God alone is responsible for seeking and finding the sinner; no human ever seeks God on their own.
According to Les Feldick, every human is born a condemned sinner who detests the light and does not seek God. God is always the seeker, making the first move and prompting the human response. Salvation is completely God's work, from opening the heart to revealing the truth, and human initiative has no part in finding it.
John 3:19 — States that light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light, showing why no one seeks God on their own.
Acts 16:14 — Records that the Lord opened Lydia's heart, illustrating that God is the one who opens hearts to respond to the gospel.
Scripture shows that every child of Adam is already condemned before God from birth. In John's Gospel, Jesus states, "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." He further explains why people do not come to the light: "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." The Bible also reveals that it is God who opens the heart of the believer. In Acts 16, Lydia, a seller of purple, worshipped God and heard the apostle Paul speak. The account says, "And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul." The opening of her heart was the Lord's doing, not Paul's, not her own ability to understand.
Les Feldick teaches that not one member of the human race ever seeks God. He says, "No human being ever seeks God. God is always the seeker. God always makes that first move, and He is the one that prompts a human being to respond." He points to John 3 to show that every child of Adam is condemned already, and they detest the light because their deeds are evil. God is the one who does the work of salvation from start to finish. Regarding Lydia, Les emphasizes that "even the great apostle Paul, with the power that he had, could he open the hearts of those people with his preaching? No. It took the work of the Holy Spirit to open Lydia's heart, and then the words of Paul took root." Similarly, he teaches that salvation is totally the work of God and that God looks for faith alone, because if a person could do something first, salvation would no longer be by faith plus nothing. The only human part is God's ordained means of proclaiming the Word. God has ordained that human beings promote His salvation; He has left the Word in the hands of people, not angels. Yet even that human effort cannot produce salvation — only God can open the spiritual heart and eyes of the lost.
Scripture says that everyone born in Adam is already condemned and hates the light. Jesus said that men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. Les Feldick reinforces this, stating that every child of Adam detests the light and does not want it, which is why no one seeks God on their own.
God is the one who opens hearts. In Lydia's case, "whose heart the Lord opened" — not Paul's preaching alone, not her own spiritual seeking. Les explains that God must strip away the blindness caused by the god of this world, and unless He does, even believers are helpless. God must open spiritual eyes and hearts before the words of a preacher can take root.
Les is emphatic that salvation is totally the work of God. He teaches that God saves people just exactly where they are and then does the work of regeneration. If a person could clean up their life first, then it would be faith plus works, not faith plus nothing. God wants all the credit and all the glory. Human effort can never take credit for seeking or finding salvation.
God has ordained that He will use human beings to promote His salvation. He has almost always used one human instrument to lead another human to a knowledge of salvation. Les says this is why believers must learn the Scriptures and be ready to share them. We do our part by opening the Scriptures, but we cannot force anyone to believe — that takes an act of God Himself.
No Human Ever Seeks God
Les teaches that not one human being ever seeks God; God is always the seeker who makes the first move and prompts the person to respond. He grounds this in John 3:17–20, where Jesus says every child of Adam is condemned already and detests the light.
Blinded by the God of This World
Les explains that people are blinded by the devil, and unless God strips away that blindness, even believers are helpless — an act of God is required before the gospel can shine into a person's heart.
God Uses Human Messengers
Les teaches that God has ordained human beings to promote His salvation, but even so, no one finds salvation all by themselves without another human sharing the Word.
The Lord Opened Lydia's Heart
Les points out that even Paul could not open hearts with his preaching; it took the Holy Spirit to open Lydia's heart, proving salvation is God's work, not the preacher's skill or the hearer's initiative.
God Works Through Believers
Les reminds believers that God has left the Word in the hands of people, and we are to be skilled in Scripture so we can share it. Yet even our sharing does not open hearts — God does that.
God Saves Sinners Where They Are
Les teaches that God does not expect people to clean up their lives before coming to Him; rather, God saves everyone just where they are and does the work of regeneration, taking all the credit and glory.
Salvation Is Totally God's Work
Les emphasizes that God must take the sinner right where he is and perform the miracle of salvation. If the sinner does anything first, then it is no longer faith plus nothing; it is not salvation by grace alone.
Pleading for Spiritual Heart Surgery
Les contrasts Lydia's lost state with God's opening of her heart — Paul and Barnabas did not open it, the Lord did — and stresses that we must do our part but God alone opens the spiritual heart.
John 3:18: He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Shows that every person who does not believe is already condemned from birth, before any personal choice, which is why no one is in a neutral position to seek God.
John 3:19: And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Explains why people do not come to the light — they love darkness, and this is reason no one seeks God on their own.
John 3:20: For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Confirms that those who do evil hate the light and avoid coming to it, showing that no human initiative draws a person to salvation.
Acts 16:14: And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
This is the key evidence that God, not the preacher or the believer, opens the heart to respond to the gospel.
Romans 5:8: But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Shows that God acted for our salvation while we were still sinners, reversing the order of human initiative and divine work.
According to Les Feldick, not one member of the human race ever seeks God. He teaches that God is always the seeker and makes the first move to prompt a human response. Scripture confirms that men loved darkness rather than light, so no one naturally comes to the light on their own.
The Lord opened Lydia's heart. The Bible says "whose heart the Lord opened," and Les points out that even the apostle Paul could not open hearts with his preaching. It took the work of the Holy Spirit, and then Paul's words took root.
God has ordained that He will use human beings to promote His salvation. He left the Word in the hands of people, not angels. We open the Scriptures and share the Word, but we cannot force anyone to believe; God alone opens the spiritual heart.
Les Feldick teaches that salvation is totally the work of God and that all He looks for is faith. If a person does something first, then it is no longer faith plus nothing — it becomes human effort, and God will not share His glory with human works.
Watch the Teaching: Why Did Israel Reject God? Romans 10:18-21 Explained