No — God does not require us to clean up our lives before salvation; He saves sinners right where they are.
Les Feldick teaches that no one can clean up his own act well enough to be saved (Clip 1). God takes the sinner as he is and performs the work of salvation, then changes his life (Clip 2). Scripture shows God justifies the ungodly (Romans 4:5) and Christ died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8).
Romans 4:5 — Shows that God justifies the ungodly — not someone who has first cleaned up his life.
Romans 5:8 — Christ died for sinners, demonstrating that God saves people before they become righteous.
Romans 4:5 says: "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." The one whom God justifies is described as ungodly, not as someone who has already reformed. Romans 5:8 declares: "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." God demonstrated His love through Christ's death for sinners, not for those who had already made themselves righteous. Romans 5:20 adds: "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:" — the law exposes sin, but grace is greater.
Les Feldick has often heard people say, 'When I can clean up my act, then I'll be ready to get saved.' He insists, however, that no one can do that; it is impossible. God has to save us right where we are, and then He takes care of the things that have to be taken care of (Clip 1). He illustrates this with a dead battery: you may clean and polish it, but it is still dead until outside power is supplied. Likewise, a person cannot clean up his own life; God must infuse the divine life and power that come with salvation (Clip 3). The reason a person cannot clean up first is that salvation must be 'faith plus nothing.' If someone does something on his own, he is no longer trusting only in God's work (Clip 2). The first step, Les explains, is to believe what God says about us — that we are sinners — and then to rest on the fact that God justifies the ungodly (Clips 6, 7).
Les compares trying to clean up a dead battery: you can polish the outside, but the battery is still dead until outside power comes in (Clip 3). In the same way, a person cannot change his own spiritual condition. Salvation requires God's power, not human self-improvement. As Les puts it, 'there isn't a man on earth that can do that' — clean up his own act (Clip 1).
Once God saves a sinner where he is, He performs the miracle of salvation, and there is a dramatic turnaround and change of lifestyle; the person becomes a new creation (Clip 2). Les says, 'We have to let God do it, and then we respond' (Clip 4).
God's love is the starting point. He 'commended, extended His love toward us' (Clip 0). Christ died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). Because God has already paid for sin, He can be just in justifying the believer (Clip 5).
God's Love Extended Toward Us
God's love is the basis of salvation; He extended His love toward humanity and expects a response.
God Saves Sinners Where They Are
No one can clean up their own act; God must save us right where we are.
Salvation Is Totally God's Work
A sinner cannot clean up first because then he has done something on his own; God performs the miracle of salvation.
The Dead Battery Analogy
Cleaning up your life is like polishing a dead battery — it still lacks the power that only God can supply.
Clean Up After Salvation, Not Before
Trying to clean up your act before salvation puts the cart before the horse; God cleans us up and we respond.
God Is Just in Justifying the Believer
Salvation is not by anything man can do; God's work on the cross makes Him just in justifying sinners.
First Step: Recognize You Are a Sinner
The first step of faith is to recognize what God says about us — that we are sinners in need of salvation.
Resting on What God Has Done
Nothing we do gets us into heaven; we rest on the fact that we are sinners and God has provided justification.
Romans 4:5: But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
This verse directly answers the question — God justifies the ungodly, not those who have cleaned themselves up.
Romans 5:8: But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Christ's death for sinners proves God saves people before they become righteous.
Romans 5:20: Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
The law exposed sin, yet grace superabounded; God's grace is greater than human failure.
No. Les Feldick says God saves us where we are as sinners and then takes care of the changes that need to be made (Clips 1, 2). Scripture says Christ died for us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8).
Les says that after God saves a person, there will be a dramatic turnaround and a change in lifestyle; the person becomes a new creation (Clip 2). The cleansing is God's work, not a prerequisite.
Les says no one on earth can truly clean up their act enough to earn salvation (Clip 1). He uses the picture of polishing a dead battery — the outside looks better, but the inside is still dead until God supplies life (Clip 3).
Romans 4:5 says God justifies the ungodly, and Romans 5:8 says Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Les points to these verses in his teaching (Clips 1, 4).
Watch the Teaching: How Can You Know You're Saved? The Plan of Salvation in Scripture