Lord’s Library editors offer this Titus 3:5 meaning and commentary with supporting Scriptures for your edification.
To obtain a Titus 3:5 meaning, see the verse in Scripture: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;” As one can see this verse illustrates how that salvation is entirely the work of God’s mercy and grace. This contrasts with a common misconception that one can be saved by being a ‘good person’ through righteous deeds.
The phrase “Not by works of righteousness which we have done” makes this idea clear, at least to this writer. Better yet it aligns with the teachings of Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Isaiah 64:6 further confirms that even the best efforts fall short: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
If salvation depended on your own righteousness, no one could be saved, for according to Romans 3:10: “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”
Titus 3:5 Meaning
Instead, salvation comes “according to his mercy.” According to the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary, the word mercy means “An act or exercise of mercy or favor.” Because all have sinned, every person deserves condemnation, yet God, in His mercy, provided salvation through Jesus Christ. See Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
Paul explains about it in Romans 5:8: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
The “washing of regeneration” refers to the new, spiritual birth that occurs when a person is saved. This is not referring to water baptism as commonly understood but to the inward cleansing that happens when a person places their faith in the Blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus spoke of this in John 3:3: “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.”
As the Scriptures describe it, the moment a person believes, they are made a new creation in Christ, their sins are washed away, and they receive new life. See 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
The Spirit convicts of sin, regenerates the heart, indwells the believer, and seals them for eternity. See John 16:8, John 3:5-6, 1 Corinthians 6:19, and Ephesians 1:13-14:
- John 16:8: “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:”
- John 3:5-6: “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
- 1 Corinthians 6:19: “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”
- Ephesians 1:13-14: “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
This renewal is not a process of self-improvement over time, no, but a supernatural work of God in making a sinner spiritually alive; praise God.
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