A saved believer who continues to sin does not lose salvation, but God will discipline them — and if they refuse to turn, He may take them home.
Les Feldick teaches that a believer retains free will and can choose to let the old Adam rule in the mortal body instead of living a Spirit-filled life. When a believer continues in known sin, God is not pleased and begins a process of chastening, which can escalate to the 'sin unto death' if the believer will not shape up. This is not a loss of salvation; it is the Father disciplining His own child.
1 John 5:16 — John distinguishes a sin that leads to death, which Les Feldick identifies as God taking a sinning believer home.
Romans 8:13 — Paul warns that living after the flesh brings death, while mortifying the body through the Spirit brings life.
Scripture consistently warns believers about the consequences of continued sin. Paul writes, 'For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live' (Romans 8:13). In Romans 6:11-12, believers are told to reckon themselves dead indeed unto sin and not to let sin reign in their mortal bodies. Hebrews 12:6 says, 'For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.' And John writes of a 'sin unto death' and says, 'I do not say that he shall pray for it' (1 John 5:16). These passages show both the warning and the Father's disciplinary response without teaching that a child of God is cast out.
Les Feldick emphasizes that salvation does not take away the believer's free will. A Christian can still choose to let old Adam rule in the mortal body, and when that happens, the believer becomes miserable and unhappy because they know they are doing wrong and the Lord is dealing with them (Clips 0, 3). God is not pleased when His child brings reproach on His name, and He will not allow His name to be dragged through the world's mud by a believer's conduct (Clips 1, 6). That disciplinary process is the mark of a true child of God. Les says if God has not begun a disciplining process in the life of someone who claims to be saved, he doubts that person was ever truly born again. God disciplines His children just as an earthly father disciplines his children (Clips 1, 4). If the discipline is ignored and the believer continues in known sin, God will move from one level of discipline to another. If that still does not bring the believer back, God may take that believer out of this life—what John calls the sin unto death (Clips 2, 7). No believer or church has the right to pray for an erring believer's death; that decision belongs to God alone (Clip 2).
Les Feldick says that when a person who made a profession of salvation runs off into gross sin and the Lord does not deal with or chastise them, that raises serious doubt about whether they were ever truly a child of God. He points to Hebrews: if the Lord doesn't chasten, they are not His children. At the same time, if a person has been genuinely saved and goes into sin, they will be miserable under the Lord's dealing until they respond.
Les explains that when a believer refuses to come away from a sinful lifestyle, God's discipline can reach the point where He takes the believer's life. He describes it as a sudden heart attack or car accident—God takes them home lest they continue to bring reproach to His name. John's reference to 'a sin unto death' is exactly this, and John adds, 'I do not say that he shall pray for it.' No believer or church body has the right to pray for the death of an erring believer.
No. Les says that a genuinely saved person who goes out into sin cannot be happy, because way down deep they know they are doing wrong and the Lord is dealing with them. If fellow believers also shun them, that only makes the discipline come home more clearly. The purpose is not to be nasty but to restore the believer.
Les contrasts grace and law. Under law, picking up sticks on the Sabbath meant death by stoning. Under grace, a believer who sins is not going to be utterly cast out. Instead, God deals with us in love and moves from one level of discipline to another. The goal is not punishment for punishment's sake but to bring the believer back to honoring God.
No. Les says under grace, a believer who fails is not immediately stoned or cast out, but God deals with him in love and discipline. God will not let a believer continually bring reproach to His name, and Paul's admonition is to mortify the deeds of the body through the Spirit.
Believer's Free Will
Les shows that even after salvation the believer must decide by free will whether to live Spirit-filled or carnal, because God has not removed the ability to choose.
God Will Take an Unrepentant Believer
Les teaches that if a believer continues in known sin and won't shape up, God has the prerogative to take them out of this life rather than let His name be dragged through the mud. He also says a lack of chastening suggests they were never saved.
The Sin Unto Death
Les identifies the sin unto death as the point where God takes a believer's life after they refuse to leave a sinful lifestyle, and he notes that no one is authorized to pray for that death.
A Sinning Believer Is Miserable
Les explains that a genuinely saved person living in sin cannot be happy because they know they are wrong and the Lord is dealing with them.
Discipline Proves Sonship
Les says if God hasn't begun a disciplining process in a professing believer's life, he doubts they were ever a child of God; God disciplines His children like a father.
Mortify the Deeds of the Body
Les points to Romans 8:13 to show that the Christian life involves discipline—putting to death the deeds of the body through the Spirit.
God Won't Let Reproach Continue
Les says that if discipline doesn't work and a believer becomes rebellious, God takes them home rather than letting them keep bringing reproach to His name.
Grace and Levels of Discipline
Les contrasts law and grace, showing that under grace God deals with sinning believers in love with escalating discipline rather than immediate condemnation.
Romans 6:11: Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Paul's command to reckon oneself dead to sin and alive to God is the foundation for how a believer should respond to sin.
Romans 6:12: Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
This verse shows why a believer must choose not to let sin reign in the mortal body.
Romans 8:13: For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
This warning about living after the flesh is central to Les's teaching on discipline and death.
Hebrews 12:6: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
This verse grounds the truth that God's chastening is the mark of a child He loves.
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 passage where John mentions the 'sin unto death' that God alone decides.
Les Feldick says yes, a genuinely saved person cannot be cast out of God's family. But their continued sin brings God's discipline and, if unrepentant, can lead to the sin unto death—God taking them home.
It means God removes a sinning believer from this life rather than letting them continue to bring reproach on His name. This is what John calls the sin unto death, and no one is authorized to pray for it.
No. Les distinguishes between law and grace. Under grace, God does not cast a believer out; He disciplines them in love, moving from one level to another until they respond or are taken home.
Because they know they are doing wrong and the Lord is dealing with them. A genuinely saved person cannot be happy while living in sin.
Watch the Teaching: Romans 6:7-12 — Can a Believer Still Sin After Being Set Free?