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Now we should not make the mistake of regarding this logical order as a temporal order that
will apply in all cases. The new life is often implanted in the hearts of children long before they
are able to hear the call of the gospel; yet they are endowed with this life only where the gospel
is preached. There is, of course, always a creative call of God by which the new life is produced.
In the case of those who live under the administration of the gospel the possibility exists that
they receive the seed of regeneration long before they come to years of discretion and
therefore also long before the effectual calling penetrates to their consciousness. It is very
unlikely, however, that, being regenerated, they will live in sin for years, even after they have
come to maturity, and give no evidences at all of the new life that is in them. On the other
hand, in the case of those who do not live under the administration of the covenant, there is no
reason to assume an interval between the time of their regeneration and that of their effectual
calling. In the effectual call they at once become conscious of their renewal, and immediately
find the seed of regeneration germinating into the new life. This means that regeneration,
effective calling, and conversion all coincide.
E. THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION.
1. THIS NECESSITY IS DENIED BY MODERN LIBERAL THEOLOGY.
The necessity of regeneration,
as this is understood by the Christian Church, is naturally denied in modern liberal theology. It is
not in accord with the teaching of Rousseau, that man is by nature good. Any radical change or
complete turnabout in the life of a man who is essentially good, would be a change for the
worse. Liberals speak of salvation by character, and the only regeneration of which they know is
a regeneration conceived as “a vital step in the natural development of the spiritual life, a
radical readjustment to the moral processes of life.” (Youtz.) Many teach a series of ethical
renewals. Emerton says: “The character thus gained and proven and held fast is redemption.
There is no other worthy definition of the word. It is the redemption of man’s lower self by the
domination of his higher self. It is the spiritual redeeming the material, the divine that is in
every man redeeming the animal.”[Unitarian Thought, p. 193.]
2. IT FOLLOWS FROM WHAT SCRIPTURE TEACHES CONCERNING THE NATURAL CONDITION OF
MAN.
Holiness or conformity to the divine law is the indispensable condition of securing divine
favor, attaining peace of conscience, and enjoying fellowship with God. Heb. 12:14. Now the
condition of man by nature is, according to Scripture, both in disposition and act, exactly the
opposite of that holiness which is so indispensable. Man is described as dead through
trespasses and sins, Eph. 2:1, and this condition calls for nothing less than a restoration to life.
A radical internal change is necessary, a change by which the whole disposition of the soul is
altered.