Jesus Faced the Cross Willingly

by Jeff Curtis

The more we learn about the cross, the more we will come to come to love and adore our Savior for the sacrifice He made for us. As we study the cross, we should come to a deeper conviction that the crucifixion was not a mistake or an accident. The cross was a part of God’s eternal purpose. There was a cross in the heart of God long before there was one planted on the hillside of Jerusalem (Ephesians 1:3,4; 2Timothy 1:9; 1Peter 1:19-20).

What better way to could God show His absolute justice and at the same time His love for us (Romans 3:24-26)? Since Jesus came to do His Father’s will, He viewed the cross voluntarily because He saw Himself as God’s servant.

So, what held Jesus to the cross?

The Roman soldiers drove nails into Jesus’ hands when they put Him on the cross (John 20:25), but what made Him stay there where others said, “If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (John 27:40)? It wasn’t the nails that held Him there (Matthew 26:53; John 10:17-18), but the Father’s will (Matthew 26:39). Jesus remained on the cross until His death because it was God’s eternal purpose that He do so (Philippians 2:5-11). He endured the cross for “the joy set before Him" (Hebrews 12:2). In response to this great show of love on our behalf, our love for God and Christ should cause us to remain faithful in the kingdom of God, no matter what.

The Torture of Scourging

The extreme severity of the beating Jesus received is not described in any of the four Gospel Accounts. It was necessary to do so, because the people of the first century were quite familiar with these types of scenes. Like the term “crucifixion,” the mere mention of the word “scourging” was sufficient for one to draw a mental picture. “Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified” (Matthew 27:26).

While the Jews could only apply thirty-nine stripes (2Corinthians 11:24), the Romans were not known for compassion and not limited by Jewish laws. The number of stripes Jesus actually received is unknown.

The scourging of Jesus was especially harsh. Instead of simply involving a leather strap, the Greek term points to a beating which used a whip with pieces of metal and bone tied into it. It was no doubt administered by a professional Roman soldier. Doctors’ accounts of this act say that Jesus was probably left in a pre-shock state. Therefore, even before the actual crucifixion from a medical perspective.

Does Man Have Free Will?

by Heath Rogers

One of the consequences of the false doctrine of Calvinism is that man is declared incapable of choosing spiritual good over evil. It is argued that when Adam sinned, he plunged the entire human race into spiritual ruin and thus he lost for himself and his descendants the ability to choose in the spiritual realm.

It is true that Adam brought sin, and its consequences, upon mankind. However, the Bible says nothing of us losing our free will as a result of Adam’s sin. A casual reading of the Bible shows that it was written to a race capable of choosing to serve God. All emphasis is mine (HR).

“If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it” (Genesis 4:7).

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

“And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15).

“‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the LORD…” (Isaiah 1:18).

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

“And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).

The Bible also makes it clear that man is held responsible for choosing not to come to God and not to receive His salvation.

“Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD” (Proverbs 1:29).

“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you” (Acts 7:51).

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34).

In the above verse, Jesus is recorded as wanting desperately to save the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Their destruction was not blamed upon their inability to choose, but upon their refusal to accept the Lord. There is a difference between the two.

If we don’t have free will, in what sense can we be held accountable for our sin and thus worthy of eternal damnation? What kind of a god would acknowledge our inability to choose, yet hold us responsible for our actions? This is not the God of love that we read about in the Bible (1 Timothy 2:3-4).

A theology that denies man’s ability to choose does not offer freedom from sin, but from responsibility. Herein lies both the attraction, and the deception, of the false doctrine of Calvinism.