<p>3:5 <i>Not by works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to His mercy He saved us- </i>This is a warning against the tendency towards Judaism in the Cretan congregations which we noted in chapter 1. The idea was that by doing works, there was a chance of future salvation. Paul's point is that we have been saved, we are in the 'saved' status, in that every believer should be able to say that if the Lord returns now, or we die now, then by grace we shall surely be saved. Hence the significance of the past tense: &quot;He saved us&quot;. God forgives men on the basis of their <i>faith</i> in the blood of Christ, and association with it by baptism; &quot;<i>not</i> by works of righteousness, which we have done&quot; (Tit. 3:4-8). God's basis of salvation is <i>not</i> works. We must be careful not to insist on 'forsaking' sins in physical terms to the extent that we too preach justification by works. Just one sin deserves death. No amount of forsaking that sin can change that sentence. God's way of escape is for us to be in Christ, so that He looks upon us <i>as if</i> we are Christ, imputing Christ's perfect character to us. Therefore forsaking sin is not in itself the basis of salvation; rather is it faith in Christ. Of course, true faith shows itself in works. But none of us has the degree of faith which we ought to have, and therefore none of us does the amount or type of works which we should. To insist that someone shows their faith by specific works, e.g. certain changes in their marital status, is to insist that there is a direct, definable relationship between faith and the precise type of works which that faith leads to. Yet we are not so strict with ourselves. The faith and works of each of us are far from complete. Exactly because we are not saved by works but by God&rsquo;s mercy, <i>therefore</i> Paul wished to &ldquo;affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works&rdquo; (Tit. 3:5,8). In this sense, as Paul says in Romans, grace reigns as a King. It has power over every department of human life and thinking.</p><p>The grace of God guarantees our salvation. Yet we find it so hard to believe- that I, with all my doubts and fears, will really be there. Israel were warned that they were being given the land (cp. salvation) &quot;not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thy heart... for thou art a stiffnecked people&quot; (Dt. 9:5,6). These words are picked up in Tit. 3:5 and applied to the new Israel: &quot;Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing (baptism) of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit&quot;- by His grace alone. <br />The spiritual life renews (Tit. 3:5), giving us that new<i>ness </i>of life, that ongoing baptism and resurrection experience, which Rom. 6:4 promises. This way of life, as it develops, creates its own momentum for further change.</p><p><i>Through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit- </i>&quot;Washing&quot; is literally 'the laver', suggesting that through baptism we come closer into the sanctuary to offer sacrifice. It is a clear reference to how baptism saves us; not, as Peter says, by the simple ritual in itself, but because it unleashes within us the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. When Paul says that after baptism, we walk in &quot;newness of life&quot;, he has the same thought in view (Rom. 6:4). But here Paul explains the mechanism of how that works. The making new, the regeneration, is through the Holy Spirit. The only other usage of &quot;renewing&quot; is in Rom. 12:2, where we read of our being &quot;transformed by the renewing of your mind&quot;. The idea is that this renewing is being done to us; it is not an appeal to renew our own minds by our own steel willed efforts, but rather to allow the renewing process to operate. Our own steel will isn&rsquo;t enough to renew our minds; we are to allow the process enabled at baptism, the laver of regeneration, to have its work in us. This renewing is an ongoing, daily process (2 Cor. 4:16); the renewing is unto the knowledge of the image of Christ (Col. 3:10 Gk.). The purpose is to actually create the mind of Christ in us, to make us after His image; for this is what we are counted as being, and Christ through the work of the Spirit within our spirit / mind is seeking to make us like Him in reality. Romans 8 expounds this in more detail. The &ldquo;regeneration&rdquo;, or re-birthing, spoken of here has obvious connection with Jn. 3:3-5, which speaks of water baptism giving rise to a spiritual rebirth; and here Paul is filling out the details. This renewing by the Spirit comes about &ldquo;through Jesus Christ&rdquo; (:6), perhaps meaning &lsquo;on account of our baptism into Jesus Christ&rsquo;.</p><p>Baptism is a washing away of sins (cf. Acts 22:16). The descriptions of the believers as being washed from their sins in the blood of Christ therefore refers to their doing this by means of baptism (Rev. 1:5; 7:14; Tit. 3:5 NIV speak of this as &ldquo;the washing of rebirth&rdquo;, referring to our being &ldquo;born of water&rdquo; at baptism Jn. 3:5). &quot;According to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit&quot; (Tit. 3:5) connects with Christ washing the church with the water of the word (Eph. 5:26). Baptism is therefore done by Him, in a sense; His washing of us then speaks of His ongoing psychological renewal of us afterwards.</p>