Yes — if a rebellious believer will not respond to God's discipline, God will take that believer home.
Les Feldick teaches that God disciplines His children, escalating from chastening to a 'good old whipping.' If that still does not bring the believer back into line, God removes that believer from this life so he no longer brings reproach to God's name. This is not loss of salvation, but a purposeful taking home of a genuinely saved child of God.
Hebrews 12:6 — God promises to chasten every son He receives, showing that discipline is the first step for a rebellious believer.
2 Samuel 7:14 — God states He will chasten His son with rods and stripes if he commits iniquity, illustrating the pattern of discipline before final action.
1 John 5:16 — The phrase 'sin unto death' used by Les Feldick points to the ultimate consequence for a believer who persists in rebellion.
The Scripture that Les Feldick references shows that God disciplines His own children. Hebrews 12:6 says, 'For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.' This is a clear promise that God's love includes chastening. Hebrews 12:8 adds, 'But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.' In other words, a person who never experiences God's chastening is not a true child of God. The Old Testament pattern also points to the same truth. In 2 Samuel 7:14, God says of His son, 'I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men.' God does not promise to abandon His child; He promises to discipline him. The Apostle John also speaks of a 'sin unto death' (1 John 5:16), which relates to the final consequence of persistent sin in a believer's life.
Les Feldick explains that when a believer starts dabbling in sin, God will chasten him. Just as a parent warns and then spanks, God begins with discipline and escalates if needed. But if a believer continues to walk in known sin and refuses to come back, God will take that believer out of this life. Les says, 'If that doesn't do it, we're out of here' and 'I believe God took them out for a purpose so that they would no longer bring reproach to His name.' He calls this 'the sin unto death.' Les also clarifies that this does not mean the believer was lost. He states, 'Now, I don't believe they were lost.' The person is genuinely saved, but God removes them from the earth rather than allow His name to be dragged through the mud. At the same time, if a person professes salvation and shows no evidence of chastening while living in rebellion, that raises a serious question about whether that person was ever truly saved. Les points to Hebrews 12, which says if there is no chastisement, that person is not a true son.
No. Les explicitly says, 'Now, I don't believe they were lost.' He teaches that God takes them out because they are His children and He will not let them drag His name through the mud. The believer's homegoing is a form of divine removal, not a loss of salvation. For someone who was never truly saved, however, there may never be any chastening at all — which indicates they are not a child of God.
Les Feldick describes the 'sin unto death' as what happens when a believer refuses to respond to God's chastening. He says, 'If the chastening doesn't wake him up, if the chastening doesn't bring him to power, then what will God do? Take him out.' It is not a particular sin that triggers it — rather, it is the consequence of persistent, unrepentant rebellion in a believer's life that causes God to end that life.
God begins with discipline, just as a parent talks to a child. If that does not work, He uses stronger measures — a 'good old whipping.' Les says, 'Whom God loveth, he chasteneth' and explains that God is the originator of discipline. Chastening is evidence that a person belongs to God; if there is no chastening, that person is not a true son or daughter.
Using Israel as an example, Les shows that God chastised His nation repeatedly but never gave up on them. He says, 'Yes, God chastised them, but did He ever give up on them? Never.' For the New Testament believer, God's discipline may eventually lead to taking the believer home, but that is not abandonment — it is a final act of love to protect His name and His child.
Les teaches that fellow believers should ostracize a sinning believer for a while, but they must let them know why. The goal is not to be nasty but to cause the believer to feel the misery of their sin. Les says, 'Scripture has admonished us not to have fellowship with those kind of people who claim to be believers.' This is about a believer living in known sin, not about the world.
Noah’s Ark & Your Salvation: A Deep Bible Study on Eternal Security
Now here I go chasing rabbits, I'm sorry, but you'll remember that Hagar was now pregnant, and she was causing such a problem in the home that finally Sarai, and that was before the name was changed, Sarai finally said what? Abraham, get her out of here. I can't stand it. And so Abraham did. But who came on the scene and says, now you go back to Sarah's tent? God did. God did.
God Takes the Stubborn Believer Home
Les teaches that if a believer refuses to respond to discipline, God will eventually take him out of this life so that his behavior no longer brings reproach to God's name. He does not believe that person was lost.
Continued Known Sin and Divine Removal
Les says that if a believer continues to live in known sin and refuses to shape up, God will take them. If the Lord never chastens a person who makes a profession of faith, that person was likely never truly saved.
The Sin Unto Death
God chastens believers who dabbble in sin; if the chastening doesn't wake them up, God takes them out — that is what Les calls 'the sin unto death.'
Discipline Begins with Love
Les quotes Hebrews 12:6, 'Whom God loveth, he chasteneth,' to show that discipline is the first thing God does when a true believer brings reproach on the name of Christ.
What Happens to Believers at the Bema Seat?
But how many times there may be one or possibly two of those siblings that become renegades. They become belligerent, they become antagonistic. What does it do to the parent? Well it leaves them with a heartache. Well with God it's the same way. God has paid the purchase price of our redemption, we're His, and He would certainly wish that we would do His bidding, but He's not going to force it.
God Chastens but Never Gives Up
Using Israel's history, Les shows that God disciplines His children repeatedly but never abandons them. The same heart of discipline applies to individual believers.
The Believer's Misery and Church Discipline
Les explains that a sinning believer is miserable down deep and should be ostracized by fellow believers so the reality of their sin comes home, all for a redemptive purpose.
Hebrews 12:6: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
This verse is the foundation for why God disciplines believers — discipline is proof of His love and sonship.
Hebrews 12:8: But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Les references this to show that a professing believer who shows no signs of chastening may never have been saved.
2 Samuel 7:14: I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men.
This Old Testament promise shows God's pattern of chastening His children rather than casting them away.
1 John 5:16: If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
This is the scriptural phrase for what Les calls the 'sin unto death' — the consequence when God takes a rebellious believer home.
No. Les Feldick teaches that the believer who is taken home is genuinely saved — God takes them out so they no longer bring reproach to His name. The person who was never saved may live in rebellion and never experience chastening at all, which shows they were never a child of God.
In Les's teaching, the 'sin unto death' is not an unpardonable sin in the usual sense. It is the consequence of a believer persisting in rebellion after repeated discipline. God removes that believer from the earth, but not from His family.
No. Les says a sinning believer is miserable because they know they are doing wrong and the Lord is dealing with them. Even if they seem to enjoy the sin, down deep they cannot be happy.
Watch the Teaching: Noah’s Ark & Your Salvation: A Deep Bible Study on Eternal Security