Though our salvation is predetermined, it does not just happen by some unconscious process and we wake up one day and discover we are Christian. There are actually some good Christians who think it does happen that way, and that salvation is entirely passive and as though you have been anesthetised and unaware of the operation, you wake up and discover you are born again. No, God has super-abounded towards us in all wisdom, the wisdom of the plan of salvation. The practical implementation of that wisdom is by conscious conviction, by giving us a conscious sense of our desperate need, and a deep sense and awareness of our guilt before a holy God, and by enabling us to grasp the truthfulness of the gospel, the truthfulness of the word of God. Before conversion, we so strongly doubted the gospel was true, and suspected it, even laughed at it and scorned it. But there was a great change. We came to realise this is wonderfully true; this is God’s truth. We could scarcely explain it, but its realism came home to us and we heard the call of God. ‘Come unto me,’ says the Lord, and we have heard the call of Christ and we bowed the knee and we yielded to him and responded. There was a conscious work of grace in our hearts.
And so we were justified and formally adopted and sanctified, the process of longing to please God and to improve had begun in our hearts. With our adoption and that great bath we had, Adam’s nature was subdued and Christ’s nature, or something of it, was implanted into our lives. The gift of prayer was given to us. Communion with God was realised and appreciated.