The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum Babies, toddlers and the mentally retarded

They are decidedly mutually exclusive yet inseparable.

1) Regeneration (narrowly defined) is that act of God by which the principle of the new life (new birth) is implanted in man, and the governing disposition of the soul is made holy, and the first holy exercise of this new disposition is secured. In short it is the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit whereby the natural hatred of God which all men are born with which produces their inability to love God and His commandments (total depravity) is, in principle, eradicated and a new nature is created which is prone to love God and all that is good.

See more here:
The Nature, Causes and Means of Regeneration, by John Owen
Regeneration or the New Birth, by A.W. Pink
The New Genesis: The Holy Spirit and Regeneration, by R.C. Sproul
Regeneration and Conversion, by Samuel Hopkins

2) Justification is the judicial pronouncement of God upon a sinner who has repented of his/her sins and believes upon the Lord Christ, in regard to His person and atoning work.

See more here:
Sola Fide - Justification by Faith

Yes, you are misunderstanding what the "inward call" is. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Before regeneration, no one has any real interest whatsoever in God, Christ or salvation, never mind seeing themselves as a filthy sinner who stands guilty before God and is liable to judgment. In regeneration, see above, the new nature is created within the soul, the fruit of which is conviction of sin, desire for reconciliation God, recognition of the all sufficiency and loveliness of Christ and a hunger after righteousness. This result of regeneration is called, "conversion", i.e., the expressed sentiments of the new heart created in regeneration. Conversion will immediately and infallibly follow regeneration. The "inward call" (aka: irresistible grace) is most always connected to an "outward call"; e.g., the preaching/reading of the Gospel (Scriptures) through which the Holy Spirit works within.

See more here:
Irresistible Grace, by John Murray
Efficacious Grace, by Loraine Boettner
The Call that Brings a Response, by Paul Helm

What I believe you need to grasp is that "normally", God uses outward means to regenerate, call, justify and sanctify the elect. These are applicable to those who are physically and mentally capable of apprehending them. Yet, what actually brings salvation is the sovereign spiritual (invisible) work of the Holy Spirit in the elect's soul, which "normally" is expressed outwardly and visibly. However, when regeneration occurs, the natural and infallible response of the new nature is a reaching out to God. The fact that it may not be perceptible does not negate its reality. In the case of an unborn infant, whom God has determined to call to Himself from the womb, the Holy Spirit works the same regeneration, i.e., creating a new nature, which is irresistibly drawn to God by design. That reaching out to God in an adult, for example, is always perceptible and it is called, "repentance" and "belief". But the impetus behind those outward expressions is that new nature. Beyond that, that is how the soul of an unborn infant or mentally retarded individual who is of the elect takes hold of Christ is something which I am not privy to.

As for providing Scripture for all this, I would point you to all the texts which speak of the very design and purpose of regeneration, i.e., to reconcile a sinner to God through a union with Christ. Since God has ordained the salvation of the elect and likewise ordained the means of calling and justifying them, ALL such are infallibly saved.

Well, I hope the above fares better at clearing things up a little for you. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

In His Grace,