Titus 3:5-7
KJV: 5 “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;
6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
This passage is not cited by Apostolics nearly as much as it should be. And, it is rarely, if ever, cited by non-Apostolics, though verse 7 contains one of their favorite theological subjects, namely, justification. The reason non-Apostolics avoid it is because verse 5 indicates baptismal regeneration, which they fiercely oppose. I think the reason Apostolics don’t use it often or effectively is because, though they see the clear connection to John 3:5 and Acts 2:38 in verse 5, they are sometimes not fluent in theological renderings of the plan of salvation.
Let’s consider what is declared in this short, but powerful, passage.
Verse 5
1/ God saved us according to His mercy.
He wasn’t compelled by any righteousness on our part. He is the initiator of salvation, or, as the Bible says in another place, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).
2/ Paul tells how God saved us.
He saved us by washing away our sins and filling us with His Spirit. Paul literally referenced the tenets of salvation that regenerate and renew us, namely, baptism in Jesus’ name for the remission of sins and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. Regeneration was a theme in Paul’s epistles (1Corinthians 6:9-11; 2Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:22-24). Of course, it was Jesus Who first told us about being born again, and He said the elements involve water and Spirit (John 3:5).
Verse 6
3/ God poured out His Spirit on us abundantly.
This was the promise Peter quoted from Joel 2:28-29 on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:17-18). It is also what Jesus foretold regarding the Spirit (John 4:14-15; 7:37-39) and, previous to that, what John the Baptist had said awaited believers in the Christian era (Matthew 3:11).
Verse 7
4/ The described process of regenerative washing and renewing in the Holy Ghost is here theologically referred to as justification by grace.
This is clear in the King James Version, but even clearer in more modern translations, such as the Amplified and the NIV.
AMPC: Verse 7 [And He did it in order] that we might be justified by His grace (by His favor, wholly undeserved), [that we might be acknowledged and counted as conformed to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action], and that we might become heirs of eternal life according to [our] hope.
NIV: Verse 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
Verse 7 proves that Paul was not advocating a Gospel of mere faith in Christ apart from the saving tenets of baptism in Jesus’ name and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. In this brief, but powerful context, he makes it plain that the John 3:5/Acts 2:38 experience of salvation is justification by faith/grace.
Paul in actual experience
Because Paul dominates the writing of the New Testament, he gives us more theology than any other writer. He is the sole user of the expression, justification, in the Christian era. Remember that the reason Paul is covered so well in the book of Acts is so that we can understand his theology in the epistles. His own conversion experience involved baptism in Jesus’ name and the infilling of the Holy Ghost (Acts 9; 22:16), both of which had been preached since the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). We see Paul’s emphasis of Acts 2:38 in the dramatic re-baptism of believers in Acts 19:1-6. And, in addition, we have Luke’s account of Paul preaching in the synagogue of the Jews at Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13). After enumerating a bit of Israel’s history, he showed that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of their suffering Messiah (v.37). Then he bursted into the result of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, namely, the remission/forgiveness of sins (same Greek word), which results in justification (verses 39-40). He said, ”Through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins”. That had been the Christian Gospel message since the Day of Pentecost when Peter preached baptism in Jesus’ name for the remission of sins as directed by Jesus in the Great Commission (Acts 2:38; Luke 24:47). Justification involves remission of sins. And, it is the result of faith in Christ (Mark 16:15-16).
(Another theological rendering of salvation means by Paul is in 1Corinthians 6:9-11, where justification is couched in similar terms involving baptism and the Holy Ghost.)
Conclusion
Titus 3:5-7 illuminates Paul’s theological concept of justification by faith. Whether Paul expressed Christian salvation in his epistles as justification by faith (Romans 5:1), justification by grace (Romans 3:24; Titus 3:7), or justification by Christ’s blood (Romans 5:9), the tenets through which salvation comes are baptism in Jesus’ name and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. Jesus ordained it so and it was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him (Hebrews 2:1-3).
Following the logic
If you follow the rationale of those who think justification by faith simply means that mere faith is all that is necessary for salvation, then what is to be inferred from Paul’s theological expressions, justification by grace or justification by Christ’s blood? If justification by faith means mere faith is the tenet of salvation, then justification by grace would have to mean that not even faith is required. The mere grace of God would save apart from anything else. And justification by Christ’s blood, likewise, would require no faith, or even knowledge of God at all, since His blood was shed for all mankind (1John 2:2). On that basis, no one could be lost under any circumstances.
But, since those conclusions are not sound, the theological statements of Paul must be qualified. The simplest and most accurate way to interpret them is from the wider perspective of the New Testament involving the Great Commission and the book of Acts. The Great Commission, which drives Christian evangelism, specifies the need for faith in Christ and prescribes tenets involving baptism and the Holy Ghost. The book of Acts contains all the examples of Christian salvation in the Bible and shows where thousands of people were baptized in Jesus’ name and filled with the Holy Ghost, including Paul himself (Acts 2,8,9,10,19,22). These, therefore, refute the false notion that any of Paul’s theological expressions regarding justification are literally prescriptive. They are non tenet-specific and must be interpreted in the light of the Great Commission and actual salvation experience witnessed in Acts. That is sound hermeneutics.