"NOT BY WHAT WE'VE DONE" (An Article by Christian Henry) ~ 11/27/25

“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; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”  (Titus 3:5-7)

Titus was a Greek follower of Jesus and a trusted acquaintance of the Apostle Paul, having provided aid during past crises. Paul had assigned Titus the task of going to Crete to restore order in the church. Cretan culture was notorious in the ancient world for its treachery and greed. Most men served as mercenary soldiers, while the island’s cities were known to be unsafe and plagued by evil. In short, Crete was crawling with corruption.

But the island also served as a hub for cities from across the Mediterranean Sea due to its large harbors. So, from Paul’s perspective, it was the perfect place to start a network of churches. While we don’t know the exact details, we do learn within this letter that these churches had come under the destructive influence of corrupt Cretan leaders. Paul asked Titus to set things straight and remind the people what is right.

In verse 5 Paul says, "...according to his mercy he saved us” which spells out that God and His great compassion are the sole sources of salvation, an oft-repeated theme throughout Paul’s writings. Salvation is not something we can ever hope to accomplish through our own deeds. It comes only from God, and only through His mercy.

The "washing of regeneration" refers to the spiritual cleansing which takes place when a person accepts Christ in salvation. At that moment, a person's life is "regenerated," or "made new." The Holy Spirit renews our lives when we come to faith in Christ. This regeneration can only come from the shedding of Jesus’ blood on the cross which washed us, made us a new humanity, cleared our record, and made us co-heirs with Christ.

This section presents a word-picture of people cleansed by God. It emphasizes the involvement of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is a good example of a passage which is meant to convey a general idea, one of redemption. The text is written to give us a poetic explanation of salvation as a work of God in our lives, one as important for Titus to spread in Crete as it is for us today. Our salvation won’t come from ourselves or a member of our family; God’s amazing grace is the only source.