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NASB | John 3:5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 3:5 Jesus answered, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God. [Ezek 36:25-27] |
Subject: Verses where water alone means baptism? |
Bible Note: Greetings EdB! I sincerely hope that you don't view a polite discussion as an arguement my friend! Frankly, I don't see a difference between 'earning salvation' and 'things we must do'. :-) Allow me to clarify my position. If salvation is based both upon what God has done and what I do, then I am 'earning' it. God did His part, now if I don't do my part - I'm not saved! But, if I do my part, I am saved. To me, I don't see how that can be anything but a 'work', which Eph. 2:8-9 clearly says doesn't save us. Now, you mentioned the thief on the cross. If baptism is something we 'must do' for the remission of sins, then the thief could not have been saved because he wasn't baptized. To say that he could be saved without baptism is to say that baptism isn't really required. If it isn't required for him, why is it required for anyone else? :-) Trust me my friend, I am not looking for loop holes! I am looking for grace, which is what I think the church today is missing. We no longer trust in God's grace to save us, but we look for all of the things we have to do to save ourselves. I have never met a single person who believed in salvation by grace alone who thought that it was okay to sin. Rom. 3-7 spell out why we can't live in sin. The old man is dead. Gal. 5 and Rom. 8 spell out how someone who is controlled by the Holy Spirit will live. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |