God is the first to draw sinners to Himself; He does this via the work of His Holy Spirit. According to John 6:44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me draws him.” When a sinner responds to the Holy Spirit’s call to repentance, it results in the development of saving faith in that individual. That is, trust in the unmistakable biblical truths that [Christ] died on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day. God’s righteousness is attributed to us via faith in these redeeming events (Romans 4:24–25; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
Believing with the heart
There is a significant distinction between recognizing the aforementioned truths logically and believing from the heart. Choosing to believe from the heart is a personal choice. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock,” declares God. I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me, if anyone hears My voice and unlocks the door (Revelation 3:20). Here, the gospel is individually communicated to every man who has heard it and allows His heart to open to the Lord. Furthermore, the Lord extends an invitation to come to Him in John 6:37 by promising that “whoever comes to Me, I will never cast out.”
Change your mind
The call to give Him access to our hearts is repeatedly recorded in the Bible. Paul often calls for this. In Acts 20:21 he says: “(…) I have testified both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ“.
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word repentance means ‘turn around’ or ‘return’. A Greek word used for this purpose in the New Testament literally means ‘to change your mind’. Repentance therefore means that our own way of thinking, our own opinion, our own will has ended. We have made the decision to live according to God’s will. But then it can happen that we are indeed willing to do all of God’s will, except at one point. Our heart is then divided within, which the enemy will use. We will therefore not experience real rest and peace.
Experience peace
However, Jesus promises that we shall feel peace if we have an undivided heart. In Matthew 11:30, he declares, “My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Jesus’ weight and yoke were to carry out His Father’s will. So let us willingly and completely submit to God’s will, with an unwavering heart.
