No — a person does not need an emotional experience to be saved; salvation comes by faith alone.
Les Feldick teaches that salvation is the all-inclusive work of God accomplished the instant a person believes, and those changes are not necessarily felt. Justification is a judicial act of God, and assurance comes from taking God at His Word, not from an emotional feeling.
Romans 5:1 — Paul's verse connects justification to faith, not to an emotional response, making it central to Les Feldick's answer.
Romans 3:23 — Shows the universal need for salvation, which is met by faith rather than by any felt experience.
Romans 4:3 — Abraham's example demonstrates that righteousness is counted through faith, not through emotional or religious performance.
The Scriptures that Les points to frame salvation in terms of faith rather than feeling. Romans 3:23 establishes the universal problem: 'For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.' Romans 4:3 sets the pattern of justification: 'Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.' Then Romans 5:1 states the result: 'Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.' In these verses, salvation is tied to God's declaration over a believer's faith, not to a person's emotional response. The text does not make salvation dependent on experiencing a spiritual high, seeing a vision, or feeling a particular way.
Les Feldick is emphatic that salvation does not depend on emotional experience. He describes salvation as 'that all-inclusive work of God on our behalf' — forgiveness, justification, sanctification, glorification, baptism into the body, sealing and filling with the Holy Spirit — 'all accomplished on our behalf by an act of God instantly, the moment we believe.' He tells listeners they won't necessarily feel any of those things; they won't see a halo, sprout wings, or see the sky turn green. The way a person knows it has happened is simple: 'The book says so.' He repeats this regarding justification: 'The Bible never uses the word feel. We're not supposed to feel justified... Don't try to feel something... We just simply have to rest on what God has said.' For Les, salvation is a one-time divine event, while growth, sanctification, and Bible understanding are the lifelong processes that follow. This is why he also rejects religious routine — walking an aisle, joining a church, or repeating a ritual — as no substitute for genuinely believing the gospel.
Les Feldick directly answers this when he says, 'You're not going to feel necessarily any of those things.' He lists all that God does at salvation — forgiveness, justification, sanctification, glorification, Spirit baptism, sealing, filling — and then says none of these require a visible or felt change. We know they have happened because, as he says, 'the book says so.' In another clip he says the Bible never uses the word feel in relation to justification, and believers should not try to feel justified. Saving faith is simply taking God at His Word.
Les says salvation is 'an instantaneous event,' while 'Christian growth is a process' and 'Bible understanding is a process.' He compares the new birth to entering the kingdom as a baby in Christ — there is a definite beginning, followed by gradual growth. Since the decisive event is God's act, reaching a spiritual or emotional high is not the doorway. The experience of the believer is the assurance that comes after, not a prerequisite.
Les points to Romans 5:1, 'Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,' and builds his teaching on passages like Romans 3:23, where all have sinned, and Romans 4:3, where Abraham's faith is counted as righteousness. He concludes, 'Therefore, being justified by faith. See? Plus nothing.' The Scripture's means is faith; a feeling is not part of the saving formula.
Les does not equate salvation with an outward experience or religious procedure. He says, 'I don't buy people just simply walking the aisle and following whatever procedure may be given to them, and they also do it by rote description. No, that's not salvation.' Nor will works done in the energy of the flesh — even good works like baptism or helping the poor — save anyone. Genuine salvation happens when a person has 'genuinely come under the power of the Holy Spirit and has genuinely believed the gospel with all his heart.'
No Condemnation: What It Really Means to Be "In Christ"
that in chapter 3 verse 23, "...for all have sinned and come short in glory." Remember that? As he built the case against the gross immoral person, and then the moral person, and then the religious person, and he put all three categories together, and says there's no difference. They are all unprofitable for all have sinned.
Salvation is God's Work, Not a Feeling
Les explains that all the elements of salvation happen instantly at the moment of belief, and a person won't necessarily feel any of them; we know salvation happened because the Bible says so.
New Birth Precedes Christian Growth
Les says salvation begins as an event — the new birth — and the growth that follows is a process; it doesn't require first reaching an emotional peak.
Real Salvation is Not a Routine
Les contrasts genuine, heart-level faith in the gospel with merely following a church routine or walking an aisle; the latter is not salvation.
Works in the Flesh Cannot Save
Les says human efforts like baptism or charitable works done for salvation are works in the flesh and won't be recognized by God; justification is by faith plus nothing.
Salvation is a One-Time Event
Les emphasizes that salvation is an instantaneous, one-time event, unlike Christian growth and Bible understanding, which are ongoing processes.
Assurance Comes From the Book, Not Feelings
Les assures believers that even though you can't feel or see your child-of-God status, you can know it is true because the Bible says so.
Don't Try to Feel Justified
Les says the Bible never uses the word feel in relation to justification; believers should rest on what God has said rather than search for a feeling.
Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Paul's statement reveals why every person needs justification by faith rather than by a felt experience.
Romans 4:3: For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Abraham's example shows that righteousness is counted through faith, which is the pattern Paul uses for all believers.
Romans 5:1: Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
The direct result of justification by faith is peace with God, with no mention of an emotional sensation as a requirement.
Yes. Les Feldick says at the moment of belief, God accomplishes everything in salvation, but a person will not necessarily feel any of those things. We know salvation happened because the Bible says so, not because of a feeling.
Les argues that the Bible never uses the word feel when describing justification. He tells people not to try to feel something, because justification cannot be felt or figured out in the human. The believer is to rest on what God has said.
Les teaches that salvation is an instantaneous event, and then Christian growth — sanctification — is a process that takes place over time. New believers begin as babes in Christ and grow as they learn from Scripture.
Watch the Teaching: No Condemnation: What It Really Means to Be "In Christ"