New International Reader's Version

2 Corinthians 5:16-20 New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

16. So from now on we don't look at anyone the way the world does. At one time we looked at Christ in that way. But we don't anymore.

17. Anyone who believes in Christ is a new creation. The old is gone! The new has come!

18. It is all from God. He brought us back to himself through Christ's death on the cross. And he has given us the task of bringing others back to him through Christ.

19. God was bringing the world back to himself through Christ. He did not hold people's sins against them. God has trusted us with the message that people may be brought back to him.

20. So we are Christ's official messengers. It is as if God were making his appeal through us. Here is what Christ wants us to beg you to do. Come back to God!