Yes—once a true believer has entered the ark of safety and God has shut the door, salvation is secure and does not depend on human effort to maintain it.
Les Feldick frames the choice between resting in that security or 'working, worrying, straining, and hanging on' for fear of being lost, and he calls the latter 'awful.' Through Romans 8 he shows that nothing—tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or the sword—can separate us from Christ's love. Security is grounded in God's work, not in our ability to hold on.
Genesis 7:16 — Shows that God Himself shut the door of the ark with no human latch—the picture Les uses for eternal security.
Romans 8:35 — Asks the central question: who can separate us from God's love? This is the verse Les points to for security.
Romans 8:38-39 — Provides the answer that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
In Romans 8:35 Paul poses the question directly: 'Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?' He lists tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and sword as potential threats. In verses 38-39 he gives the answer: neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. In the Genesis account of the ark, once Noah and his family and all the creatures were inside, 'the LORD shut him in.' There is no human latch on the door—God Himself secured them inside.
Les Feldick uses Noah's ark as a picture of eternal security. He points out that there is not a human latch on the ark door—God shuts us in. He applies this to the believer: once you are in, the question is not how hard you must work to stay saved but whether anything can separate you from God's love. He says the alternative—perpetually worrying about which sin might take you out—is a terrible way to live, and that no one has the wherewithal to hang on of their own. For Les, Romans 8 is the answer. Paul asks, 'Who shall separate us?' and lists every hardship imaginable. Les says the devil cannot bring enough persecution to force a believer out of his place in the body of Christ, because the guarantee rests on the work of the cross, not on what we have done or merited. Justification itself is an act of God in which we had none of our own energy; it is by faith, not by working at it. At the same time, Les is careful to say grace is not license. Security never means believers may do whatever they want. We live in constant awareness that we don't want to fall into sin, even though we know we could. The security is real, but it is not permission to be careless.
In Genesis, once Noah and all the creatures entered the ark, 'the LORD shut him in.' Les Feldick makes the point that there is no human latch on that door—God is the one who closes it. This is the backdrop he uses for the whole doctrine of eternal security: the believer's safety is God's doing, not something we hold onto by our own strength.
Romans 8:35 names tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and sword. Les puts the question directly: can the devil bring enough persecution to force a believer out of his place in the body of Christ? His answer is 'Never.' The guarantee is based on the work of the cross, not on our merit.
Les anticipates the accusation: if you cannot be lost, won't you tell people they can do whatever they want? He answers, 'Never!' and says, 'Grace is not license.' Believers live in constant awareness that they do not want to fall or commit sin, while also knowing they could.
Les says people who believe they must work and strive to avoid losing salvation end up living a life of perpetual insecurity, because no one has the wherewithal to hang on of our own. He describes the idea of working, worrying, and straining to keep from being lost as 'awful.'
The Central Question
Les frames the exact question: are we secure once inside the ark of safety, or must we work, worry, and strain to avoid being lost? He calls the prospect of that uncertainty 'awful.'
Faith, Not Works
Les teaches that those who think they must identify the sin that could remove them live in perpetual insecurity. No one can hang on of their own, and justification is entirely God's work through faith.
Assurance vs. Fear
Les says Romans 8 directly flies in the face of those who believe you must hope you make it, work to hang on, and avoid sinning in a way that would send you to hell.
No Condemnation
Les notes that some Christians cannot accept this kind of security and insist you must work and strive. He then asks how anyone would know which sin was the one that took them out.
The Ark Door
Les uses Noah's ark to show eternal security: there is no human latch on the door; God shuts us in.
Grace Is Not License
Les anticipates the objection that security means license and answers, 'Never!' Believers live in constant awareness that they don't want to fall into sin, even though they know they could.
Noah’s Ark & Your Salvation: A Deep Bible Study on Eternal Security
So, with this concept now then, coming from New York, my wife and I have often talked. You know, all the teachers that we ever heard and sat under, they usually take a subject, you know. They'll teach maybe for a week on the Holy Spirit, or they may teach a week on the Trinity. And I've never done that. We know that you've been with me a long time.
The Work of the Cross
Les teaches that no amount of persecution can force a believer out of the body of Christ because security is guaranteed by the work of the cross—not by anything we have done or merited.
Genesis 7:16: And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
Shows that God Himself secured the occupants inside the ark—the picture Les uses for the believer's security.
Romans 8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Declares that those who are in Christ Jesus are not under condemnation, which is the foundation for the security Les teaches.
Romans 8:35: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
The direct question Les uses to show that no hardship can cut a believer off from Christ's love.
Romans 8:38-39: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul's conclusion that nothing in all creation can separate the believer from the love of God in Christ.
Les Feldick teaches that once God shuts the door, there is no human latch; the believer is secure. Romans 8 asks who can separate us from Christ's love and answers that nothing can.
No. Les says no one has the wherewithal to hang on of their own, and salvation was all God's work. Those who think they must work and strive live in perpetual insecurity.
No. Les is explicit: grace is not license. Believers should live in constant awareness that they do not want to sin, even though they know they could.
Watch the Teaching: Eternal Security: Can Anything Separate Us From God? | Romans 8 Bible Study