How Should A New Believer Feel?

Q

I am a brand new believer and my faith is very weak, very small. Is there anything in scripture that says you should feel differently after you’ve accepted salvation than you did before? I’m worried because I’m not sure if I’m really saved or not. My mother, the person most responsible for helping me get saved, assures me I only need faith “as small as a mustard seed.” But, I still have doubts as to whether I’m really saved because I don’t feel any different. Can you help?

A

The notion that somehow we’re supposed to feel differently just because we’ve asked for salvation is not Biblical. Sometimes people who are overwhelmed by the enormity of their sins feel a sense of release from the guilt they’ve been carrying. But many others don’t feel any different at all, so you shouldn’t worry if you’re like them.

In Matt. 7:7-8 Jesus promised that if we ask for salvation we’ll receive it, and that applies to everyone who asks, regardless of the person. And Paul said everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13).

It’s the Lord who gave you the faith to ask for salvation, (Ephes. 2:8-9). And it’s the Lord who has accepted responsibility for keeping you saved (2 Cor. 1:21-22). Your job is to take Him at His word, to trust Him to do what He has promised.

Reading your Bible and praying regularly is really important, because true faith comes through knowledge and experience. We acquire knowledge through reading His word, we gain experience by seeing Him answer our prayers.

Remember, faith is not just a feeling. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1).