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From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Dear Rev. Graham: My pastor is teaching that we can accept Christ as Savior through our intellect and she says that it does not necessarily take faith, but knowledge. Is this really true? — K.F.
A: The Bible teaches that we have two sets of eyes. Our physical eyes may have 20/20 vision, but our spiritual eyes may be blinded. The natural man does not see the things of God; they seem foolish because it takes spiritual discernment. The Bible tells us that the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not have the Lord Jesus Christ in their lives. In other words, there’s a supernatural veil over the carnal mind and the spiritual eyes. This is why a person can’t find Christ by intellect alone, for the Gospel does not make sense. The normal intellectual life is conformed to this materialistic, secular world.
This is why the cross of Jesus seems foolish to the natural man. But when a person comes by faith and repentance, and receives Christ as personal Savior and Lord, he or she will experience transformation, opening the spiritual eyes by the power of God.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works” (Ephesians 2:8-9). You see, the Bible teaches that faith is the only approach that we have to God. No one has sins forgiven, no one goes to Heaven, and no one has assurance of peace and happiness, until a person puts faith in Jesus Christ and Him alone. This faith (that God empowers) implies four things: self-renunciation, reliance with utter confidence in Christ, obedience to His word, and a changed life.
Faith may begin as a little thread, but we must act on that faith. It does not matter how big faith is, but rather, in whom we place our faith.
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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)