How can a sinful heart be changed to receive the gospel?

The transformation from a sinful heart to one that can receive the gospel is entirely a work of God. As indicated in Ezekiel 11:19, God promises to take away the stony heart and give a new heart of flesh, allowing individuals to follow His statutes. This divine intervention is necessary because, by nature, our hearts are 'desperately wicked' (Jeremiah 17:9), incapable of understanding or accepting God's truth. Only through God's sovereign grace can a person receive a clean heart that genuinely listens to and embraces the gospel, leading to true faith and spiritual fruitfulness.