Many people when they hear the Gospel wait for some sort of physical or emotional feeling, and if they don't feel anything then they conclude that either God isn't speaking to them personally, or maybe that He doesn't exist. The fact is the Bible doesn't tell us anywhere that we are to wait for or expect any kind of feeling before coming to the Lord. The Gospel message is simply an invitation telling us to COME.
Isaiah 55:7 says,
Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.A good breakdown of the above verse would be:
Coming to Christ means repentance of sin (forsake his way), a change of mind (his thoughts), coming to Christ accepting His mercy upon you, and receiving the free gift of salvation (He will abundantly pardon).No where does it mention having to feel anything. One only needs to know they are hopelessly lost without Jesus as their Lord and Savior. You need to:
A. Admit you are a sinner.
Romans 3:10,23 says,
"There is no one righteous, not even one ... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Also see Romans 5:8; 6:23.)- Ask God's forgiveness.
Romans 10:13 says,
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
B. Believe in Jesus (put your trust in Him) as your only hope of salvation.
John 3:16 says,
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (Also see John 14:6.)- Become a child of God by receiving Christ.
John 1:12 says,
"To all who receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." (Also see Revelation 3:20.)
C. Confess that Jesus is your Lord.
Romans 10:9 says,
"If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (See verse 10.)
Feelings: Should we trust our 5 Physical Senses?
None of the above verses say anything about requiring some kind of physical feeling or sensation before coming to Christ. This is because it is not about feeling, but it is about faith.
2 Corinthians 5:7 says,
For we walk by faith, not by sight.You may have often heard this verse quoted before, or maybe in a song. Sight (or seeing) is one of the 5 physical senses. If walking by faith supersedes this one physical sense, then could it not also be said that "we walk by faith, not by touch, or smell, or taste, or hearing as well? Jesus' disciple Thomas learned a valuable lesson for trusting in his physical senses.
John 20:24-29
24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said,“Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”The only one of these senses that has any value to our faith would be hearing, and this is only if it means hearing the word of God. (Romans 10:17) One can also hear things that would cause them to doubt God and not trust Him, so it is important that we hear the word of God and be careful about what else we expose ourselves to.
Ephesians 1:13 says,
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,Again, there is no mention of feeling anything, but HEARING the word of truth (the Gospel), trusting in Jesus, and then believing was all that was required to be saved.
Feelings: Should we trust our Emotions?
This means fear, anger, happiness, sadness, pride, depression, etc. Should we expect to feel these feelings prior to accepting Christ? Usually as the person coming to Christ accepts that they are a sinner it isn't uncommon for them to feel remorse or guilt. As they ask for forgiveness and believe in Jesus and confess Him as Lord it isn't uncommon for them to feel a sense of freedom and happiness as if a weight has been lifted from them.
However, people are made up of a variety of different emotional types, so there can't be one single rule to gauge people by. Some people are happy all the time, some are worried a lot, some are angered easily, etc.
Although the Bible shares how some people acted after becoming saved like the Philippian Jailer for example being overjoyed, this is not by any means an indicator for all people. A person SHOULD experience a sense of peace and joy after becoming saved, but nowhere in the Bible does it say a person who doesn't is not saved. The Jailer asked Paul, "What must I do to be saved?" and Paul replied, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." Paul never told the Jailer that he would feel saved. Nor did Paul tell him how he would feel as he was making a decision for Christ.
As far as trusting in an emotional feeling or looking for one prior to coming to Christ goes we should place obedience to His word in higher regard over any emotion we may be feeling.
Ephesians 2:8,9 says,
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves;it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.By God's grace He has chosen to save us through FAITH. To say that we could first physically feel anything or do anything would mean that WE have something to do with our salvation. The only thing we are to do is come and accept the gift from God by putting our faith in Him.
1 John 5:12 says,
He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.God makes it pretty cut and dry here. This isn't to say we should expect to feel nothing when we are coming to Jesus for most people are pretty emotional as it is a life changing decision. However, to say that if a person feels nothing as they make a decision to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior means they are not saved - This is contrary to what the scriptures teach.
Acts 5:32 says,
And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”Because of the faith we have in Jesus we choose to obey His word and admit we are a sinner, ask for God's forgiveness, believe in Jesus and therefore become a child of God by receiving Christ, and then confess that Jesus is your Lord. It comes down to obedience and not feelings.
Isaiah 45:22 says,
“Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.Again, the invitation to come is given, not wait until you feel anything. We are talking about the God of the Universe reaching down to you, a speck living on a marble in our galaxy, which floats in another endless expanse called our universe. Yet Jesus died for you. What feeling can one expect to have at this? Is it safe to say it is beyond our comprehension? Yes it is, so how can we expect to feel any certain way about it? It is beyond the range of our ever grasping it, or wrapping our head around it, therefore we can't rely on our feelings, but we have to just trust in Him by having Faith in what He has said in His word. We can then believe in Him and be saved!
John 1:12 says,
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.
