No, becoming a Christian does not mean life will be easy.
Les Feldick explicitly teaches that believers are not promised a 'rose-petaled pathway' or a life free from trials. Instead, Christians continue to face tribulations and testing, but God promises to see them through and provide comfort and strength.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 — This passage describes God as the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts believers in their tribulation so they can comfort others.
Scripture does not promise that believers will have an easy life. In fact, it acknowledges that believers face tribulation and persecution. Romans 8:35 asks, 'Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?' This implies that these hardships are real possibilities for Christians. Yet, the Bible also offers comfort. In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, God is called 'the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.' Thus, while trials are expected, God provides comfort and strength to endure them. Furthermore, Romans 8:28 assures that 'all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.' Even negative experiences can serve God's purpose for believers.
Les Feldick consistently teaches that becoming a believer does not result in an easy, rose-petal-strewn life. He repeatedly warns that Christians will still face trials and tribulations, just like the world. In Clip 1, he says, 'you're not going to have a rose-petaled pathway' and 'we're still living in a time of trials and tribulations.' In Clip 6, he reinforces that believers are not to think they will have a 'rose-petal-strewn pathway' but that they have 'a stabilizing power' to see them through. He uses the illustration of paddling a canoe upstream (from the summary) to describe the difficulty of the Christian life, and he points out that early believers under Roman rule faced persecution (Clip 0). He emphasizes that God does not remove believers from trials but walks with them, saying in Clip 1, 'He is simply saying, hey, I'll see you through it.' Les also explains that God uses trials to test believers' faith and draw them closer to Him. In Clip 2, he says testing proves 'our mettle' and that true believers find God 'all the more precious' in hard times. In Clip 3, he notes that God may bring tough things into life 'for His own purpose.' Additionally, he clarifies that the promise of 'all things work together for good' does not mean a life of ease, as he says in Clip 4 that believers are wrong to expect 'a bed of roses' with material prosperity.
Yes. Les Feldick teaches that believers will face just as many trials and testings as the world. He says in Clip 6, 'We're going to have just as many trials and testings as the world.' The only difference is that Christians have a stabilizing power to see them through. He also mentions in Clip 1 that 'we're still living in a time of trials and tribulations,' and that God doesn't remove believers from them but escorts them through.
Les Feldick explains that God allows times of testing and tribulation to test believers' mettle. In Clip 2, he says that when hard times come, the true believing heart finds God more precious, while others become bitter and rebellious. He adds that God may bring tough things into life for His own purpose, to bring believers to the place He wants them to be (Clip 3).
Les teaches that God provides comfort and strength in trials. In Clip 1, he says that God will never forsake believers and will escort them through valleys. He also points to the stabilizing power believers have that the world does not (Clip 6). This comfort aligns with the biblical description of God as the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
Christianity Under Constant Attack
Les notes that Christianity has always faced satanic attack and persecution, showing that believers should not expect an easy path.
No Rose-Petaled Pathway
Les explicitly states that believers are not promised a rose-petaled pathway and that they will still face trials and tribulations, but God will see them through.
Testing Proves Mettle
Les explains that God brings times of testing to prove believers' love and faithfulness, drawing them closer to Him.
God's Purpose in Trials
Les teaches that God may bring tough experiences into a believer's life for His own purpose, to shape them into what He wants them to be.
False Expectation of Ease
Les rejects the modern idea that becoming a believer means a life of ease and material prosperity, calling it a misunderstanding.
Can Anything Separate You from God's Love? Romans 8:33-39
We're living in an extremely different time than most Christians had to live in, because we do have a government that so far at least guarantees our our rights to assembly and to religion. I don't like the word, but whatever. All right let's go on. Romans 8. Tribulation or distress or persecution.
Same Trials, Stabilizing Power
Les affirms that believers have just as many trials as the world, but they have a stabilizing power to see them through.
What Does "If God Be for Us" Really Mean? Romans 8:31
And I always have to remind my classes, that the human race has gotten along pretty well for the last 200 years, where we've experienced the rights and so on and so forth that democracy has given us. But listen, there's no guarantee of it. Even we in America may suddenly find ourselves someday under these same types of persecutions.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4: Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
This verse directly addresses the question by showing that tribulation is expected, but God provides comfort to believers.
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?
This verse lists hardships that believers may face, indicating that the Christian life involves difficulties.
Romans 8:28: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
This verse assures that even in trials, God is working for the believer's good, though it does not promise ease.
No. Les Feldick teaches that believers are not promised a rose-petaled pathway. Christians will still face trials and tribulations, but God provides comfort and strength to see them through.
Les teaches that God uses suffering and testing to prove believers' faith and draw them closer to Him. He also emphasizes that God never forsakes believers, even in the darkest times.
Yes, Les points out that Christianity has always been under attack and that believers may face persecution, even in America. However, believers can rest in the assurance that God is for them.
Watch the Teaching: Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen? — 2 Corinthians 1 Explained