What does God do after a person believes the gospel?
After a person believes the gospel, God does all the rest. He saves them, sets their feet on a rock, and begins opening the Scriptures so they comprehend the truth from cover to cover. Salvation is instantaneous: the believer is translated from darkness to light, sin is forgiven, and they are justified.
Les teaches that when a person believes the gospel—that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures—there are no strings attached and no prescribed ritual. A person can believe it at the kitchen sink, driving down the road, or in the middle of the night. Then God does all the rest: God saves us, sets our feet on a rock, and begins to open up the Scriptures so we begin to comprehend the truth from cover to cover. Les emphasizes that this comprehension does not happen all at once, but salvation itself is not a process; it is an instantaneous event. Christian growth and Bible understanding are processes, but salvation is a one-time event. At that moment, the believer is translated from darkness to light, knows sin is forgiven, and is justified.