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How do you know you are saved? Many people respond to this question by saying, "Because I feel it in my heart." How tragic that one would allow something as important as salvation to be based upon mere feeling. In no other area of life does one allow feeling to be the basic criterion for determining the rightness or wrongness of a particular thing or course of action.
One does not bake a cake by "feeling." Instead, a recipe is consulted in order that one might know the proper ingredients to use, the correct amount of each ingredient, and the proper temperature at which to bake. A contractor would never attempt to build a house by "feeling." Rather, he consults a blueprint in order that he might know exactly how the house should be constructed. One would not think of taking a cross-country trip by "feeling." Instead, a road map is consulted so as to know the exact route to take, when to turn right, left, etc.
Furthermore, in baking a cake, one would not argue for the use of fifteen additional ingredients on the basis of the failure of the recipe to specify that such ingredients were not to be used. If a blueprint calls for three bedrooms, a wise contractor would obviously not act so presumptuously as to add a fourth bedroom and then attempt to justify his actions by saying, "But the blueprint doesn't say not to." A traveler desiring to reach a certain destination does not feel at liberty to go in just any direction on the basis of the road map's failure to eliminate such routes with a "Thou shalt not..."
Many people seem unable or unwilling to apply this same logic to religion. We are commanded to "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). God's Word is the only source of faith (Romans 10:17). Thus, to walk by faith is to walk according to the teachings of the Word of God. It is not possible to engage in an act "by faith" if that act is not authorized by the Word of God. God's Word is a divine recipe, blueprint, or road map.
One cannot know he is saved simply because he "feels" saved. One cannot know that his worship is acceptable to God simply because he "feels" that it is. Neither is it possible to know that one is on the road to Heaven merely on the basis of feeling. God's Word, which is our blueprint or road map, must be consulted. As Moses was careful to follow the divine pattern for the construction of the physical tabernacle (Exodus 25:40), even so must we exercise diligence in following God's divine pattern for the construction of our spiritual lives.
It is imperative that we recognize the unreliable nature of feelings. Subsequent to war, women have sometimes remarried, "feeling" that their husbands were dead, only to discover months or years later that they were alive. Truly, feelings are deceptive and unreliable. What seems right from a human perspective may be wrong. "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs 14:12).
Feelings are often produced by the acceptance and belief of testimony. For example, a man receives a message stating that a loved one has just been killed in an automobile accident. He is immediately overwhelmed with grief. A short time later, he receives another message informing him that a terrible mistake had been made: the previous message was in error, and his loved one is alive and well. Immediately his feelings undergo a dramatic transformation. He is filled with joy. One's feelings respond in direct relation to the nature of the information or testimony received. If one receives a sad message and believes it, he will be sad, regardless of whether the message is true or false. This is why feelings are so unreliable, both in everyday life and in religious matters.
Many people are in religious error because they have allowed their feelings to be their guide, and their feelings are based upon religious teaching which is not in harmony with the Word of God. One can feel just as spiritually secure in error as in truth. Prior to becoming a Christian, Paul was a devout Pharisee. He described himself as one who was "...taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God..." (Acts 22:3). He had lived in all good conscience before God
(Acts 23:1). Paul felt spiritually secure. He felt that he was right, but he was wrong. Had Paul been determined to "walk by feelings," he would never have renounced Judaism and embraced Christianity.
Far more is involved in "walking by faith" than just believing in God and the deity of Christ. Even the devils "believe and tremble" (James 2:19). Jesus spoke of certain Jews who "believed on him" (John 6:30), yet He later described these same Jews as children of the Devil (John 8:44), because they refused to employ their faith in action by complying with His will. Among the chief rulers of the Jews, many believed on Christ, "...but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:42,43). Agrippa believed what the prophets said concerning Christ, yet he fell short of becoming a Christian (Acts 26:27,28). "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only" (James 2:24).
The faith that saves is the faith that obeys. The faith that avails is that "...faith which worketh by love" (Galatians 5:6). In order to please God, one must be characterized by the "obedience of faith" (Romans 16:26). Who shall enter the kingdom of Heaven ? Jesus answered, "...he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven" (Matthew 7:21). Salvation is reserved for a select group, "...them that obey him" (Hebrews 5:9).
Consequently, man is saved by divine grace when he responds to God's will in obedient faith. Having heard, believed, and obeyed the will of God, man enjoys the reality of salvation by grace, and thus experiences a "great feeling." A Christian does not appeal to his good feelings as "proof" or "evidence" of his salvation. He appeals to divine truth as is set forth in the Bible, and his compliance with that truth. "And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). However, employing one's faith in obedience to the will of God, and thus enjoying salvation by grace, certainly affords ample reason for good feelings.
Are you walking by faith or by feeling? Remember, the untaught heart is "...deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked..." (Jeremiah 17:9). Solomon affirmed, "He that trusted in his own heart is a fool..." (Proverbs 28:26). Place your trust in God and His Word, not in the fickle nature of human feelings.
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