To be saved, does a person need to ask God to come into their heart or does God alone determine who is saved? I realize he is the one doing the saving and not me.

Salvation begins with God, but the Bible also teaches that a person must respond to Him in faith.

God is the One who takes the initiative. He draws people to Christ (John 6:44), convicts through the Holy Spirit (John 16:8), and offers salvation by grace. We cannot save ourselves by good works or by simply saying the right words.

At the same time, Scripture repeatedly calls people to repent, believe, and receive Christ. Acts 16:31 says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:9–10 speaks of believing in the heart and confessing Christ. Revelation 3:20 uses the picture of Christ standing at the door and knocking, with the person invited to open the door.

So “asking Jesus into your heart” can be a sincere way of expressing faith, but those exact words are not a biblical formula that automatically saves someone. What matters is genuine repentance, faith in Christ, and surrender to Him.

The Bible does not present salvation as God arbitrarily choosing some people while giving others no real opportunity to respond. God “will have all men to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4), and Christ died for the world (John 3:16).

So the balance is: God provides salvation and draws us to Himself, but we are called to respond freely with faith and repentance. We are saved by grace through faith, not by earning salvation and not by merely repeating a phrase.