Apples of Gold Home School News

Scroll down to read the following archive articles:

*Leaders Are Readers by Pastor James Walsh

*When God Laughs by Pastor Dennis Kosobucki

*An Appeal for a Good Conscience by Pastor Dennis Kosobucki

*The Terror of Falling into the Hands of the Living God by Pastor Dennis Kosobucki

*Fallen Away by Pastor Dennis Kosobucki

When God Laughs

by Dennis G. Kosobucki 

You know the routine.  Walk into a typical Christian bookstore and you will be greeted by a wide array of how artists want you to picture the way Jesus looked.  All too often, the depictions that catch your eye are ones which agree with the way you want to imagine Jesus, ignoring the Biblical constraints in place, much like an alarming number of contemporary Christian musicians who all to often seem to pen songs more to elicit a feel-good, emotional response, rather than being diligent in “handling accurately the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15).  The few descriptions of Jesus Christ in Scriptures are rarely, if ever, depicted on canvas accurately, representing our Lord as He really was when He walked on earth.  Consider Isaiah’s inspired words:  “For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.  He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from who men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him” (Isaiah 53:2-3).   A sketch like this would not sell.  Neither would a true portrayal of Christ, as He would look today, be very popular: “and in the middle of the lampstands (was) one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His breast with a golden girdle.  And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire; and His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been caused to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.  And in His right hand He held seven stars; and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.  And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a dead man” (Revelation 1:13-17a).

People feel much more comfortable with a picture of Jesus either as a baby, a dead person hanging on a cross, or as a delicate man staring insipidly from an old, musty-looking picture.  Neither of these depictions is a “threat” to one who wants to make poor and foolish choices in justifying themselves while straying outside the boundaries of God’s Word.  The  white, Anglo-Saxon, blue-eyed, brown-haired portrayal of a compassionate, smiling or even laughing Jesus as He relates to people around Him (a full-blooded Jew would have olive skin, dark eyes and very black hair) creates an image in the minds of people that He tolerates and maybe even winks at our sins.  When God laughs, it isn’t at a good joke or some silly antic of man.  He is never presented in the Word of God as laughing with us, only at us!   “The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed: ‘Let us tear their fetters apart, and cast away their cords from us!’ He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them.  Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury” (Psalm 2:2-5).  Think of all the great nations today who want nothing to do with the true God of the Bible (including the United States): “Behold they belch forth with their mouth; swords are in their lips, for, they say, ‘who hears?’ But Thou, O Lord, dost laugh at them; Thou dost scoff at all the nations” (Psalm 59:7-8).  It may seem like a trivial thing to many but our thinking always needs to be shaped by what the Bible teaches, not by our own “humble opinion.”  When we start down the path of compromise, even in seemingly insignificant things, we set ourselves up to cave in on things we may have once stood strong on.

There are times when God’s people must endure much at the hands of their enemies.  It may seem that God does not hear.  We may become discouraged and even lose faith.  But King David experienced and understood these times as well: “The wicked plots against the righteous, and gnashes at him with his teeth.  The Lord laughs at him; for He sees his day is coming” (Psalm 37-12-13).

Likewise, God is no respecter of persons.  He may have intimates but never favorites.  To those with whom He has a closer fellowship, He gives more discernment.  “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…” (James 4:8).  “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14).  This is certainly an accurate “picture” of our Lord’s desire toward those who know Him personally and His guarantee to act when we are serious to get to know Him better.  Is this true of your heart?  Are you willing to do whatever is necessary, including the careful study of His Word, to draw closer to Him and grow in discernment?  Jesus promised to manifest Himself to the obedient heart.”  He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and He who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him” (John 14:21).  The Lord will never contradict His Word.  He will illuminate its meaning for you as you draw near to Him, resulting in a very sweet fellowship.  Others may mock and slander, and laugh at you.  But it is at those times that you must endure and even take pity on those folks, knowing that our Lord will be laughing at them, not with them,  “for He sees (their) day is coming” (Psalm 37:12-13).  And that will not be a very pretty picture.

An Appeal for A Good Conscience

by Dennis G. Kosobucki

This is the fourth and final article in a series of difficult passages, having previously studied Galatians 5:1-11, Hebrews 6:1-12, and Hebrews 10:26-39. Today we will be considering I Peter 3:13-4:2.

From 3:13-4:19, Peter is addressing the issue of suffering as a Christian and enduring it triumphantly. Understanding this context will go a long way to properly interpret this difficult verse, “And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you . . .” (I Peter 3:21). Is Peter teaching baptismal regeneration? If so, he would be contradicting the plain teaching of the apostle John who made it clear about ninety-nine times in the gospel he wrote that a person is justified by believing in Christ alone (John 3:16; 20:31). The apostle Paul harmonized this teaching that salvation is in Christ alone by grace alone through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-7).

Peter addresses suffering as a Christian by stating, “And who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the things in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.” (I Peter 3:13-17). Peter emphasized the need to keep a good conscience so that the suffering the Christian may experience will be a result of their relationship in Christ, leading to blessing rather than being punished for wrong doing and getting what they deserved.

He then reminds his audience about the suffering of Christ Himself. “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is eight persons, were brought safely through the water” (I Peter 3:18-20). The “spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah” are the spirits of those who perished in the flood and are confined to Hades, waiting for the Great White Throne judgment at the end of time (Luke 16:22-28; Revelation 20:11-15). This passage is not saying that Jesus went to the place of confinement where these spirits are now and preached the gospel to them, either to give them a second chance (which would contradict Hebrews 9:27) or simply to announce His victory over sin at the cross. The context favors the understanding that the Spirit of Christ announced these things to them through the Holy Spirit preaching through Noah while they were yet alive on earth but are now confined in prison. (I Peter 1:11 illuminates this idea of the Spirit of Christ speaking through the prophets of old.) I Peter 4:6 says, “For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.” “Those who are dead” is referring to Christians who have died in the faith and had suffered in the flesh, having had the gospel preached to them while they were alive, not after they died. I Corinthians 10:1-4 also makes it clear that the preincarnate Christ was with the wilderness generation under the direction and leadership of Moses.

“And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you-not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience-through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers have been subjected to Him” (I Peter 3:21-22). A careful examination of the context shows the phrase “and corresponding to that. . .” refers back to 3:16-17 where Peter is directing his Christian audience to “keep a good conscience” so that they may “suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.” It is not looking back to 3:20 which says “eight persons were brought safely through the water.” “Keeping a good conscience” of 3:16 and “an appeal to God for a good conscience” in 3:21 correspond with one another. Peter is saying the act of public baptism would “save” the readers from the temptation to sacrifice their good consciences in order to avoid persecution. Again, salvation must be understood in the context. It does not always mean justification (See Philippians 2:12 where Paul is talking about the Christian working out their sanctification, not their justification). Hebrews 11:7 tells us, “By faith, Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world. . .” The ark did not save Noah and his family from their sins but rather physically delivered them from the flood which destroyed the world. The Christians during Peter’s time would be “saved” or “delivered” from a bad conscience by following through with public baptism, even if that meant persecution. For a first century believer, baptism often meant following through in obedience as part of their commitment to follow Christ as a regenerated Christian, despite consequences. Water baptism clearly does not save from sin but from a bad conscience. The source of salvation is made clear by Peter when he added that baptism is “not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience-through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 3:21). As the flood wiped away the sinful world, baptism pictures one’s break from his old sinful life and entrance into new life with Christ.

Finally, Peter exhorts, “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God” (I Peter 4:1-2). The word “therefore” in 4:1 goes back to 3:18 as Peter draws on the example of Christ’s suffering together as a good motivation to prepare oneself to do the same thing in living for Him. Chapter 3 verses 19-22 are all parenthetical statements to highlight the need to be willing to suffer for Christ with a clear conscience without compromising to avoid the inevitability of suffering. Being identified with Christ through suffering demonstrates (as does baptism) the Christian’s break with a sinful life. This is what is meant by “. . .because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God” (I Peter 4:1b-2).

Water baptism never was intended to be part of one’s regeneration. In fact, to teach or believe that water baptism is essential for one to be justified is to teach or believe a very dangerous and false doctrine. It would be an indication that one does not believe the gospel of salvation in Christ alone by grace alone through faith alone but instead is adding a work in addition to the saving grace of the gospel (Ephesians 2:8-10). This is a blatant rejection of the finished work of Christ by adding something men must do to complete what Christ already said was finished (John 19:30). To add anything to what Christ said was finished is to call Him a liar.

Having said all that, Jesus did indicate the importance of water baptism in Matthew 28:19-20. In this familiar “Great Commission” passage, our Lord exhorts us to make disciples by baptizing the people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and to teach them to observe all that He commanded them. This is a command, not an option. But the passage teaches what to do to make disciples, not converts. Evangelism is assumed in this verse and the importance of discipleship, overlooked in most churches in America, is emphasized. The first step of discipleship, after one is justified in Christ alone, is to be baptized. That is to be followed by a lifetime of learning to observe (obey) all that Christ has commanded us, not to be selective in obedience or to merely be taught about our Lord’s precepts with little regard toward compliance.

Avoid the unbiblical extremes of seeing baptism as necessary for one’s regeneration or to treat our Lord’s command regarding this ordinance as optional, left up to the individual to choose to obey or not to obey. We do not have the authority to “exercise the option” of obeying. But hopefully you will discern the importance of water baptism without going beyond the intended meaning of Scripture. May this article be helpful in your understanding of God’s Word and find you diligently ordering your life around the person of Jesus Christ as you seek to draw ever closer to Him.

  The Terror of Falling into the Hands of the Living God

by Dennis G. Kosobucki 

This third in a series of difficult passages from the New Testament is the second one from the book of Hebrews. Previously, we studied Hebrews 6:1-12 and pointed out that the anonymous author was writing to Jewish believers who were being tempted to fall away from the truth of one’s justification being sufficient in Christ alone back into the legalistic system of animal sacrifices to commend themselves before God. Having established the readers of this epistle as once-for-all justified believers (Hebrews 10:10), we now turn our attention to Hebrews 10:26-39.

“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:26-27). A person who is sinning willfully or defiantly, with an “in your face” attitude will experience temporal (not eternal) consequences leading to a possible untimely death (I Corinthians 11:27-32) or the fury of God’s judgment as he stands before Him to give an account of his life (I Corinthians 3:10-15; II Corinthians 5:10-11) or both. Remember, the “Bema Seat” judgment of II Corinthians 5:10-11 is referring to the evaluation of Christians in their faithfulness on earth and is to be contrasted with the “Great White Throne” judgment of Revelation 20:11-15 where unbelievers only are judged one thousand years later. In the former, rewards, crowns, and God’s personal commendation are in view while in the latter, hell is the end result of all who are in attendance.

“The fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:27) is a quote from Isaiah 26:11 which is speaking of the physical destruction of Israel’s enemies in time, not eternity. Hebrews 10:10 says we already have protection from judgment of eternal hell: “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:17 states the eternal position of all true believers who have put their trust in Christ alone (excluding works, baptism, keeping the Ten Commandments, etc.): “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Hebrews 10:26-30 is speaking about the believer’s temporal position.

So what does it mean “there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” if one keeps on sinning willfully “after receiving the knowledge of the truth”? This defiant gesture is literally translated “with a high hand” in the Hebrew language. “But the person who does anything defiantly (with a high hand), whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the Lord; and that person shall be cut off (i.e. put to death, see Exodus 31:14) from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be on him” (Numbers 15:30-31). Following is a situation which arose with the wilderness generation that illustrates the consequences of the “sin of the high hand” under the Old Testament Law: “Now while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day. And those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation; and they put him in custody because it had not been declared what should be done to him. Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘The man shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp’. So all the congregation brought him outside the camp, and stoned him to death with stones, just as the Lord had commanded Moses” (Numbers 15:32-36). There was no sacrificial protection from the temporal consequences of defiant sin. No amount of blood offered up from animals would have spared this man.

Another example appears in I Samuel 3:12-14 where God pronounces judgment on the household of Eli the priest for ignoring the sins of his sons: “In that day I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. For I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them. And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” Once again, there was to be no sacrificial protection from the temporal consequences of sin done in a defiant manner.

Clearly then, this passage is a reference to Hebrew Christians defiantly going back to the old testament system of the law when they had already been justified by the blood of Christ alone and had believed that. Even today, it would be similar to this writer , having come out of the Roman Catholic system which teaches one is justified by keeping the law, both of the Old Testament and that of the church’s, and employs a similar sacrificial model of the mass in which Christ is re-crucified again and again each day upon the altar—having renounced all these things and put trust in Christ alone to secure salvation, to now go back and be immersed in that false system which has deceived over one billion people today. While remaining secure in his standing as a child of God (John 10:27-29; Romans 8:38-39), this writer would have to face some dire consequences in time for falling away from the faith.

An interesting side note would be to point out to the “easy believism” critics, who question the belief of simple faith alone in Christ alone, that God doesn’t regard lightly the apostasy of believers. But neither does He give them up for damnation once they are saved, nor is it Biblically defensible to write off a straying believer as one who never sincerely believed in the first place.

“Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:28-29) For those who say the readers were “professing Christians” and not “possessing Christians,” the last part of verse 29 makes it clear that the audience was “sanctified” or set apart (from those that didn’t believe). This passage also says nothing about a personal loss of salvation. It surely wouldn’t have been very profound if all the writer was saying was that unbelievers go to hell! The Jewish Christians already knew that! How in the world would that exhort or encourage them?

“For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:30-31). This stark reminder helps explain Paul’s motivation in reminding the Corinthian believers that they will all be judged for their deeds done in the body. “Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men. . .” (II Corinthians 5:11). This fear obviously is more then just a “reverential awe” as many commentaries and church leaders propagate. While God’s love is taught throughout the Scriptures, the fear of God is equally evident to dissuade Christians from a life of careless ease. It is a great disservice to reduce the fear of God from what it clearly means to a mere humanly palatable sense of “reverence” or “awe.” Note that the author of Hebrews says God will judge His people (not unbelievers in this context).

“But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly, by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners, and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised” (Hebrews 10:32-36). Here, the positive side of God’s judgment is stated by rewarding faithfulness (usually in eternity more so than in time). Faithfulness breeds confidence and should not be so easily disregarded. Endurance is a key factor and makes all the difference between success and failure. Thomas Edison is quoted as saying, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” That is certainly true in the spiritual realm as well.

“For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in Him” (Hebrews 10:37-38). The author of Hebrews is using an understatement by stating, “And if he shrinks back, My soul has no Pleasure in him.” It’s just another way of saying God will not be very happy with the person who shrinks back from living by faith. There will be serious consequences. Loss of salvation is not one of them.

The final verse under consideration in Hebrews 10:39 says, “But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.” This is a reference to a premature death as is noted with Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11 and many of the Corinthian believers profaning the Lord’s Supper in I Corinthians 11:27-30. It does not refer to eternal damnation in the context and “destruction” is not a technical term for hell.

The good news in all of this is to both encourage and exhort the readers of this article. The encouragement is to contextually show that neither this passage nor any other in Scripture ever suggests a true believer can lose their salvation or that lack of faithfulness is foolproof evidence that the individual in question never was saved to begin with. Instead, this passage exhorts and warns against the danger of a born-again Christian drifting from the truth of the faith into apostasy and the fear of standing before God to give an account for it. May God speak to you personally through this passage and meet you at your greatest point of need.