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NASB | 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life]. |
Subject: why is baptism important |
Bible Note: When speaking to baptized believers, as is the case throughout the epistles, it is not always necessary to talk about the birth process which is in effect what Baptism is. The truth of Ephesians 2:8-9 cannot cancel the truth of Mark 16:16 or 1 Peter 3:21. Even more convincing, now that I think of it, is Romans 6:1-11. Note especially Rom 6:3-4 "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life." Also there are a whole string of conversion examples in Acts -- 10 cases that I know of -- that ALL include baptism but not belief, though I think belief can be assumed on the basis of the kind of people they were. Tim |