For follow-up discussion and general commentary on the topic. Comments are sorted chronologically.
John DeVries
Being "saved" with a "joy of salvation" is often lacking due to missing steps of understanding to get there, with feelings resulting. We get saved by "faith" and not our works. (Eph. 2:8-9) The Bible presents that without faith it is impossible to please God. (He. 11:6) Faith is not a feeling. Faith will result in feelings. Faith does not come without understanding the basis for faith to exist. This is why one must hear the gospel to understand what God has done to enable salvation of the souls of men. We must respond to "hearing".
The Alpha and Omega omniscient God, knows all things. God knew what man would do with their free will, including the sin of disbelieving in God's Lordship and becoming a God unto themselves by a willful choice.
Our faithful and gracious God provided a morally correct plan of "redemption" to deal with the dilemma of his loved created man to be forgiven for the sinful state man is in.
Jesus Christ the second being of the Divine triune God became a man, to die for the sins of those who believe. Believing, is not just in a historic dealing of God. But; An understanding of our sinful state, our separation from God. We are spiritually dead in sin. (Eph. 2:1) The moral issue of God in Christ dying on a cross to redeem us from sin is part of the needed insight, We must repent from personal sin we are guilty of. Then this must be attended with faith in His person, our love for Him and His holiness, the perfection of love. Feelings result. A. John
Larry Truelove
I volunteer for a media evangelism ministry and I get this question a lot.
Scripture NEVER tells us to gauge our salvation through feelings. Feelings are never the test of how we stand with God. Jesus was sad or depressed sometimes. So was David. We are taught and encouraged to trust God through Christ. Feelings may or may not validate our faith. But they are not the barometer.
Julian Grear
I'm just saying...when I got born again the first time I said the prayer, I felt something piercing me.
James Kraft
God does not lie. Jesus said "I will never leave you or forsake you". We know that His finished work on the cross paid our sin debt in full. We know that when sin abounds grace much more abounds. We know our salvation does not depend on us but on His nailing all of our sins to the cross and washing them away with His blood. Past, present, and future sins.
We know that when we first believed His spirit joined our spirit and we are sealed unto the day of redemption and no one can pluck us out of His hand. We are complete in Him. We know that our faith in Jesus is what saved us and we are saved by His work and nothing of our selves.
We know that He fullfilled the whole law and gave us His perfect righteousness. When God looks at us He sees Jesus and we are perfect in His eyes. Not by what we do or have done but by what Jesus did for us.
Sinners though we be His grace is sufficient. Now tell me you cannot trust Him. Or put another way, how can you not trust Him?
Danny Hickman
This was one of Mr Houdmann's more concise answers. It's to the point. You can go by how you feel, but you'll be forever changing YOUR OPINION of yourself to fit how you feel. I like the way he summed up how we are saved. He said 'faith is a gift from God, and we are saved by faith.' He said 'our part is to repent.'
Let's do the math. That means repentance is produced by the faith that God provides. If salvation is a gift, EVERY PART of it is freely provided.
God doesn't point out a gold mine, provide us with shovels and all the other tools we will need to get at the gold, and say, 'Start Digging.'
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. (Matthew 13:44)
Salvation is a hidden treasure which a man established by giving all that He has for the field in which that salvation is hidden. (the field is the world) He owns the field and all that is in it. (there is a treasure hidden in the world). Because it brings Him joy, He takes a dragnet (the gospel) and casts it into the field and gathers a little bit of every kind that is in the field (world). When the net is full, He'll draw in the net and determine what He will keep and what He'll throw away (the Matthew 13 parables of the kingdom of God).
Salvation is a one Man operation; that's the main point. Jesus didn't try to teach people HOW TO GET YOURSELF SAVED!! He is the way. (John 14:6) Can you feel it?