(d) Sanctification, or conversion in the ulti mate sense, which means the lifelong process of our entire and interior conformity to Christ— our perfect acquisition of the virtues which make it possible for us to enjoy Divine fellowship, and without which we cannot enter heaven.
It is to be observed that from such a point of view as 1 have outlined—the point of view of our Prayer Book—regeneration can occur but once, and constitutes the potential principle of effectual repentance and ultimate sanctification. Conver sion in its first sense may in cases be superfluous e. when the child has always possessed the general aim of serving Christ, in spite of occa sional yieldings to temptation. It may precede but does not take the place of regeneration. It needs to be followed by life-long progress in sanctification. It is instantaneous, often, but constitutes only the beginning of our use of the assistance of saving grace.
The Rt. Rev. Charles Edward Cheney, D. D., Senior Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church, treats the question in the following manner : The great body of those distinctively known as Evangelical Christians concur in regarding the new birth which is so conspicuously set forth in the New Testament, as that "creative act of the Holy Ghost, by which he imparts to the soul a new spiritual life." Even those churches which are not generally included in the term "evangelical," such as the Roman Catholic for example, would admit the substantial correctness of the definition just given. The many controversies regarding regeneration which have agitated Christendom, have therefore arisen not out of vital differences as to what the new birth is, so much as from in quiries as to when, how, and in the use of what instrumentalities, is it imparted.
(1) Protestant View in General. Among Protestants with comparatively few exceptions, the view has always predominated that in regen eration God's gracious Spirit acted upon the soul through the medium of revealed truth. No matter in what precise method that truth may have been presented, whether in parental instruc tion, the public teaching from the pulpit, the reading or hearing of the Scriptures, or even the memory of some long-forgotten but divine admonition, the Holy Ghost deigns to employ each and all of these agencies in the new creation of the moral and spiritual nature. Christ him self taught, ''The words that I speak unto you, they arc spirit, and they are life." In direct con
nection with St. John's characterization of Christ as "The Word," he adds, "To as many as re ceived Him (The Word), to them gave he power to become the sons of God." "Of his own to ill," says St. James, "begat he us with the word of truth." Writing to the Corinthian be lievers, St. Paul declares, "In Christ Jesus I have begotten you again through the Gospel." St. Peter writes to the scattered Christians to whom his first epistle is addressed, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorrupti ble, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." (2) Roman Catholic View. On the other hand, from the early days of the church—how early it would be hard to determine—a totally different theory has had its advocates and devo tees. The Church of Rome has committed itself wholly to the dogmatic proposition that Baptism is the immediate and direct instrument through which the Holy Spirit acts upon the soul. It holds that when a properly qualified functionary of the church applies water in the name of the Holy Trinity, the act becomes the vehicle by which the new creation is imparted.
(3) Anglican Views. How far the Anglican Church goes in the adoption of this idea of the Baptismal washing, is a question involving much difference of opinion. On the one hand it is universally admitted that from the Reformation down, a large portion of the clergy and laity of the English Church have been in entire accord with the prevailing Protestant and evangelical conception of the sacrament of Baptism stated above. It is to be remembered, however, that clear definition and accuracy of statement cannot be expected in any subject about which contro versy has not raged. And the hot debates of the English Reformation centered about the Lord's Supper rather than about Baptism. The Reformers' views concerning the Eucharist are sharply defined, but as Baptism was not thus 'elaborately discussed, so its effects upon the spiritual nature of the recipient were not brought out with clear-cut precision. Thus it came about that both in the Established Church of England and the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States the subject has remained unsettled, and the ministers and members of the church have been divided between the evangelical and the mechanical view of the sacrament of Baptism.