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Titus 3:5
Salvation by Mercy
Titus 3:5
not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
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Why it is worth knowing
- Salvation is grounded entirely in God’s mercy, not our righteousness
- “Washing of regeneration”: conversion is a thorough cleansing and new beginning
- “Renewing by the Holy Spirit”: the Spirit is the agent of the inner transformation
- The negative and positive are both stated: not our works, but his mercy
Where it sits: Titus 3:4-7
But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared, not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Hear the passage it sits in, sung word for word, on BibleDo's Titus page.
Background
This passage in Titus is often called one of Paul’s most compact summaries of the gospel. The contrast is total: our works versus God’s mercy. The “washing of regeneration” (palingenesia) refers to the complete renewal that occurs in the new birth, not just moral improvement but a radical re-creation of the inner person. The Spirit is the agent of this washing, poured out “richly”, not sparingly. The end goal is heirship: we become legal heirs to eternal life. This verse bridges justification (right standing before God) and regeneration (transformation by the Spirit) as inseparable aspects of salvation.