The gospel message is based entirely on grace, with no conditions or exceptions. Our condition before we are saved is that we are dead in our sins, alienated from God and unable to do anything good to please Him. A dead man cannot respond to the gospel because he is cut off from God. Even if that man heard the gospel preached, even if he had a work of the Spirit in him, even if the Spirit worked good works in him, that man would be as dead to spiritual things as if he were in the grave.The only way that a man can be saved and made alive is through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was sent by Christ and, according to the will of the Father, is the source of salvation. No one on this earth can be saved unless God had determined beforehand to regenerate that person, giving them new life and raising them from the dead. It is not because of the works of righteousness that we have done, but according to His love and mercy that He has saved us.The elderly have no inclination to respond to anything outside of their self-interests. They only love what the world, the flesh, and the devil offer them. How can someone choose what is good for them spiritually if they only love themselves? If they are dead in sin and trespasses, they have no natural love for God. They must be given God's will. At the moment of salvation, God takes the old heart and will of the man and destroys them. In their place, He puts a new will. The reason God replaces the will is not because the man chooses to allow Him to, but because the old will does not respond to spiritual reasoning and illumination.