Total Depravity Requires Immediate Holy Spirit Regeneration

No desert road is too remote for the grace of God.  

It seems that most Christians believe in something other than immediate Holy Spirit regeneration. Many will suggest that the grace of eternal salvation is imparted to God's people through means - either by the gospel, or by repentance and faith, or by church membership, or by the so-called sacraments, or by water baptism, etc. Primitive Baptists have long held that the impartation of eternal life is not by any such means but rather by the direct or immediate operation of God upon a subject that is spiritually dead.  

Cornelius and Immediate Holy Spirit Regeneration

In a recent dialog with a fellow Christian regarding the "salvation" of Cornelius, I made the statement that Cornelius was already in possession of eternal life prior to Peter's preaching the gospel to him per the testimony of Acts 10:2, which prompted the following, common response:

God's Word clearly states that Cornelius was saved after He had heard Peter's proclamation of the Gospel. Your assumption that he had already been a regenerated man when Peter arrived at his home is just sheer nonsense.

To which I posted the following response: