Genesis 27:22, “And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”
I have a helpful book from my bookshelf, authored in 1962 by Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980). The book is titled, “Dr. Rice, Here Is My Question...” On page 244 we read the following:
Don't you think that a feeling (as well as a fact) comes with the new birth?
I constantly come up against the problem of “feeling” in dealing with people who want to know they are saved. It seems that it is one of the Devil's greatest weapons in keeping people from coming to a place of confidence and assurance in their Christian experience. The Devil causes people to seek for feeling, and thus throws them off the track.
Salvation is not by feeling; it is by faith. It is not by seeking an experience, but by accepting a Person.
As long as the Devil can keep the inquiring mind and the seeking heart struggling to arrive at a certain emotional experience rather than trusting and receiving the person of Christ as the Saviour, he can keep that soul in darkness.
Let me say quickly that I do believe in what we sometimes refer to as “heart-felt religion,” “experimental salvation.” We believe in emotions and we know that every human being is an emotional being. God has given us the capacity to weep, to laugh, to rejoice; but everyone is somewhat different emotionally. Some rave at a ball game, while others sit quietly. No two people are exactly alike emotionally.
But the “feeling” or the “joy” which one may have, in different degrees, after salvation comes from knowing that you have the person of Christ in your heart, and that you have been born again by His Spirit and by His Word. It is the result of being saved.
Every time the word “feeling” is used in the New Testament, it has nothing whatsoever to do with a religious experience, and is always used (as far as human beings are concerned) in a bad sense rather than in a good sense.
For instance, in Ephesians 4:19, Paul speaks of people being “past feeling.” We need to believe what God has said in His Word and take God's Word at face value.
It would be well for us to read the experience that blind Isaac had with his twin sons; Jacob and Esau. Isaac went by feeling rather than by the Word and was deceived. When Jacob came to blind Isaac, trying to make him think that he was Esau, he came with the skins of goats upon his arms to make himself a hairy man like his brother.
Genesis 27:22 shows us that Isaac 'felt of Jacob' and said, “The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” He disregarded the voice and went by the feeling. He was deceived and wronged. We must not go by feeling alone, but by the voice of God in His Word.
In one wonderful verse (John 5:24) Jesus makes it plain and clear that he who hears the Word and believes God hath (a present possession) everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment.
This is the deed or title to my salvation. I have the word of the Son of God that I am now saved eternally and will not come into judgment. I am going by the voice—not by the feeling.
SOURCE: “Dr. Rice, Here is my Question...”, by Evangelist John R. Rice, pgs.244-245, ©1962, by Viola M. Walden.
I would also like to quote the following question and answer, which relates to the preceding quote...
Is there any more proof that we are saved than by the Word of God?
Yes, there are several ways that one can know he is saved.
First, one knows by the Word of God. By the Bible we know that when one comes to Christ, Christ will not cast him out, and that one who believes on Christ has everlasting life (John 6:37); John 3:36, etc.). First John 5:13 says, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
Second, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Rom. 8:16). A Christian who lives near the Lord will have peace and joy in his heart which a lost person does not have. He will have assurance, if he lives near enough to God that the Holy Spirit can talk to him. If he loses this assurance, it does not prove he is not saved, but may mean that he has simply grieved the Holy Spirit in some way so that he does not have the joy of salvation.
Third, the Scripture says, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren” (I John 3:14). There is a kinship between saved people.
The first and most important evidence that one is saved in the evidence of the Word of God. That never changes, though one's feelings may change and even one's life may be unworthy so that he does not have the assurance in his heart.
SOURCE: “Dr. Rice, Here is my Question...”, by Evangelist John R. Rice, pgs.245-246, ©1962, by Viola M. Walden
This is great stuff from Brother Rice! Miss Viola Walden was an amazing woman, who forfeited marriage and motherhood to dedicate her life to serving God as Dr. John R. Rice's lifetime secretary. It always warms my heart to share her work, now that she is in Heaven, to help earn her more eternal rewards (although she already has plenty of them). Few people realize the great sacrifice that this dear lady made to further the Kingdom of God.
I thought these questions and answers were so important to share with others, because in dealing with multitudes of people over the years myself, I have also found that many people worry that they are not saved. They are going by “feelings” instead of the unchanging promises of the Word of God. I think a main cause of this dilemma today are the continually changing corrupt modern Bible versions. Satan knows that by publishing hundreds of English Bible versions (literally), that it woefully confuses people. A man with a dozen Bible versions on his bookshelf is not going to have the same mindset (confidence, passion, love and respect) toward God's Word, as the man who has only one inspired Holy Bible, which is, the King James Bible.
I am often reminded of the children's song, “Jesus Loves Me.” The words in the song are so true... “Jesus loves me, yes I know, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO!” As Dr. Rice mentioned, when a believer abides in sin, it can lead to a “feeling” of lack of assurance in that person's heart. This is not because they have jeopardized their assurance; but rather, they don't fully understand the Gospel. A man who understands the Gospel KNOWS that nothing could ever jeopardize his position in Jesus Christ.
Certainly, even in the worst cases of backsliding, a believer can never lose the assurance of salvation. The doctrines of eternal security and assurance of salvation are one and the same. They are not separate doctrines. The only type of life that God gives is “everlasting life.” John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” However, a believer can go so far away from the Lord (“filled with his own ways,” Proverbs 14:14b), that he or she becomes disillusioned, even doubting their own salvation. Again, this is not because they are at risk of losing their salvation; but rather, their sin has confused them. To the same degree that a believer allows open sin to exist in their life, they are living a contrary lifestyle to the Word of God, which will cause instability in their soul (known as “religious scrupulosity”).
I hope after reading this article, that you will go away with the full Bible knowledge that NOTHING you could ever do, nor anything that anybody else could ever do, could ever jeopardize your eternal security in Christ Jesus. This is what Paul meant in Romans 8:37-39, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” My friend, if you are God's child, which is “by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26), you are eternally secure in God's family!!!
I have received numerous e-mails from people, thanking me for my website ministry. Many of them testify that at one time they were worried, even suicidal, because they heard some errant Calvinist preacher teach that allowing sin in one's life is evidence that you are not saved. So because of intentional sin in their life, they were very afraid of going to Hell. Oh friend, that is not how God's plan of salvation works. Eternal life is a free gift (Romans 5:15; 6:23). That means nothing is required of you to receive it, except to freely take it without obligation. We are saved solely by faith, without works (Romans 4:5-6). Romans 5:20b, “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” That is, when a believer sins, we fall IN GRACE, never FROM GRACE. When a believer sins, God's grace doth MUCH MORE ABOUND! The precious redeeming blood of Jesus Christ goes deeper than the stain of our sins!!!
