Proof Text #6
"At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3: 3-7 NIV)
What is the relationship between the various terms "saved," "washing of rebirth" ('regeneration' KJV), "justified," "become heirs," "poured" upon by the Spirit?
The Time Before Salvation
Notice how the unsaved state is described in the above inspired words. The saved state is opposite to the unsaved state. Therefore to know what are the essential characteristics of the one will help us discern those of the other. There are three time periods in the above passage. There is the time of salvation and the time before and after it.
As the unsaved state was characterized by being "foolish" so the saved state is a being wise. The unsaved state is a state of disobedience but a saved state is one of obedience. The unsaved state is a state of deception but the saved state is one of enlightenment. The unsaved man is "enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures" but the saved man is liberated from them and is rather a slave to the Spirit. The unsaved man "lives in malice and envy" and emanates hate, but the saved man does not. It is obvious that salvation involved changing these things about a lost person. This is what happens in repentance and conversion. The time of conversion is the demarcation point between death in sin and life in Christ. It is the point of the "about face" as respects the direction and course of a man's life.
"He saved us" from the lifestyle of sin, from sin's slavery and depravity. The apostle expresses this as a completed action of the past. That does not mean that there is not an ongoing salvation, or a "being saved." The Hardshell idea about the salvation of this text is that it does not involve itself in saving the man from foolishness, deception, slavery, and a degenerative state. To them such a salvation is a mere "time salvation," a salvation not necessary for final salvation. But, the salvation of this text speaks about what happens in the time of regeneration and yet it is in "time salvation" or conversion language.
Being regenerated cannot be divorced from being converted. In fact, in the new testament, as nearly all acknowledge, references to being quickened, born again, regenerated, and other words denoting the same thing, are references to the believer's conversion. The salvation of this text is connected with regeneration, conversion, repentance (turning around), cleansing, reconciliation, and justification. We must see what characterizes life "after that," as well as before that. A regeneration that does not involve conversion and a turning around is not biblical regeneration.
Paul says "after that the kindness of love of God toward man appeared." (KJV) "The kindness" (ἡ χρηστότης" - chrēstotēs) and (καὶ) "the love for man" (ἡ φιλανθρωπία - philanthrōpia) appeared when Christ appeared and died upon the cross for the sins of men. But, it appears personally and individually when the sinner believes in Christ. Every believer can truthfully say that the kindness of love of God appeared to him in his salvation.
Now, let us focus on the words "that being justified by his grace we may become heirs."
"Being justified" (kjv) is not the best translation. The Greek aorist tense is here used and thus should be translated as "having been justified" and many other English translations so render it. Vincent's Word Studies says "Being justified (δικαιωθέντες). In Pastorals only here and 1 Timothy 3:16 (note). See Introd. VI. Justification is conceived as taking place before the outpouring of the Spirit." So the NIV: "so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."
The tense of all the verbal forms in the passage (ἐπεφάνη, ἐποιήσαμεν, ἐξέχεεν, δικαιωθέντες, γενηθῶμεν) are aorist ("saved us," "appeared," "have done," "poured out," "justified," "we should become"). Therefore, based upon the tenses alone one cannot assert that one thing preceded another. In other words, it would appear that in the apostle's mind, salvation, regeneration, washing, renewing, justification occur at the same time without priority. But, though they may occur together, that does not mean that one of them does not have logical priority. Further, it does not mean that all the actions are one time events, nor that all are linear. Justification is not linear. Washing is both punctiliar and progressive. So too is renewal. Some even think that regeneration, like renewing, is begun in initial salvation but continues throughout the life of the believer.
Nevertheless, the aorist tense tells us that, in Paul's mind, a believer can say that he has been saved, has been washed, has been regenerated, has been turned around, has had the Spirit poured out upon him. These things are finished in some sense though they are also continuous. But, this is not the case with justification.
We are "saved by the washing of regeneration" but we cannot say that we are "justified by the washing of regeneration."
But though the aorist tense is used for all the terms of salvation in the text, yet justification can be shown to have preceded the washing of regeneration. This is deducible from Paul's introductory words "not by works of righteousness which we have done he saved us."
He is not denying that it is "by righteousness" (justification or being made righteous) that we are saved, for we are saved and regenerated by the righteousness of Christ. What he is denying is that salvation and regeneration and renewing come from our own righteousness. So, when Paul ends enumerating the elements of salvation, he concludes saying "having been justified." He does not mean that we are justified by being saved, regenerated, washed, and renewed, but that these things are the results of justification. It is not by our own righteousness but by the righteousness of Christ that we are saved, washed, renewed, and regenerated.
Having justified us he saved us, washed us, regenerated us, renewed us. That is what I believe the apostle is affirming. In other words, it is by works of righteousness which Christ has done that he saves believers. It is by faith that this righteousness is imputed and justification occurs and based upon that accomplished act the believer is saved and regenerated and washed (sanctified).
It is one thing to be "right" with the law and the authorities, but it is another thing to be "right" in character, nature, and habit. The words "by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" may be viewed as parenthetical, and "which he poured upon us" another parenthetical thought connected with "Holy Spirit" (in "poured out"). If we eliminate the parenthetical, we would read the text this way:
"He saved us so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs."
We can look at the text with parentheses:
he saved us (not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior) so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs
Thus, I see Paul as saying "Having been justified by grace through faith, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit."
The song "Rock of Ages" has a line that says "be of sin the double cure; save from wrath and make me pure." What is the "double cure"? It is a legal remedy (justification) and a character cure (regeneration and sanctification). Also, notice the order. Salvation from wrath (the cure for condemnation) is our justification and being made legally right. Salvation from the moral filth and spiritual death is the second cure coming from grace and the atonement. The former precedes the latter logically, but not chronologically. When God saves from wrath he remedies depravity via regeneration and initial sanctification.
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