Titus 3:3-7

Titus 3:3-7, “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 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.”

The Apostle Paul in Titus 3:5 is addressing salvation and the work of the Holy Spirit to change a life. To understand Titus 3:5 it is important to include verses 3 and 4. Paul said that before we were saved we lived in woeful sin, but he says in verse 5 that we were born again (the washing of regeneration), and then the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit began to renovate (renewing of the Holy Spirit) our life.

Titus 3:5 speaks of both justification and sanctification. Having said that, it is critically important that we keep them separate. Lordship Salvation makes the gross theological error of combining sanctification (service) with justification (salvation). The truth is that one things has nothing to do with the other.

I love what Pilgrim's Progress author John Bunyan (1628-1688) said:

“If you do not put a difference between justification wrought by the man Christ without, and sanctification wrought by the Spirit of Christ within, you are not able to divide the Word aright; but contrariwise, you corrupt the Word of God, and cast stumbling blocks before the people.”