus for who He really is. Next you must decide what to do with Jesus who is called the Christ. Isaiah had a different experience then us but one that gave him a landmark occasion.



In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. (Verse 1)

This verse establishes the when of the story. King Uzziah died somewhere around 740 BC. Isaiah was in the beginning of his ministry that expanded some sixty years. The winds of change were blowing at this time, as Assyria was becoming the superpower nation. The Assyrians were cruel and vindictive.  Isaiah was a part of the Kingdom of Judah and the apocalypse was near for this tiny nation. Isaiah was given a glimpse of seeing the one true God Yahweh in all his glory.

Above it stood seraphim, each one had six wings: with two, he covered his face, with two, he covered his feet, and with two, he flew. (v2)

The seraphim are angels who are in the presence of Almighty God constantly. I find it interesting that they need two wings to cover their faces. I think we as humans forget how holy God is. We can tend to be quite irreverent at times. Angels are sinless beings yet they need to cover their faces from the holiness of God.

And one cried to another and said: “ Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
      The whole earth is full of His glory!”  (v3)


I am not much of a numbers guy. Some commentators say that because they said holy three times it is the number of completeness. I tend to look at it as a sign of the Trinity. God is One yet Three. It is probably both the latter showing how holy God is and the former indicating the Trinity. Holy means set apart. God is set apart from us. He knows no sin. He is NOT the author of sin. His ways are higher than our ways. This is why you cannot earn your way to heaven.

“The whole earth is full of His glory.” Many times, I take my wife to work to the town just south of us. It is a two-lane road with corn and bean fields on both sides. There are plenty of trees and hills and curves on the way. I love that drive. That is just one small example of the earth being full of His glory.


And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. (v4)


As earthly creatures separated from God, we do not grasp His holiness. Isaiah got a full picture here. He got an earthquake and a fire out of the deal. In the gospels when Jesus casts out the demons you notice they tremble and fear. I find it funny and it makes me angry how television always glorifies demons. They are evil and scary and they fear nothing. That is not how it really is. They fear God and tremble at Him.

So I said:
“ Woe is me, for I am undone!
   Because I am a man of unclean lips,
   And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
   For my eyes have seen the King,
   Yahweh of hosts.” (v5)

Isaiah saw all of this and was blown away. His life was forever changed. Now Isaiah believed before this point but this was a landmark occasion. I was saved at eight years old and baptized the same year. I had gone to church all my life. I grew up in Christian schools and went to Bible College. I was the pastor of two different churches. I say all that to make this point. It was two years ago I had the swine flu. It was the most miserable thing of my life. I was changed then. I decided that Jesus was not going to be something that I just believed in but he was going to consume every part of my life. I wanted him to have it all. God had my undivided attention at the time. My eyes had seen the King. Would I continue to live my life only giving God bits and pieces or would I surrender to him my hopes, dreams, and everything?


When your eyes see the King, it will demand a decision. Will you follow Him or not? Later in the passage, the Lord asks who will go for him to tell the people. Isaiah says here am I send me. Will that be your response today?

http://youtu.be/pIP2hHAQh44

My Beliefs About God the Father

•         God the Father is the author of everything perfect and good. James 1.17
• God the Father is the Father to all humankind. Ephesians 4.6
• God the Father is distinct from the Son and the Spirit.  Eph 4.6
• God the Father  is the spiritual Father to all those who believe in His Son.  2 Cor 6.18 Rom 8.15
• God the Father saves all who come to Him through His Son Jesus Christ.  John 1.12
• God the Father loves us. He sent God the Son to die for us.  Jn 3.16
•         God the Father is Spirit. He must be worshipped in spirit and in truth.  John 4.24
• God the Father has never been seen by man.  John 1.18
• We should give thanks to God the Father. Col. 1.12
• God the Father has made us eligible for an inheritance. Col. 1.13 
• God the Father has delivered us from the power of darkness. Col. 1.13
• God the Father has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son. Col. 1.13
• God the Father raised Jesus Christ from the dead. (Col. 2.12)