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Authors: Derek Prince
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verse:
[God] saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:5 nasb)
The process of salvation embraces three activities: “washing,” “regeneration,” and “renewing.”
1. Washing
First comes “washing,” or cleansing, from the defilement of sin. We are inwardly dirty, and we need to be cleansed. There is only one element that can purify the sinner—the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1 John 1:7, the apostle John declared that it is the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, that purifies us from our sin.
John told us how we can receive this cleansing: “If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 nasb). Please notice that God does not merely forgive our past. That fact, in itself, is wonderful. But He also cleanses us from all the defilement of sin.
2. Regeneration
The second phase of the salvation process is “regeneration,” or rebirth. Jesus spoke these very familiar words to Nicodemus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3 nasb).
An alternate translation for “born again” is “born from above.” Regeneration is a birth that comes from God’s realm above. Jesus also said , “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6 nasb). When you were born of your mother, it was a birth that involved your physical body and your fleshly nature. However, that is not the birth that brings you into salvation. Salvation comes through a birth of the Spirit—the Holy Spirit. By that birth, we receive a totally new life that is born into us by the Spirit of God from above. This is the meaning of regeneration, or rebirth.
3. Renewing
The final phrase of the salvation process is “renewing.” In Christ, we become a “new creation.” Paul wrote, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The word “creation” is important because the only One who creates is God. Humans can manufacture, repair, or refine, but we cannot create. Yet a new creation is what we need. Our heart and inner being have been so defiled and distorted by the effects of sin that simply repairing them or patching them up would be ineffective. Only a new creation is adequate for God’s purpose.
After King David had not only fallen into adultery but also committed a murder to cover it up, he was confronted by the prophet Nathan about the awful condition of his own heart. In Psalm 51:10, he cried out to God in agony, “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (nasb). He knew that a truly clean heart must come from God, the Creator; no human process could bring that about.
In these three aspects of the salvation process—cleansing, rebirth, and a new creation—God does something that human beings absolutely cannot do. All this is God’s mercy, not His justice. He applies salvation, not according to the deeds of righteousness that we have done, but according to His sovereign mercy.
Only a new creation is adequate for God’s purpose.
Salvation Brings Decisive Transitions
This salvation we are speaking of brings about decisive transitions in a person’s life. The first is a transition “from death to life” :
[Jesus said,] “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24)
Salvation is the crossing over from death into eternal life.
Second, salvation is a transition from darkness to light . Paul wrote, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8).
Third, salvation is a transition from being a child of wrath to being a child of God . Paul said, “Among them [ “the sons
[God] saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:5 nasb)
The process of salvation embraces three activities: “washing,” “regeneration,” and “renewing.”
1. Washing
First comes “washing,” or cleansing, from the defilement of sin. We are inwardly dirty, and we need to be cleansed. There is only one element that can purify the sinner—the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1 John 1:7, the apostle John declared that it is the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, that purifies us from our sin.
John told us how we can receive this cleansing: “If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 nasb). Please notice that God does not merely forgive our past. That fact, in itself, is wonderful. But He also cleanses us from all the defilement of sin.
2. Regeneration
The second phase of the salvation process is “regeneration,” or rebirth. Jesus spoke these very familiar words to Nicodemus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3 nasb).
An alternate translation for “born again” is “born from above.” Regeneration is a birth that comes from God’s realm above. Jesus also said , “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6 nasb). When you were born of your mother, it was a birth that involved your physical body and your fleshly nature. However, that is not the birth that brings you into salvation. Salvation comes through a birth of the Spirit—the Holy Spirit. By that birth, we receive a totally new life that is born into us by the Spirit of God from above. This is the meaning of regeneration, or rebirth.
3. Renewing
The final phrase of the salvation process is “renewing.” In Christ, we become a “new creation.” Paul wrote, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The word “creation” is important because the only One who creates is God. Humans can manufacture, repair, or refine, but we cannot create. Yet a new creation is what we need. Our heart and inner being have been so defiled and distorted by the effects of sin that simply repairing them or patching them up would be ineffective. Only a new creation is adequate for God’s purpose.
After King David had not only fallen into adultery but also committed a murder to cover it up, he was confronted by the prophet Nathan about the awful condition of his own heart. In Psalm 51:10, he cried out to God in agony, “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (nasb). He knew that a truly clean heart must come from God, the Creator; no human process could bring that about.
In these three aspects of the salvation process—cleansing, rebirth, and a new creation—God does something that human beings absolutely cannot do. All this is God’s mercy, not His justice. He applies salvation, not according to the deeds of righteousness that we have done, but according to His sovereign mercy.
Only a new creation is adequate for God’s purpose.
Salvation Brings Decisive Transitions
This salvation we are speaking of brings about decisive transitions in a person’s life. The first is a transition “from death to life” :
[Jesus said,] “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24)
Salvation is the crossing over from death into eternal life.
Second, salvation is a transition from darkness to light . Paul wrote, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8).
Third, salvation is a transition from being a child of wrath to being a child of God . Paul said, “Among them [ “the sons
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