We live in a culture that is becoming more and more emotion-focused. A popular song in the 1960s was titled “Hooked on A Feeling.” Now, nearly 60 years later our society is “hooked on a feeling.” That same idea of feelings has invaded the church as well, thus the statement “I don’t feel saved.”
As Christians, we need to realize that salvation or “being saved” is not a feeling; it is a condition in which a person has received Christ as Lord and Savior. We all have feelings, and we know that feelings come and go like the tide. When we base our salvation on feelings then we begin to question our relationship with Christ. We begin to ask ourselves, “am I good enough?” “Do I really love Christ?” “Does Christ really love me?” When we base our salvation on feelings and not on what God has done for us, we become somewhat like Peter when the Lord called to him to come to Him on the water. Things were fine as long as Peter kept his focus on Jesus, but when he felt the waves crashing around his ankles, his feelings took over, and he almost drowned. Feelings cause us to look at the storm and not at the One who calms the storm.
In Ephesians 2:8-9 Paul writes, “For by grace (not feelings) you have been saved through faith (not feelings), and that not of ourselves; it is a gift (not a feeling) of God, not of works (feelings) lest anyone should boast.” Paul clearly states that salvation or being saved is an act of grace, not of feelings. We can conclude from Paul that salvation based on grace and not on the ebb and flow of our feelings.
That leads to the next question, “how can I know I am saved?” Salvation, as I believe, has never been about feelings. It is about being and doing, as Micah 6:8 says “He has shown you, O man, what is good: And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? It is about the great commission of going into all the world preaching and teaching the word. It is about letting your light shine so that others may see Jesus in you. About loving God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind and loving your neighbor as yourself. It is about being obedient to the Father. Where do you think we would be if instead of saying “Not my will but Thine be done,” He would have said “I don’t feel like doing that.” We would be lost. To know you are saved is to ask yourself, have I become and am I being a servant of Christ? To know you are saved is live the words of John 13:35 “By this all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.” We are instructed in Proverbs “To trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding (feelings).”
Christ promises to save us if we come to Him in faith. Salvation is based on faith and not on feelings.