Yes — the first step in the plan of salvation is to believe what God says about you: that you are a sinner who has come short of His glory.
Les Feldick teaches that Romans 3:23 is the very first step of faith on the road to salvation. A person must agree with God that he is a lost child of Adam before he can truly believe in Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. Until a person recognizes his need, the rest of the gospel does not take root.
Romans 3:23 — This verse directly states the universal condition of sin — all have sinned and come short of God's glory — which Les identifies as the first step of faith.
In Romans 3:23 the Bible declares, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." This is a sweeping statement that every person who has ever been born into the human race has fallen short of God's own standard of glory. The very next verse, Romans 3:24, provides the answer to that guilt: "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." So Scripture first shows the universal problem — all are sinners — and then reveals the freely offered remedy — justification by grace through Christ's redemption.
Les Feldick repeatedly teaches that the first step in the plan of salvation is not a work, not a decision to be better, and not a mere intellectual nod. It is believing what God says about you: "I'm a sinner." He calls this "the first step of faith" and connects it directly to Romans 3:23. Les explains that the Holy Spirit begins a work in the heart of an individual and makes the person aware that he is a sinner. Spiritually dead people cannot even believe anything until the Holy Spirit lights a spark. Once a person takes God at His Word about himself — that he is a lost child of Adam, short of God's glory — he is ready to see the righteousness of God without the law and to believe in Christ's finished work. Les insists this is not "easy believism." A person must genuinely understand, with all his being, that he is lost and that Christ died for him. Only then does God make that person a child of His and put him into the body of Christ.
Les teaches that many people assume they are good enough for heaven, but good people will be lost if they never take the first step of realizing they are sinners. He says the Roman road starts at Romans 3:23: all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. This is what God says about me — "I'm not as good as I think I am." Until a person agrees with God that he is a sinner, he has no reason to seek a Savior.
According to Les, spiritually dead people cannot even believe anything. The Holy Spirit must begin a work within the heart of the human being and light a spark within an individual. The first thing the Holy Spirit makes a person aware of is that he is a sinner. This awakening may take time, but it is the necessary beginning of the salvation process.
Once a person believes what God says about himself, Les points to the flip side: "the righteousness of God without the law is manifested." This is not something a person earns; it is a gift. Les cautions against easy believism, saying a person must truly understand with all his being that he is a lost child of Adam. When he genuinely believes that Christ died, shed His blood, was buried, and rose from the dead, then God makes him a child of God and places him into the body of Christ.
Plan of Salvation: Faith Alone in Christ's Death & Resurrection
The plan of salvation. My, oh, it's so simple, it's so plain, and yet it is so complex I've often said that we'll never comprehend it until we get to glory, will we? And yet it's so simple that a six -year-old can comprehend it. And we always have to begin with what I call the very first law that God gave to the human race.
Holy Spirit's First Work
Les teaches that the first thing the Holy Spirit makes a person aware of is that he is a sinner — and that Romans 3:23 is the first step of faith.
Believing God's Verdict on Yourself
Les explains that the first step of faith is to believe what God says about you: 'I'm a sinner. We're sons of Adam.' He also shows that justification is freely given.
God Begins the Work
Les teaches that spiritually dead people cannot believe anything; the Holy Spirit must light a spark within the individual before that person can come to the place of believing.
Taking God at His Word
Les says the first step in salvation is to believe that you are what the book says you are — short of the glory of God — and that faith guides the whole Christian life.
Recognizing Our Need
Les teaches that the first step in salvation is recognizing that we need something: we are sons of Adam, sinners, of a fallen race, and only then can we see the righteousness of God without the law.
Why Good People Still Need Salvation
Les calls Romans 3:23 the very first step of faith on the road to salvation; even good people must realize they are sinners before they can be saved.
Not Easy Believism
Les says a person must truly understand that he is a lost child of Adam and genuinely believe in Christ's death, burial, and resurrection — then God makes that person His child.
Romans 3:21: But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
This verse is the 'flip side' that Les points to after a person recognizes his need — the righteousness of God is revealed apart from the law.
Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
This is the foundational declaration that every person is a sinner — Les calls it the first step of faith in salvation.
Romans 3:24: Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
After declaring all have sinned, this verse shows that God freely justifies sinners through Christ's redemption.
The first step is to believe what God says about you: that you are a sinner. Les calls this taking God at His Word and the very first step of faith, based on Romans 3:23.
Les says Romans 3:23 tells every person the truth: all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Before a person can see his need for salvation, he must agree with that verse about himself.
Yes. Les teaches that until a person understands he is a lost child of Adam, he will not see his need for Christ. This is the foundational step before genuinely believing in Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.
Watch the Teaching: Plan of Salvation: Faith Alone in Christ's Death & Resurrection