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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: blaspheme the Spirit |
Bible Note: Hello NewCreature, "Despite sins and doubts and trials and failures, if we still cling to Christ and look to Him as our only hope, that is the assurance of our salvation." You asked: "Should I take the "if" in that statement and consider it a conditional phrase?" Yes it is conditional. As long as my hope is in Christ I am assured of the genuineness of my faith. If however I were to fall away from that hope, and died in that error, it would prove that I was a false brother (one who professed faith in Christ but was not a "new creature" in Christ). In other words a "false professor". Whose responsibility is it to "cling to Christ?" It is our responsibillity, however becaue of our changed nature we will never fall so far as to be lost forever. Having experienced the grace and the presense of God we will not be able to bare seperation from Him. He will chastise us and recieve us back as did the father of the prodigal son. And is "clinging" the same thing as abiding? I see no meaningfull distinction between the two terms as they relate to our enduring unto the end. Matt 24:13 "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved." The point is that it is God within us that insures our salvation. His power not ours, His grace not our obeiance, His strength not ours, His will not our willpower, His faithfulness not our faith. There will be no bragging in heaven about what great christians we were on earth, we will joyfully cast our crowns at His feet. The NASB translation of Eph 2:10 is "would". As to your question as to how I see the relationship of works and faith: Good works are an assurance to me that God is indeed at work within in me. I give Him all the glory and thank Him for using an unprofitable servant like me to further the kingdom of God (if this sounds pious forgive me. I don't wish it to taken as false humility, but as a fact). Brother John |