​Right Job, Wrong Tools
Part Two
Corrective edification is not the only source of disturbance in the soul. When it is a false teaching or an accompanying practice that it being  promoted, the internal alarm system in the soul structure of an advancing disciple will also generate an unsettling feeling in the soul.
It is by developing a Biblically-edified soul structure that an advancing disciple will be able to discern when the unsettling message is from God for one’s edification, and when it is a warning of an incoming missile from the Kingdom of Darkness.
At the end of the day, there is only one full-proof means to make this evaluation. That being the message’s consistency or inconsistency with what an accurate interpretation and application of the Word of God (The Bible) has to say. 
As for the individual believers (followers of Christ) out in the devil’s world, 1Pet. 3: 15 teaches that advancing disciples are always to be prepared to give a defensive answer to spiritual questions, in response to inquiries regarding the faith (doctrine) the inquirers (should) see being acted out in the daily life of the one you see in the mirror.
Like a runner in a torch-relay race, one cannot be used by God to pass along the unadulterated Gospel Message or accurate Bible Doctrine until  he or she has not first taken possession of it for himself, or herself.  
The devil can and will use anyone and any means available to pass along false doctrines and accompanying activities.  His most effective means to do so is by clergy and Church-goers that he has deceived, since it is they that people assume are speaking for God.
At the very least, every born-again believer should have a source that they can refer inquirers to, when presented with questions that are beyond their own level of spiritual maturity to answer.
Spiritual maturity is measured by the amount of accurate Bible Doctrine one has in his or her edified soul structure (1), coupled with his or her willingness to apply it (2) to himself or herself, and then  to communicate it to others (3).
There is nothing wrong with acknowledging the fact that we may not have an immediate answer to any given question. 
In such instances, it is better to respond by saying let me look into it and get back to you, or refer them to a trusted source for their answers, than it would be to give the wrong information.
Know that it is the unspoken testimony of the daily life of an advancing disciple is what (should) draw 1Pet. 3: 15 inquirers to him or her.
If such opportunities are not the regular experience of anyone who claims to be a follower of Christ (Christian), it is time for a 2Cor. 13: 5 self-examination.
Advancing disciples are not here to blend  in with the devil’s world. They are here to be a light shining in a world of spiritual darkness.  Like turning on a cell phone in a darkened theater, the deeper the darkness that is around him or her, the brighter his or her Matt.5: 14 light should shine.
The truth is, many Heaven-bound, born-again believers do not want to pay the price for being a lighthouse for Christ.  
Such believers self-justify their lack of participation in the Great Commission by taking the more comfortable position that the salvation and or edification of others is none of their business. The flaw in this position is that God made it your business on the day He called you to the life of discipleship; a calling for which we will all give an account.
In the legal world, the inability to distinguish right from wrong is one of the indicators of insanity, and the means to establish a legal defense.  
In the spiritual realm, a mentally sound human soul can sense basic right from wrong.  Although we may not possess the correct theological terminology, we all know when we have done, are doing, or are about to do wrong!
When evangelizing, it is not necessary to point out the specific sin(s) that UNBELIEVERS are involved in, as James 2: 10 puts us all in the same boat, and in equal need of salvation. 
Just conveying the fact that we ALL , “…have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3: 23 NASB2020),” is sufficient.  We have not all sinned in the same manner, but that, according to James 2: 10, makes NO difference. Having broken just one of God’s laws, we are as much in need of salvation as the one who has broken them all.
Cleaning up one’s act is NOT a requirement to receive the unearned GIFT of eternal life. Conforming to the likeness of Christ will be the result of post (after) salvation discipleship, as one grows in the knowledge (4)  and in the application (5) of the Word of God. 
There will be no need for external human pressure, as the further a born-again believer moves forward along the road to spiritual maturity, the more he or she will WANT  to be conformed to the likeness of Christ (6).
Spiritually dead souls and “back-sliding Christians” can enjoy the seasonal pleasures of sin, but no born-again believer can feel comfortable making a lifestyle out of any activity that the Bible labels as sin, without having  first rejected the post salvation tutorship of the indwelling Spirit of God. 
I placed quotation marks around the phrase “back-sliding Christians” because it is an oxymoron.  In truth, one cannot be a follower of Christ and be a backsliding believer at the same time.
A born-again believer, advancing in the post salvation life of discipleship, will receive all the internal pressure he or she needs from God the Holy Spirit, now indwelling his or her body (7).
Religious people hope they are going to Heaven, based on what THEY did or didn’t do to EARN salvation, whereas born-again believers who become advancing disciples KNOW that they are forgiven and Heaven bound. 
They KNOW they are Heaven bound because it is not anything that THEY have or have not done, but only by faith in what God has done, that has opened the gates of Heaven.
This is not a license to sin.
There are still other consequences to be experienced here on Earth and in Heaven (8) as a result of the post salvation sins and or the failure to execute the life of post salvation discipleship. But the loss of salvation is NOT one of them. 
The other consequences involve divine discipline here on Earth that can range in anything from living with a guilty conscience, up to and including physical death.  The other consequences also involved the forfeiture of rewards and privileges in Heaven that are reserved for the born-again believers who had embraced post salvation discipleship.
Having settled the issue of entrance into Heaven is the solid foundation on which a productive post salvation spiritual life is built and maintained.
Weak believers will not develop the frame of mind needed to endure all of the challenges that post salvation life of discipleship is going to bring. 
Weak believers will spend much of their post salvation spiritual life focused on the here and now, wondering if they are really Heaven bound, instead of identifying and executing the post salvation spiritual life that God has in mind.
Needless to say, it is the devil behind the raising of such doubts.  
The devil can do nothing to undo such things as the Eph. 4: 30 sealing, and the Titus 3: 5 regenerating Work of God the Holy Spirit that takes place at the moment one is born again. 
But he can do much to raise doubts by promoting such blasphemous teachings as the loss of salvation, and the need to participate in activities that are the products of Man-made religion, as the means to secure, retain, and or regain what a born-again believer already possesses and that cannot be lost!
God the Father would not be true to His own words if He would require any further payment for a sin, that has already been atoned for, by the blood of Christ.
Once one has learned the liberating John 8: 32 truth for himself or herself, he or she will have an increasing desire to share it with others.  
This is especially true with people whom he or she has (or wants to have) a personal relationship with, or in some cases, with those whom he or she once shared erroneous religious teachings and practices, that he or she has discovered are  based on human viewpoint and or on the traditions of men (9).
Ironically, it is the sharing of the truth that may be the cause of many personal relationships to diminish or end, when Luke 14: 26 scenarios present themselves.  Going up against past or present religious activities of family or culture will not win you any popularity contests. 
A classic example of this was the Apostle Paul.
Formerly known as Saul, he had been a Pharisee, who “believed with all his heart” that his spiritual calling in life was to wipe Jesus’ newly forming Church off the face of planet Earth.  
After “seeing the Light, Saul, renamed Paul, then became one of the greatest evangelist and Apostle in Church history. His former religious allies became his enemies, and his former enemies became his allies.
(1) Matt. 7: 24 (2) James 1: 22 ( Matt. 28: 19, 20 (4) 2Pet. 3: 18 (5) James 1: 22 (6) Rom. 8: 29 (7) 1Cor. 3: 16 (8) Heb. 12: 6/1Cor. 3: 15 (9) Matt. 15: 9