| 1 John 2:6 6 He who says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way that He walked. [We must be righteous as He is righteous, 1 John 3:7. We must be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect, Mat 5:48. We must be merciful as He is merciful, Luke 6:36. We must become pure as He is pure. 1 John 3:2-3. But as he who has called you is holy, so you be holy in all manner of conduct, 1 Pet 1:15. So that we walk as he walked, 1 John 2:6, and as he is, so are we in this present world. 1 John 4:17. There is no flexibility and no equivocation in any of these stated requirements.] | Colossians 2:6 6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, | Romans 6:4 4 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death; so as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. [Like the resurrection of Lazarus, after you undergo the baptism of death, the Lord calls you by name to "come forth" and be raised with Him into a newness of life in the kingdom, but to still walk the earth with Christ guiding your every word and deed. Burial, baptism into death, being raised with Him, and newness of life are not to be imagined, assumed, presumed, or thought to be imputed: Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Cor 5:17. In regard to the baptism of death before newness of life, the Word of the Lord within spoke: "There is a dying. One actually dies to enter the camp. You are raised to a new life, not just an imitation; He is one with us and ever-present. These are not paths of glory traveled lightly. The new life is as radically different as a man who has lived underground his whole life, suddenly coming above ground to see the sun, the sky, the plants, the animals, the wind, the stars." For detail on the baptism of fire and death, see the footnote to Matthew 3:11-12 on this site.] | |||||||