Are believers saved the same way Paul was, without doing anything on their part?
Yes. Salvation is entirely by God’s mercy and grace, not human effort or initiative, exactly as with the Apostle Paul. He did not first repent or seek God; God intervened. Every born-again child of God is a vessel of mercy, appropriating salvation by faith, saved without doing anything on their part.
Les teaches that Paul is the epitome of a sinner saved by grace. Saul of Tarsus had every right, humanly speaking, to be zapped, yet God did not wait for Saul to come to himself, repent, and ask for acceptance. Instead, while Saul was on his way to Damascus to carry out his dirty work, God knocked him off his horse and spoke to him, saying, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?” That was grace. Les then says believers are in that same category with the Apostle Paul: we are saved without ever doing anything on our part. This has always been God’s way. The Romans passage describes believers as vessels of mercy prepared unto glory; none deserve anything, it is all God’s mercy poured out at the cross and appropriated by faith. This includes every believer—whether in Israel, during Christ’s earthly ministry, or born-again today.