What is the first step in the plan of salvation?
The first step is to believe what God says about oneself: that I am a sinner, regardless of personal goodness, family background, or circumstances. Faith takes God at His Word, and salvation begins when a person recognizes their need, for the new birth cannot happen until that need is acknowledged.
Les explains that salvation is all of faith, and faith is taking God at His Word. So the first thing a person has to believe is what God says about them: regardless of how good they may be, how good a family they came from, or how good their circumstances are, God says they are a sinner who has already sinned. That recognition is the very first step in the plan of salvation. Les also clarifies that salvation itself is an event, while the Christian life, sanctification, and growth are a process; new believers begin as babes in Christ. The new birth cannot happen until a person recognizes their need. Jesus illustrated this by saying that well people do not need a physician, but the sick do. A person who thinks he is good enough for heaven will never be saved, even though many people are genuinely good.