The Tested Leadership Model – Can a Believer Secure Their Salvation by Obeying Leadership’s Request to Perform Good Works?

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The Tested Leadership Model –Can a Believer Secure Their Salvation by Obeying Leadership’s Request to Perform Good Works?

We’ve come to determine the final aspect of this model. I’m excited to delve into this.

Please open your Bibles to the book of John.



John 6:28-29

Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Ater the loaves and fishes’ miracles had taken place, the following day, the people sought Jesus. They found him at Capernaum and proceeded to ask him this question. What shall we do (What are we to do as a habit?39), that we might work (do something to merit salvation) the works of God (as God will approve)?Jesus’ reply was, believe in me.

To further expound upon this, please turn to the book of Ephesians.



Ephesians 2:8-9

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

This verse tells us that it’s by grace (the source of salvation which proceeds from that particular gracious act of God the Son in dying upon the Cross to pay man's penalty incurred by him through sin40) that someone is saved (deliverance from a present spiritual death41) through faith (accepting grace; believing the gospel). The verb saved in Koine Greek is in the form of a perfect passive participle. Perfect refers to the tense of the verb. In this instance, it denotes an action completed in the past with present results. With this in mind, we can conclude that these believers received the reality of being saved at a time in the past when they believed the gospel with present continual results, i.e., they remain in a perpetual saved state.

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

And this salvation they received was not of works (of someone’s own efforts). Let’s take one more look at this feature by going to the book of 2 Thessalonians.



2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:

The Apostle Paul was holding up the Thessalonians’ believers as an example to the churches of God for their patience (perseverance) and faith (confidence in God) in the persecutions and tribulations (trials) they were enduring from unbelieving Gentiles and Jews.

8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

He told them that it’s agreeable to divine justice that God take vengeance (payback trouble) to those who troubled them. Therefore, they were encouraged to rest in the divine retribution, which will occur when Jesus returns from heaven with his angels, inflicting punishment on those who know not God. What does it mean to know not God? It means they were those that obey not the gospel, i.e., they refusedto enter into a relationship with him.42 And how does someone enter into a relationship with God? Where we’ll go next is the book of Mark.

Mark 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

The book of Mark tells us how to have a personal relationship with God. In Jesus’ own words, repent and believe the gospel.

These people didn’t receive salvation because they chose to obey (repent and believe) not the gospel of Christ. They were described as those that know not God. As Calvin’s Commentaries puts it, if obedience is not rendered to the gospel through faith, … unbelief is the occasion of resistance to it.43

9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

And as such, they will be punished forever. In other words, they’re not saved and will go to a place reserved for them. Now, we can declare this characteristic.



The Tested Leadership Model Characteristic

Becoming a child of God and having a relationship with Him occurs when someone obeys (responds to) the gospel message. This spiritual reality cannot be maintained by performing good works. Once a respondent is saved at a particular time, their salvation has present continuing results, i.e., it continues forever. (John 6:28-29, Ephesians 2:8-9, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, Mark 1:15)



The Mandated Leadership Model Response - Rebuttal

If a believer chooses not to obey the commands of leadership, like the Jews in the Old Testament, presumably, they’ll follow other gods and lose their salvation. (Deuteronomy 11:26-28)

Please turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, and we’ll find some verses that are believed to confirm this.

Hebrews 5:8-9 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

While concurring that salvation is by grace through faith, it’s not just faith alone. It’s eternally maintained as long as the believers obey him. Obedience to Christ is synonymous with obeying leadership. Whatever works they’re asked to perform in the name of Christ will form the basis as to whether their salvation is maintained.

This idea of obeying leadership is further delineated in the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

The Jewish converts to the Christian faith were asked to obey (follow their orders; do what they tell you to do) them (religious teachers) that have the rule over them(of the overseers or leaders of Christian churches).

I don’t know how you feel, but we’ve covered a lot of issues that every church will expound upon in their own theological way of looking at such. I’ve been in some churches that I’d recognize as operating in the tested leadership model while maintaining minimal traits of the mandated leadership model. There have been other churches that started out in the tested leadership approach and changed entirely into the mandated leadership approach. And finally, I’ve been in some churches that operated in the mandated leadership approach while maintaining some of the aspects of the tested leadership approach.

I’m not writing this book to judge either one but rather to help you comprehensively understand how each of them might operate and what would constitute one of the reasons why there’s such divergence in church theology, i.e., dispensationalism or non-dispensationalism approach. By providing you with such a contrast in theology, you’ll be able to recognize the model that your church is operating in. Along with this, hopefully, you should be better equipped to decide which model will help you grow to spiritual maturity.

With that said, I’d like to close this study by providing a contrasting summary of the components of each of these leadership models. This will allow you to determine which one your church primarily operates under. Please understand that the interpretation of Scripture sections that were used to generate aspects of either model may vary depending on the churches in question. And some faiths might not use certain text at all. But before you turn there, I’d like to leave you with an article concerning good works.



HOW TO BE BOTH HEAVENLY MINDED AND EARTHLY GOOD

You know the old saying: “Christians are so heavenly minded they’re no earthly good.” It’s meant as a derogatory reference to Christians who spend their time and energy on spiritual [activities] while seeming uninformed on current events or unavailable for making any positive impact on the world around them. There are others who say that doing good – helping those who are hungry, poor, sick, or in prison, or providing disaster relief – is what it’s all about. For them, getting busy helping others is the mark of spirituality.

The Christian church has had heroes in both camps. The [best-known] “heavenly minded” saints would be those in certain monastic religious orders who spent their days primarily alone and in prayer. And perhaps Mother Teresa would be the [best-known] example of the “earthly good” camp. And yet all these saints understood that both aspects are needed. Many of the monastery residents worked to provide help to those in need, and Mother Teresa is well known for her deep personal spiritual life.

Jesus talked about both aspects – the need to love both God and people. “Jesus replied: [‘Love] the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two [commandments.”] (Matthew 22:37-40) To focus on one to the exclusion of the other is to dishonor God. That wasn’t a new concept. In the Old Testament, Micah had exhorted, “And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your [God” (Micah 6:8). Yes], God requires both of us.



Get The Order Right!

Our spiritual [lives] can get all mixed up when we get things in the wrong order. Jesus made clear that the first priority is to love God fully. Our heart must be right. If we don’t settle this first and make it a priority, all the good “stuff” we try to do can deteriorate into a religion of works. But if we stop with only the personal spiritual [disciplines,] our faith isn’t worth very much. [But someone will say, You have faith; I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do]. (James 2:18) Faith results in deeds. Love results in action. What’s in your heart results in changes in your behavior.

Being heavenly minded isn’t really being heavenly minded unless it results in “acting justly and loving mercy.” Loving people is what “heavenly minded” does. And doing good deeds is empty unless it flows from a heart that has been ravishingly loved by [God] and has loved Him in return.



Making Them Work Together

Yes, God has given each person a unique personality, specific gifts, and a personal role to play in His kingdom. There’s no need to become anxious that we aren’t doing it all; we only need to be concerned that we’re doing what God has given us individually to do.

Here are a few questions that apply regardless of your [personality] and will help you see whether you’re both loving God and loving people:

Is my relationship with God stronger than it was a month ago? [A year ago? When] I first came to know Jesus?

Can I point to specific ways in which my character has become more like Jesus since I became a Christian?

If I [meet] someone for the first time, how long would it take for them to know that I’m a follower of Jesus?

In what specific ways do I invest in growing my relationship with God on a daily basis?

What effect has my life had on the people closest to me, such as my family and friends?

In my business or my job, am I treating business associates, employees, coworkers, clients, or customers with respect and integrity?

Who are the people in need who have been helped by my investment of time, energy, or money? (Matthew 25:40)

There’s a gospel song that begins, “Loving God, loving each other.” One results in the other.

If your relationship with God is not growing, that’s the place to begin. Get that right first. Spend time in His presence, getting filled up with His love. And then let that love leak out to others as you love them in Christ’s name. Then [you’ll] be both heavenly minded and earthly good!44



Endnotes

39Robertson’s New Testament Word Pictures Pc Study Bible version 5, 2005. BIBLESOFT.

WEB. 8 February 2023

˂http://www.biblesoft.com>.

40Weust.

41The Pulpit Commentary.

42UBS.

43Calvin’s Commentaries.

44“How to be Both Heavenly Minded and Earthly Good,” 20 February 2023 .



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