Works religion cannot achieve spiritual transformation because it only deals with outward, visible behavior, while the actual change God requires happens in the invisible inner man—and only God can reach that part.
Les Feldick teaches that the body is the only visible part of a person; the soul and spirit are invisible and created by God. Cleaning up one's behavior is like washing the outside of a dead battery—it looks better but still has no power until outside power is brought in. True transformation, like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly, is a metamorphosis that only the Creator can produce.
Romans 12:2 — This verse commands the transformation that works religion cannot produce: it is a renewing that must take place in the mind.
Romans 6:23 — It contrasts what human works earn, which is death, with God's free gift of eternal life.
Romans 5:1 — It states plainly that justification comes through faith, with nothing added by human effort.
Paul writes that human effort earns only death: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). He also teaches that justification is by faith alone: "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Then Romans 12:2 calls believers to "be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." The transformation is something that is done to the believer, not a self-improvement project.
Les explains that when God created man, the body was the only visible, tangible part—everything else, the soul and spirit, is invisible. Since the real problem is in that invisible part, no human effort, surgery, or religious ritual can correct it. Only God, who created that invisible part, can work there and produce change.
Les says that the soul and spirit are invisible, yet they are viable entities—like the wind, something you cannot see but know is there. Because they are invisible, man cannot lay them on an operating table, give them a miracle drug, or change them with any outward religious activity. Only God can do anything with the invisible part of our being.
Les compares works religion to washing the outside of a dead car battery. You can make it sparkle with soap, wax, and water, but it will still be dead when you turn the key. No amount of outside cleaning changes the fact that it needs outside power. In the same way, people say, "When I get my act together, then I'll become a Christian," but God takes sinners just as they are and infuses divine life and power with salvation.
Les stresses that works such as baptism, joining a church, visiting the sick, and giving to the poor are all things a person decides to do. They have their proper place after salvation, but they cannot save. No amount of works, church memberships, baptisms, sacraments, or religious elements can justify a person or put old Adam to death. Paul's word for being transformed is the same Greek root as metamorphosis—a complete change, like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly, not just an outward polish.
When someone truly and honestly believes that Christ accomplished everything needed on his or her behalf, God moves in and gives that person power to live a life pleasing in His sight. Believing draws a person out of deadness in sin and makes him or her a totally different person in outlook and desires. This is not something the person works for; it comes because of what believing does. Yet Les also notes that no one becomes a mature Christian overnight—a new believer is like an infant who needs nourishment and protection.
Metamorphosis, Not Just Outward Change
Les shows that the word translated 'conformed' in Romans 12 is the same word used for Christ's transfiguration, and the Greek root is metamorphosis. True Christianity is not outward polish but a complete inner transformation.
The Invisible Inner Man: Only God Can Correct It
Les explains that the soul and spirit are invisible and created by God, so no human being can operate on them or change them. Only God can correct what is wrong in the invisible part of our being.
Dead Battery: Outside Cleaning Cannot Give Life
Les uses the picture of washing a dead battery to show that cleaning up your life cannot make you a Christian. God must infuse divine life and power into a sinner.
Man's Invisible Part Is Beyond Human Reach
Les reminds listeners that the body is the only visible part of a person; the rest is invisible. Since salvation deals with that invisible part, human works cannot accomplish it—only God can.
Human Works Cannot Justify
Les lists baptism, joining a church, visiting the sick, and giving to the poor as works that people do for salvation, but they will not work. Justification is by faith, plus nothing.
No Human Endeavor Can Kill Old Adam
Les says no amount of works, church membership, baptisms, sacraments, or elements can do what Paul teaches in justification by faith and putting old Adam to death. That must be the work of the Creator Himself.
Believing Brings God's Indwelling Power
Les teaches that when a person genuinely believes Christ accomplished everything, God moves in and gives that believer power to live a life pleasing to Him. Genuine faith is not a ritualistic formality.
Believing Makes You a Different Person
Les explains that believing causes God to pull a person out of deadness in sin, forgive and sanctify him, and make him totally different in outlook and desires. This change is not worked for; it comes through faith and grows over time.
Romans 12:2: And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
This is the key verse Les uses to show that transformation is a renewing of the mind, not an outward conformity produced by religion.
Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
This verse shows the radical difference between what human works earn and what God gives.
Romans 5:1: Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Les cites this truth to show that justification is by faith with nothing added, ruling out works religion.
No. Les Feldick says God takes us just exactly where we are, as sinners, and He is the One who infuses divine life and power. Trying to get your act together first is not the way salvation works.
No. Les calls these works. They have their proper place after salvation, but they cannot justify a sinner or put old Adam to death. No human endeavor can do what only God can do.
It begins when a person believes, but Les compares a new believer to an infant in Christ. The Christian life takes time; you are not a mature Christian overnight.
Only God can reach the invisible soul and spirit. When a person truly believes that Christ accomplished everything, God moves in and gives the power to live a life pleasing to Him.
Watch the Teaching: Be Not Conformed: What Romans 12:2 Really Means for You