The same Bible that commands man to repent and believe also declares that man is utterly incapable of doing either apart from divine mercy. Scripture does not contradict itself... it exposes our helplessness.
God’s call to repent reveals His standard; our inability to respond reveals our condition. We are not sick in sin but dead in it. “You were dead in trespasses and sins... but God, being rich in mercy, made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:1–5).
The command shows what God requires. The cross shows what God provides. Salvation is not man reaching for God but God raising the dead.
When reading, hearing, or even thinking about what the Bible says, never draw a line directly to yourself. That will mess you up.
Draw the line to Jesus and see yourself in him.
All of the promises find their “Yes” in Jesus (2 Cor 1:20). They are “No” outside.