No — emotionalism and emotional pressure do not produce genuine faith; true saving faith is heart belief that God opens up through His Word.
Les Feldick teaches that salvation is completely the Holy Spirit's work — the Spirit woos and convicts, but God never forces anyone into a decision. Arm-twisting and emotional manipulation push people into false, outward professions that can later show up as spiritual bankruptcy. Genuine faith is taking God at His word with true heart belief, and it does not require a great emotional upheaval.
Hebrews 11:6 — This verse shows that faith — not emotional intensity — is the non-negotiable requirement for pleasing God, the standard Les applies to Esau.
Romans 10:17 — It locates the source of faith in God's Word, which is why emotional pressure cannot manufacture genuine faith.
Scripture is explicit that the thing God requires is faith, not feeling. Hebrews 11:6 states, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Emotional intensity is nowhere offered as a substitute for this believing. The Bible also reveals where faith comes from. Romans 10:17 declares, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Genuine faith is produced when a person hears what God has said and takes Him at His word. Esau's own words in Genesis 27:36 record the strength of his reaction to losing the blessing: "And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?" The passage does not attribute to him the faith that Hebrews 11:6 requires.
Les Feldick answers by separating the emotional from the genuine. He teaches that when it comes to salvation, it has to be totally the work of the Holy Spirit — the Spirit can woo and convict, but God will never take someone by the nap of the neck and force the issue. That is why Les says he is against arm-twisting in evangelism: it falls into the energy of the flesh, and people are almost forced to make false decisions that later leave them spiritually bankrupt (Clip 1). Genuine faith, Les explains, is a true heart belief rather than head knowledge. Many people will miss heaven by twelve inches because they have the facts in the head but never get them into the heart; God has to literally open up a person's ability to believe and trust his whole eternal destiny on it (Clip 6). For that reason, a lack of emotional experience is no evidence of a lack of salvation — Les tells a class member that never seeing a great white light or having a tremendous emotional upheaval certainly does not mean he was never saved (Clip 2). By the same token, walking an aisle or joining a church is not what saves a person; such outward acts are only meaningful if they flow from a heart genuinely dealing with God on His premises (Clip 4). Esau is Les's example of strong reaction without faith. When Esau complained that Jacob had supplanted him twice, Les notes that the first loss was Esau's own doing — he had asked for it. More importantly, Les says Esau had no faith, and no matter how morally good he may have been, God could not use him, because without faith it is impossible to please God (Clips 0, 3). Faith, Les stresses, is taking God at His word, and it cannot operate until God speaks it — which is why no emotional push can ever substitute for the faith that comes by hearing the Word of God (Clips 5, 7).
Yes. A member of Les's class once asked whether he had missed salvation because he had never had a great experience, never seen a great white light, and never felt a tremendous emotional upheaval. Les's reply was plain: "Of course not. Of course not." Salvation, in Les's teaching, is a matter of genuine faith in the Gospel and a genuine salvation experience — not the size of one's feelings.
Les Feldick says he is not against evangelism per se, but he is against arm-twisting because it falls down into the energy of the flesh. When other things — emotion, pressure, persuasion — enter in, people are almost forced to make a false decision, and years later they may show up as spiritually bankrupt. Salvation, he insists, must be totally the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit woos and convicts, but God never takes a person by the nap of the neck and forces the issue.
Les describes many people as missing heaven by twelve inches — they have the truth in the head but never get it in the heart. True saving faith is not merely giving mental assent; it is a belief that God has literally opened up in the person, so that he can trust his whole eternal destiny on it. Les adds that he could not sleep at night if he did not have that kind of heart faith, knowing that an eternal doom awaits those who do not.
Esau was indignant when he learned the blessing had gone to Jacob, saying, He hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing (Genesis 27:36). But Les points out that the loss of the birthright was Esau's own doing — Jacob simply was in a position to offer food that Esau asked for. The deeper problem, Les says, is that Esau had no faith; and no matter how morally good a person may be, without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). His strong reaction was not the faith that God requires.
True Salvation Turns the Life Around
Les teaches that genuine salvation brings a 180-degree turn; the first thing he looks for in a new believer is a change in lifestyle, which emotional profession alone cannot produce.
God Never Forces a Decision
The Holy Spirit woos and convicts, but God never takes anyone by the nape of the neck; arm-twisting produces false decisions that later show up as spiritual bankruptcy.
Emotional Upheaval Is Not Required
Les assures a class member that never having a great white light or a tremendous emotional upheaval does not mean he was never saved — genuine faith, not emotion, is the evidence of salvation.
Esau Had No Faith
Esau's problem was not his morality but his lack of faith; without faith it is impossible to please God, so God could not use him — the same standard applies to us.
Outward Acts Do Not Save
Walking an aisle or joining a church to fulfill a ritualistic demand is not genuine faith; these acts only matter when they come from a heart truly dealing with God.
Faith Awaits God's Word
Faith is taking God at His word and cannot operate until God speaks — Noah built the ark only after God said to, and Moses did nothing until God gave instruction.
Heart Faith, Not Head Knowledge
Saving faith is a true heart belief that God has opened up, not a mental assent; many miss heaven by twelve inches because the truth never moved from head to heart.
Faith Is Taking God at His Word
Faith is not a denominational label; it means taking God at His word, and since faith comes by hearing the Word of God, it cannot be manufactured by emotion or persuasion.
Hebrews 11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
The foundational verse Les applies to Esau: his lack of faith disqualified him no matter what else he had or felt.
Romans 10:17: So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Explains that genuine faith is created by God's spoken Word, which is why emotional pressure cannot produce it.
Genesis 27:36: And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?
Esau's strong emotional protest records his reaction to loss without recording any faith.
No. Les Feldick told a class member who had never had a great white light or a tremendous emotional upheaval that this certainly does not mean he was never saved. Salvation is a matter of genuine faith in the Gospel — genuine heart belief — not the presence or absence of strong feelings.
Yes. Les opposes arm-twisting in evangelism because it falls into the energy of the flesh. When people are emotionally pushed, they are almost forced to make a false decision, and years later they may be spiritually bankrupt. True salvation is totally the work of the Holy Spirit.
When Esau realized the blessing had gone to Jacob, he protested strongly that Jacob had supplanted him twice. But Les points out that Esau had no faith, and without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Strong emotion and regret are not the same as believing God.
Watch the Teaching: What Does the Bible Say About Deception? Jacob, Esau, and the Stolen Blessing.