John 3:3-5 Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.… How foolish and ignorant we should deem an artificer who, having taken a piece of iron, should melt and mould, file and polish it, and then imagine that it has become gold. It shines, it is true, but is its brilliancy a proof that it is no longer iron? And does not God require pure and refined gold, that is to say, a perfect righteousness and a perfect holiness! Say, ye sages of this world, shall any metal but that of the sanctuary find currency in heaven? Or shall God mistake what is false for what is genuine, and shall He confound the hypocritical outward show of human morality with that everlasting life which partakes of His own nature, and which the Holy Spirit alone implants within the soul which He has new created? Parallel Verses KJV: Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. |
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