What must happen for someone to come to a saving knowledge of the gospel?
For anyone to come to a saving knowledge of the gospel, the Holy Spirit must open that person’s understanding. The Spirit is omnipresent, available to every soul, and no one can claim He never approached them. Scripture says Christ, the true light, enlightens every person coming into the world.
Les explains that before the Jewish lady in Philippi could comprehend the things spoken by Paul, the Lord had to open her heart in the person of the Holy Spirit. That has never changed. Every person who comes to a saving knowledge of the gospel must have their understanding opened by a work of the Holy Spirit, and that work is there for everyone. No one can say the Holy Spirit never approached them, because He is omnipresent, everywhere, and does not miss a soul. Les connects this to John 1:9, where John writes that the true light lighteth every man that cometh into the world, which happens through the omnipresent work of the Holy Spirit. He also notes that no one will stand before the Great White Throne and say, “I never had a chance,” because the Bible says they will not.