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NASB | Titus 3:5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Titus 3:5 He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we have done, but because of His own compassion and mercy, by the cleansing of the new birth (spiritual transformation, regeneration) and renewing by the Holy Spirit, |
Subject: baptism regenerate? |
Bible Note: Since there's only two scriptures where this word is used, there's not a whole lot of guidance as to what exactly is meant by its use. Matt 19:28 And Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Titus 3:5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, Since, it's clear that we have to "use the Bible as Its best own Commentary," I see nothing wrong with the use of "transforming" as cited in Romans or "refining" as cited in Revelation. It does seem pretty clear from all the Bible that God does want us, His creation to come back to Him in Heaven but sin and our human, fleshly bodies prevent us from being able to do that. Now since, the devil is a spirit and believes in God, it's also clear we must do more than simply attain a spiritual status and believe in God ourselves. So once again, I say it's God's influence in our lives as His children that saves us when we actually act on our faith in Him and obey His commands. We study His Word and pray for His guidance and eventually we should see ourselves coming closer and closer to that which we see and study in God's Word. Notice Paul's words in 2 Cor 3:12 Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech-- 13unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. 14But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. 15But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. And James' words in Ja 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. So we should use God's Word to measure our lives and strive to come closer to that absolute standard of Perfection as Modeled by our Lord. Now of course, each of us is responsible for our own soul's condition and the relationship we establish with God our Father. AND since we are very definitely our brother's/sister's keeper, yes we are to love them enough to do our fruit inspecting and at least ask how they're doing in their walk with God. We SHOULD be willing to confess our faults, our weaknesses to one another, confide and pray for one another as the scriptures encourages us to do. In this way, we gain a closer fellowship with our family members AND a closer relationship with God. The overall net effect is that we're all transformed on a daily basis into better and more mature christians. Hopefully, we'll all be motivated to take as many as possible with us, hand in hand during our journey to Heaven. Do you not agree? I hope so. Blessings to you. Country Girl |