Is It Possible to Be So Trained from Childhood Up that a "New Birth" Is Unnecessary?

We believe that Christ's statement, "Ye must be born again," applies to every human being. The most carefully trained child needs it. It is true that there are many so good by nature and training, that they pass through the process almost unconsciously. They do not go through the sorrow and anxiety and distress that precede conversion in the case of people who have led openly wicked lives. They come to God as to a Father, and having learned to love him from their earliest years, they are changed imperceptibly into his image. But, none the less, the change takes place, and the child yields itself by a definite act to Christ as a Saviour. These are beautiful characters, and they have reason to thank God for giving them parents so good and wise. They are, however, very rare. The best trained child is often conscious of having lied, or committed other sins which need to be forgiven, and of having a nature that is prone to sin, which needs to be changed by the Holy Spirit.

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