I am a Christian, I have been saved. Why do i not feel that peace and joy that so many Christians speak of?

Question

I've grown up a Christian home. Gone to church all my life. Read the bible all my life. At an early age I learned about getting saved, and at the age of 10 I did ask Jesus to come in to my heart, and to cleanse me of my sin. However, I did not feel the peace that so many born-again Christians speak of when they were saved. It seems like almost everyone cried when they were saved, however I was not moved to tears. Several more times throughout my life, I have asked Jesus to come into my heart again, I tried to be more sincere (thinking that that was possibly the problem, that I had not been sincere enough.) I still have yet to feel that I am truly saved. Perhaps its the devil trying to discourage me, but the lack of that feeling sure causes me grief. When I sin I do repent, but I do not feel forgiven, mostly because I am not unable to not continually repeat the same sin. I am completely out of ideas, I have searched the bible, prayed to God for answers, but nothing comes up.Please Help

No I am confident that you both are definitely wrong. I have seen God work miracles in peoples lives. Jesus did die for our sins, and one day every knee will bow, every toungue will confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord. You will all see one day, hopefully before its not too late.

I believe I know what it is now, I have not surrendered every part of my life, and let God take complete control. If anyone else sees this, how exactly do I do that?

Answer 1

I have had similiar thoughts and feelings. I really prayed about what grace meant to me. Read the prayers in Ephesians. (copied below for you). You are saved, you need ask Jesus once and believe it. Satan will try to condemn you, but remember that you are a new creation. I celebrate every aug. 1st as my spiritual birthday, satan can't take it from me.

Are you baptised in the Holy Ghost? That is like lighting a pilot on a stove and turning up the gas! Does your church teach about power filled life in Christ?

If you would like to know more, feel free to click on my name and I will be happy to talk to you more.

be blessed. vicki

Eph 1:17-23
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
NIV

Answer 2

Hi Friend
I really appreciate your honesty.I think I know your problem. A person cannot walk off the street into a church and be saved as many do. That emotional feeling that make people feel this rush of joy is not from God. I know that you do not like to hear this but it is true. If you look at John 17:3 you will see that knowledge is the thing that saves and also the Bible says faith without works is dead also. I do not know the scripture off hand sorry.
I will give you an example: You beleive that Jesus is God,right? Take a look at proverbs 8 22-30 and let me know what you think. I hope to hear from you

Answer 3

Personally, I don't entirely agree with Christian theology. For one thing, it asks us to surpress our very nature, to deny our own nature, and then beg for forgiveness whenever we act human. For example, the part that mentions "if your right hand offends you, cut it off...if you look at a woman with lust, pluck out your eye"; what good will that do? Your left hand can just as easily offend you, or even your foot, and you can still look as lustfully with your other eye.

The way I make sense of that is I combine that with the Greek motto "All things in moderation." I take the message to mean to not take things in excess, to not let sex, alcohol, or gambling control your life.

As for your Bible readings, how much do you know of Ancient Hebrew culture? Remember that the Bible was written to a specific audience, the authors had no idea what it would read like when translated into English or how a culture 2000 years later might interpret it. You also need to understand that the Old Testament is the Judaic Canon, they are the books that the Jews study and worship. To understand the Old Testament, you must understand Hebrew culture. For instance, the Judaic canon is organized by order of importance- the most important and influential books (the Torah or "the Law") are first while the least important books (Kethubiim or Writings) are last.

As for the Devil, the Hebrews were governed by the Persians following the Babylonian Exile in 586 B.C., it is from the Persian religion of Zoastrianism that the Jews received the concept of Hell and the Devil, or Satan (Note that there is no mention of hell or devil in the first half of the Old Testament, and it was only a serpent in the Garden of Eden). I believe that any mention of the Devil or Hell by Jesus is not literal, but is used as a device in parabals to illustrate a moral, to make the parabals easier to grasp to his audience.

Again, personally, I think the sensation of feeling saved is all psychological, that the person only thinks he feels the sensation of a deity. Trust me, I've felt it before, and I almost believed it and I was almost brainwashed, but I snapped out of it.

Try this: don't try believing every single thing in the Bible. Try just following the philosophy of love thy neighbor and obey the morals it lays out. I've spoken to an Episcopalian minister about this, and she doesn't believe eveything in the Bible, that the Bible is not the word of God (it's not, it's man writing down what he perceives the word of God to be).

Also try learning some of the history behind when and why certain texts were written, it may help you decide which parts are better to hold more faith in. Try looking at other religions too, see what they're all about (knowledge is power!).

Ultimately, there is no easy answer to your question. Peace of mind in theological and spiritual matters are not easy to come by and can sometimes take a long time. Good luck in you journey.

Answer 4

Even though you may feel like the situation is hopeless, it is far from. Don't judge your life or your morality based on others. Just because something happened to someone else (e.g. being moved to tears), doesn't mean you need to feel hopeless because it is not the case with you. God knows the struggle you face and doesn't love you any less because you're a sinner or becuase you are having trouble staying away from sin. Newsflash: We ALL sin! It is part of human nature and God understands that. Just because you haven't felt a certain way since you've accepted Christ, doesn't mean you are a bad person. Don't dwell on it so much. Just try to look to Him and live your life. When you are satisfied with your life and don't spend so much time worrying about whether you are saved or not, you might start to feel that joy and contentment. Everyone has a different approach to religion and it may move them in different ways. Find yours and follow that. Don't hold yourself up to other standards, only God's. And don't think that you aren't saved becuase you don't feel that way. God knows your struggles and is there to help you when you stumble.

Answer 5

Don't get hung up on feelings, they will lead you astray every time. Love for God and others is a principle, not an emotion.

I think that the major difficulty is that you have been in a religious setting all of your life, and have not had a real experience of your own. You need to develop your own relationship with God.

If He seems too distant, then pray and ask Him why, or to reveal anything in your life that would separate you from him. The only thing that separates us from Good is sin.

You need some serious prayer and study right now.

Answer 6

Dear Jonesj
Don't worry about waiting for some awe-inspiring feeling. Not everyone needs to get that "feeling" to be truly saved. God works in mysterious ways. He has a purpose for you in this life. Just close your eyes and in your heart believe that God will lead your way through life with a helping hand and open arms. He is there for you whether you feel that way or not. Just remember that. Read the Scriptures. A personal favorite of mine is Paul's letters to the Corinthians and also the Sermon on the Mount. Don't sit and wait for something to happen. Live your life in faith and God will show Himself to you when you least expect it. Believe me I know firsthand. You know the saying "a watched pot never boils?" It's almost the same thing. You seem very stressed by this. Just try to relax and keep reading the Bible, espacially the letters. God Bless!

Answer 7

One thing is sure. You are not a hypocrite. Being faithful to your own self is the best sign that you inherit a living spirit. Most of the Christians today, living with a dead or near dead spirit and the images you see are nothing but pretencion.

Beyond all what you do today as part of your spiritual life, start knowing your own self that is the spirit of God within you and start the purification of it. The more you know yourself, wider and deeper goes the world within you. Developing our own self is our duty in this world. How best you can do it is the true test.

The inner man's strength is what helping to refrain from repeated sins. The more you gain strength, it is easy for you to keep away from sins.

Spiritual journey is a slow process and don't try to be hasty in the path. I think, this is the problem you are facing. Your desire is right. Your path is right. Go slow - you will be a winner.

Answer 8

I am a Christian as well and I'd hate to dissapoint you, but there is no such thing as a born again Christian. There is no such thing as being saved by just asking to be saved. Christians today are mis-led and unforunately they do not have a thinking mind so they can evaluate the bible correctly.
True Christianity is when you read the teachings of Jesus and you follow them. The only time you will be saved is when you sincerely try to follow his teachings. Another problem is that Christians pray to Jesus...! That is very sinful. Jesus himself prayed to the one and only god. It is very wrong of us to pray to Jesus and ignore the lord. We must always and only pray to the one and only god.
If you start praying to god and ask him to help you see the light and help you follow the teachings of Christ; that is when you will be truly saved.
To think that Jesus has paid for our sins and he was to be sacraficed for us, is a ridiculous joke! That was not Jesus' mission; his mission was completely paved by the lord and the mission was for Jesus to show us the way that will lead us to the lord.
Like they always say; the proof is in the pudding! If you read the bible, then you must have come across this:

When Jesus' disciples asked him to teach them to pray, this prayer was his response (Luke 11: 1 - 4 and Matthew 6: 5 - 14). Because we have this prayer in Jesus' own words, it is the basis of our prayer relationship with God.


Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen

So if Jesus himself told us to pray to the lord only, then why are we doing otherwise??????

Here is another misconception:
Jesus also said that the only way to our lord is through him; do you know what he was really trying to say? He was simply telling us that only by following his teachings may one find the way to the lord. Jesus was the only profit that spoke of "complete peace" and "helping others" and "treat other as we want to be treated". No other religion emphasizes these things!
So, Jesus was right, the only way to the lord was through him. He didn't mean that if we just believe him, we will be automatically saved! I've seen Christians steal and destroy other people's lives and yet they belive that by going to Church and asking for foregiveness, the will be saved!
I promise you that if you know what you're about to do is unacceptable and is sinful and yet you still go through with it, then there will be no forgiveness for that act! Only true repent will bring forgiveness.
Still yet, we have Christians that believe they can go around and cause havoc and they'll still be on their way to heaven because they have accepted Jesus as their savior.
Christians today are lost and I wonder if they'll ever see the truth!
If people are crying and acting like their saved, then trust me it's just an act. It will take a lot more than saying you're born again to get you close to god!
Furthermore, it's the lord that's keeping you from following the trend because he wants to go out and do your own investigation and find out the real truth about what it takes to be a Christian, it's not the devil. Devil would actually have you follow the rest of the lost herd!!
Concentrate on the lord and not Jesus. Only concentrate on the teachings of Jesus Christ because he was the only true Messiah!!

Pray to the creator tonight and ask him to help you do his will; this time you will see a difference!
God bless!

Answer 9

Ye without sin cast the first stone. We are all sinners even if we are born again. We have to repent all the time and ask for forgiveness. We are human, we are to strive to be Christ-like, you know from reading the bible that Christ spent alot of time in prayer and teaching, he was the only perfect human. Perhaps your belief in that perfection for your own life is keeping you from feeling at peace and being joyful. I know God allows us our humanity, and I know that if your asking for forgiveness sincerely(only you and God know this) then you are forgiven. Don't get so caught up in the perfection, but focus more on being the best you can be, pray for this and if you stumble ( we all do, all the time) pray some more. I do not feel at peace, or joy all the time, the world we live in is not at peace and does not have alot of joy these days. This is where your faith comes into play, have faith in yourself and your prayers. You do not have to cry to be saved, the bible speaks of praying to yourself and not showing off, (look at me I'm asking for forgiveness and crying). I'm not saying this is what these people were doing, but that it could happen. Maybe you need to be sanctified, I don't know much about this, but you could ask your preacher/paster to explain this to you. Continue to pray, ask for forgiveness, surround yourself with Godly people, talk to your pastor and go to church. Just remember you are human and allow yourself this. I do not profess to be an expert on Christianity, this is only my opinions. Take what you can from this and use it for the glory of God. I continue to work out my own salvation with fear and trembling. God Bless!!

Answer 10

Take comfort in the fact that all people doubt their ability. And while doubt is a natural part of life, you need not doubt God.

By the power of the Holy Spirit we are given the ability to receive the gift of salvation.

I feel that you are waiting for a feeling that will not come. Not because its not REAL, but because you are waiting for an emotion, or physical reaction to a spiritual problem.

Basically,.....I'm trying (poorly) to say, is that the feeling of "relief" or "peace" that so many christians talk about is the simple knowledge that on Judgement day Jesus will stand before God and claim you as one of his own. He says he will do this, and the only thing you need to do is TRUELY believe in him and trust in him and ask for forgiveness of your sins.

Don't expect to washed clean of your sin, or to feel "saint-like:...because it won't happen.

The holy spirit entered you through the water and word at your baptism, and your faith in him will save you.

In regards to sin and repentance, continue to recognize your sin, and NOT hide from it. Ask and pray for forgiveness of your sins...both that you know you have done, and the ones you didn't know you did. (and the ones you committed by leaving things un-done).

Continue to go to church, pray, confess and repent, partake in Holy Communion, and be a good christian.