Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Allowed - Aloud (01/05/23)
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TITLE: Big Mouths | Previous Challenge Entry
By Doug Laird
01/09/23 -
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Understanding the more advanced doctrines require a degree of spiritual maturity (1), having laid a firm foundation of the unadulterated Gospel Message.
Scripture teaches that, “… God is not a God of confusion… (1Cor. 14: 33 NASB), but “…the devil, prowls around (speaking aloud) like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8 NASB parenthesis mine).”
The devil‘s objective is obvious. Repeat something long and loud enough and even the most stable individuals might come to consider its validity.
Be they right or wrong, religious convictions grow deep roots and are not easily removed.
Weak (immature) believers are like, “… children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming (Eph. 4: 14 NASB).”
There are 1Cor.3: 1 nominal Christians who do not understand the simplicity (2) or the permanency of the eternal security (3) that is the result of placing one’s trust and confidence in the unadulterated Gospel Message.
In their minds, there must be something more required of them in order for them to obtain or to retain eternal life.
Man-made religion and the devil have warehouses full of such additives to promote this erroneous thinking. These additives are designed to look good, sound good, and feel good, but in reality, are an affront to the Work that was “finished (John 19: 30 NASB)” on the cross.
Part of the confusion is the failure to distinguish the difference between the single (4) requirement for salvation, and the many requirements (5) associated with post salvation discipleship.
Man-made religion rolls these separate issues into one ball of wax. In doing so, post salvation activities are promoted as either the means to complete the salvation process, or the means to retain eternal life.
For many, much time passes between the moment they were born again, and the day they chose to embrace post salvation discipleship, giving their life to Christ.
Some born-again believers never pursue the life of discipleship. Some do, but fall away, failing to complete the work that God had in mind for them to do.
Success or failure in the post salvation life of discipleship neither improves or diminishes the integrity of the salvation and eternal life that a born-again believer has already received.
However, success or failure in post salvation discipleship will result in receiving or forfeiting heavenly reward (6), and or privileges (7) that are reserved for advancing disciples.
As the Old Testament prophet Hosea put it, “My people are destroyed for lack of (accurate) knowledge (Hosea 4: 6. NASB parenthesis mine).”
. . .
“What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops (Matt. 10: 27 NASB).”
Accurate doctrine was spoken often and aloud by the First Century apostles, and continues to be the function of Biblically-qualified pastor-teachers of the Church Age.
That being said, even the most spiritually mature believers among us can experience difficulty trying to understand and adjust to some of the evil that God allows to take place.
Adding salt to the open wound, are the forces of evil who don’t miss the opportunity to speak aloud, decrying the injustice when evil prevails, or when bad things happen to good people.
There are Biblical explanations (8) for such occurrences.
By human standards, the arrest, trial, conviction, physical abuse, and execution of the Lord Jesus Christ was the greatest miscarriage of justice ever recorded. Not only was He totally innocent, but He willingly took the place of the guilty, and even prayed for the very ones that, in ignorance, carried out His crucifixion (9).
From divine viewpoint, Jesus was completing the atoning Work for which He had come into the world (10) to accomplish.
It was the crowd shouting aloud, calling for His crucifixion, that set the stage for His death and resurrection (11)!
Understanding the evil that God allows, and discerning truth from error in all that is said aloud, require spiritual maturity.
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(1) 1Cor. 3: 1, 2 (2) 2Cor. 11: 3 (3) Romans 8: 1 (4) John 3: 16 (5) John 14: 26/1Cor.3: 2 (6) 1Cor. 3: 15 -15 (7) Rev. 2: 7, 11, 17, 26/Rev. 3: 5, 12, 21 (8) Psalms 73/Rom. 8: 28/Phil. 1; 29, etc. (9) Luke 23: 34 (10) John 1: 29 (11) Luke 23: 23, 24
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