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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: what is born again? |
Bible Note: Dear Val, You know, I tend to work so hard at being precise, I end up being unclear! I apologize. I was addressing your implicit causal connection between belief and salvation. I wasn't so interested in opposing it, as I was in clearly explaining the more orthodox Christian doctrine of salvation. There is nothing inherently wrong with holding presuppositions. On the contrary, they are necessary components if we are to derive a sound hermeneutic (cf post #156917). As believers our continual job is to validate or revise our presuppositions using the light of Scripture. On the forum there is always a danger that others will view our interpretations as representing universal consensus. We can mitigate that possibility in three specific ways: (1) By clearly expressing our theological underpinnings in our profile; (2) by qualifying our assertions as based on a particular church tradition; and (3) support one another with questions, comments, and clarifications. Of course, all of that is built on the foundation of our study. First, we study the Word in our continual effort to have our minds transformed; second, we study what others have written in order to glean what the Spirit has taught others, and to be able to clearly and honestly articulate their ideas, even when we disagree; and, third, we work to improve ourselves in the expression -- in this case textual expression -- of what we have learned. I hope I've clarified things. I'm home recovering from a bit of surgery recently. That gives me a little more time to invest in answers. It is yet to be seen, though, whether that increases clarity or only verbiage! :-) In Him, Doc |