Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Bolt: To secure, or to flee (10/02/25)
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TITLE: Loosening The Nuts and Bolts | Previous Challenge Entry
By Doug Laird
10/05/25 -
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The unadulterated Gospel Message promotes having faith (trust/confidence) in the Person (2) and in the atoning Work (3) of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the one and only requirement and means to be eternally (4) saved. Nothing more; nothing less.
This is the 1Cor. 3: 10 foundation on which the Church that God designed is built.
The Church that God designed is not a building, but consists of the intangible saved souls of every born-again believer, here in the Church Age.
The majority of the Church are already in Heaven in interim bodies (5), and among other things, are awaiting the Rapture (6) to take place.
Only a few generations of the Church are here on Earth at a time, consisting of those who are born again during their appointed time while here on Earth.
The last generation of the Church Age here on Earth will not experience physical death, but will be transformed and be the immediate recipients of their resurrected bodies when the Rapture takes place.
After being born again, the believer has the opportunity to build an edified soul structure (7), with which the individual will have the opportunity to identify and to execute (8) the post (after) salvation spiritual life of discipleship.
The type of edified soul structure that God designed will be constructed with accurate Bible Doctrine, and held together with the nuts and bolts of faith.
Without the 1Cor. 3: 10 foundation, any structure (religious program) that is built on any other means of salvation is destined to crumble (9), taking its followers with it. No exceptions.
Some denominations and non-denominational groups within the Christian Community do a better job of preserving and promoting the “unadulterated” Gospel Message, encapsulated in John 3: 16, 18, than others.
This is evidenced by the fact some who believe they are Christians only HOPE they are saved and that they are Heaven bound, whereas properly edified Christians KNOW that they are saved, and where they are going.
This confidence, expressed by those that know such things, is not arrogance. In fact, it takes humility to acknowledge our wretched condition (10), coupled with our inability (apart from God) to do anything about it.
“Religious” people base much of their eternal hopes on all that THEY have done, or what parents, clergy, or others have done in their behalf, whereas edified Christians base their confidence on faith in what God has done.
The 1Cor. 3: 10 foundation cannot be destroyed, as this would take the undoing of what God did (11) at the moment one was born again.
But our confidence in the eternal security of our saved soul can be shaken if we later choose to listen to the wrong voices.
The good news is that our loss of confidence does not result in the loss of salvation.
One might ask, why would the devil bother since he can do nothing to cause us to lose our salvation?
The answer is that our loss of confidence will inhibit our progress along the road to spiritual maturity, and our usefulness to God in the promotion of the Great Commission.
The devil, by no means is through with us once we have been born again. In fact, the more we spiritually mature, the greater of a threat do we become to his agenda.
The greater threat we become, by participating in the Great Commission, the more satanic attacks we can expect.
The objective of these attacks is to loosen the nuts and bolts (faith/confidence) that holds the edified soul structure of an advancing disciple together.
The stability of our edified soul structure does not impact the integrity of our salvation, but impacts the quality of our discipleship.
He is a master in the art of spiritual warfare, knowing what buttons to press and when to press them for maximum effect.
His final destination has been determined (12), but in the meantime, Scripture acknowledges the extent of his success, referring to him as the god of this world (13), and one who deceives the whole world (14).
To the extent that God allows, these “attacks” come to us in the form of prosperity or adversity.
Prosperity tends to have us neglect our 2Cor. 13: 5 safety inspections, and adversity slams against the soul structure, testing its integrity (15).
(1) John 3: 5 (2) John 8: 24 (3) 1John 2: 2 (4) Romans 8: 1 (5) 2Cor. 5: 1 (6) 1Thess, 4: 16, 17 (7) Matt. 7: 24-27 (8) James 1: 22 (9) Matt. 7: 27 (10) Rev. 3 : 17 (11) Eph. 4:30/Titus 3: 5 (12) Rev. 20: 10 (13) 2Cor. 4: 4 (14 ) Rev. 12:9 (15) Matt. 7: 24-27 )
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