Even when I speak of the change in my heart, I must do so in the context of the objective regenerating activity of God in Christ. The chief mark of subjective regeneration is its focus on objective regeneration. Faith is the chief work of the regenerating Spirit. Nothing shows that a person is born again more than his trust in the doing and dying of Christ. This perspective has been missed in popular evangelical literature.
Much evangelicalism stresses the new birth as an instantaneous activity.
But although being born again is a definite experience with a real beginning, both the Scriptures and the Reformers emphasize the continuing nature of regeneration. Calvin rightly taught that being born again is a lifelong process. The whole world is moving toward the conclusion of the plans of God from the beginning. In an age of ecological and economic disintegration this would be a welcome emphasis in evangelicalism. We need also to hear of the coming final regenerative action of God.