Most
Americans of a Christian persuasion believe that baptism has little
to nothing to do with the grace of God. One wonders have they never
read Titus 3:4-7? The truth about God’s grace and its relationship
with baptism is clearly set forth in Paul’s passage to Titus which
reads as follows:
"But
when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to
his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and
renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by his
grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
(Titus
3:4-7 NKJV)
I encourage the reader to compare this
passage, as rendered in the New King James Version just quoted, with
its rendering in other reliable translations such as the English
Standard Version and the New American Standard Version. It would
also be good to read it from the New International Version. It is
always good to read a passage from more than one translation to make
sure you understand what is being said.
What does the
passage teach? It teaches what it says. We are saved by God’s
mercy, and we are justified by his grace. To be saved is to be
justified. If you are not justified, you are not saved. But is that
all the passage says and teaches? No!
It teaches when God
saves us by his mercy or grace, whichever term you wish to use, he
uses means to do so. What means? Well, what does the text say? It
says, "Through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the
Holy Spirit." (NKJV) The washing of regeneration is baptism.
The word "regenerate" is defined,
according to my little paperback Merriam
Webster Dictionary,
1994,
"1: formed or created again 2: spiritually reborn or
converted." Since that is its meaning the New International
Version phrases it, "the washing of rebirth and renewal by the
Holy Spirit."
One who knows the scriptures
immediately calls to mind the words of Jesus in John 3. Jesus says,
"Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
(John 3:3 NKJV) He says, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless
one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God." (John 3:5 NKJV) What Paul taught in Titus 3:4-7 Jesus had
already taught in John 3:3-5.
The word washed or washing
is a reference to baptism. Paul says to the Corinthians, after
listing a group of sins that people get caught up in, "And
such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified,
but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the
Spirit of God." (1 Cor. 6:11 NKJV) How were they justified?
Read Titus 3:4-7 again and you will be told.
How
did Jesus cleanse the church at Ephesus? "That he might
sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word."
(Eph. 5:26 NKJV) The washing is done with water. It is baptism.
Ananias told Saul, soon to be Paul, "And now why are you
waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on
the name of the Lord." (Acts 22:16 NKJV) The washing was done
in baptism.
The writer of the book of Hebrews encourages
Christians in saying, "Let us draw near with a true heart in
full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." (Heb. 10:22
NKJV) The washing is with water; the washing is baptism.
Now
back to our original text in Titus-- Titus 3:4-7. Certainly, Paul
teaches we are saved by God’s mercy, by his grace, for he very
clearly states that, but if we will be honest, he just as clearly
states that he saves by grace using means, and that means is "the
washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit." The
English Standard Version and the New American Standard Version both
say, “by the washing of regeneration” (Titus 3:5 ESV) rather than
“through” which the NKJV uses. It is all one and the same.
When does God’s grace save? How does it save? Paul
tells us in Titus but people would rather rely on their traditional
interpretations than on plain statements of scripture and as long as
that is the case little can be done. Part of the problem is when
people think of grace they too often have in their mind one thought
only--that salvation is all God’s doing and absolutely none of our
doing. It is basically unconditional on man’s part. My mind
cannot read the Bible and conjure up any such line of reasoning.
Noah is a case in point.
Noah found grace in God’s eyes
(Gen. 6:8) and was saved from drowning in the flood, but Noah had
something to do on his part to be saved. There was an ark to be
built. Was Noah saved by works? Just because God gives man
something to do in order to be saved does not mean the thing required
of him is a work that merits or earns salvation.
Noah
had to build an ark to be saved because God required it, but it was
not wood and pitch in the form of a ship and hard work that saved
him. Surely, we can see that. It was the grace of God that built
the ark, then floated it, kept it from sinking, and then finally
brought it safely to rest. It was God’s grace that told Noah
beforehand what was coming, the flood, and how to save himself.
God’s grace saved Noah, but not without effort on Noah’s part.
That effort consisted of believing and obeying. It is the same for
you and me today.
If you can ever find a passage in the
Bible, Old Testament or New Testament, which teaches or shows that
any man was ever saved or could be saved by works apart from God’s
grace please forward the passage to me. The fact that God gives you
something to do to be saved does not mean that by complying with that
act you no longer need God for you have worked (earned) your way to
heaven.
Paul says in Titus that we are saved "not by
works of righteousness which we have done" (Titus 3:5 NKJV) and
yet in the very same verse we read it is "by the washing of
regeneration …" (Titus 3:5 ESV). Anyone who can add two plus
two and come up with four can clearly see then that in
God’s eyes baptism is not a work of righteousness which we have
done that merits salvation by works,
and yet that is one of the arguments men make time and time again
against baptism. They say baptism is salvation by works and they
thus contradict Paul in Titus.
Baptism is as much a part
of God’s grace for us today as was Noah’s ark building. "By
faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in
reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By
this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness
that comes by faith." (Heb. 11:7 ESV) Noah had found grace in
God’s eyes. (Gen. 6:8)
Now, let us say I want to become
"an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith" just
like Noah. Do you suppose there is anything for me to do? How about
the washing of regeneration? Just as God’s grace led Noah to build
an ark because of God’s word, God’s grace should lead us to be
baptized because of God’s word. In fact, the word of God is
referred to twice in the New Testament as "the word of his
grace." (Acts 14:3 and Acts 20:32) There is a reason for
calling his word that. Grace is found in God’s words of
instruction for man. God was under no obligation to save Noah or to
save you or me. He was under no obligation to tell Noah what he
needed to do to be saved and he was under no obligation to you and me
to tell us the way of salvation.
I hope you did take
special note in your reading of the Titus 3:5 passage that Paul says
"he saved us." When we submit to baptism it is not us
saving ourselves by our own power or by our own works. Without God
baptism means nothing. Noah built the ark, but he most certainly did
not save himself apart from God. God could have sunk the ark at any
point in time even after it floated. You and I are baptized, but that
does not mean we saved ourselves. It would take a fool to believe
that.
One of the things I do is a little substitute
teaching in a high school of about 1100 students. Sometime back, I
was subbing in a World History class and was thumbing through the
textbook while the kids were otherwise occupied. I was a social
studies major in college and enjoy history. Quite by chance, one of
the pages that opened up had a few paragraphs dealing with
Christianity. I was amazed to find the following statement that I am
going to quote here: "Christians believed that through the rite
of baptism their sins were forgiven by the grace of God." This
had reference to the early years of Christianity.
The
quote was taken from the textbook World
History
by Prentice Hall, written by Elisabeth Gaynor Ellis and Anthony
Esler, page 170, for high school classes. The year the book was put
out was 2010. The reference was to the time of the establishment of the
church in the first century. That is all I have taught in this
article and that is what Paul taught in Titus to all who will open
their eyes just a little bit.
With that, I am going to
bring this article to a close. I have taught the truth for I only
told you what Paul said in Titus. He said it; I repeated it.
(If the reader should wonder why I did not discuss the latter half of the passage in Titus relating to the "renewing by the Holy Spirit" the answer is because men do not dispute that part of the passage. That is not where the battle rages. We all agree the renewing of the Holy Spirit is essential. I also add that this article was written originally years ago even though I am just now posting it. It was revised but very little.)
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