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NASB | Titus 3:5 He 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, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Titus 3:5 He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we have done, but because of His own compassion and mercy, by the cleansing of the new birth (spiritual transformation, regeneration) and renewing by the Holy Spirit, |
Subject: Titus 3:5 and washing of regeneration |
Bible Note: Greetings Dalcent! Now, now, let's not attack a person simply because we don't agree with his position. :-) Greek is a very precise language. I have had years of training and practice in translating myself, and I would certainly have translated Acts 2:38 exactly as he said. If you differ with his position, you really need to present evidence as to why his understanding of the Greek is in error, not simply accuse him of bias. By the way, the grammar is not convoluted. It is quite clear. For instance, we have a similar case in Luke 22:31. Who is the 'you' in this verse? Peter or all of the disciples? The number of the pronoun is plural, so it cannot refer to Peter only. In the same way, in Acts 2:38 the gift of the Holy Spirit is promised to those (plural) who (plural) repent. The singular command to 'be baptized' has nothing to do with the promise. This is confirmed by the example of Cornelius in Acts 10. He received the gift of the Holy Spirit prior to being baptized in water, which would be a direct contradiction to your understanding of Acts 2:38. As far as Acts 22:16 is concerned, of course his reasoning would not apply in this case. Robertson's reasoning in Acts 2:38 was based upon grammatical construction. We don't have the same grammatical construction in Acts 2:16; hence, it would not apply! :-) Here is what the Bible Knowledge Commentary says about Acts 22:16: Here is what the Bible Knowledge Commentary says about Acts 22:16: *********************************************** Two questions revolve about this verse. First, when was Paul saved — on the Damascus Road or at Judas’ house? Several factors suggest he was saved on the Damascus Road: (1) The gospel was presented to him directly by Christ (Gal. 1:11-12), not later by Ananias. (2) Already (Acts 22:10) Paul said he had submitted in faith to Christ. (3) Paul was filled with the Spirit before his baptism with water (9:17-18). (4) The Greek aorist participle, epikalesamenos, translated calling on His name refers either to action which is simultaneous with or before that of the main verb. Here Paul’s calling on Christ’s name (for salvation) preceded his water baptism. The participle may be translated, 'having called on His name.' Second, what then do the words wash your sins away mean? Do they teach that salvation comes by water baptism? Because Paul was already cleansed spiritually (see comments in preceding par.), these words must refer to the symbolism of baptism. Baptism is a picture of God’s inner work of washing away sin (cf. 1 Cor. 6:11; 1 Peter 3:21)" ************************************** My take on it would be a little different. The two imperatives main verbs are both in the middle voice. I would translate them as 'let yourself be baptized' and 'let be cleansed'. It is not clear from this verse that the one is related to the other in terms of cause and effect. For example, if Acts 22:16 meant that baptism cleanses our sins, Luke could have written: "Let youself be baptized that your sins will be (or 'may be') cleansed." There is nothing in the grammer to indicate that baptism results in cleansing. But, there is nothing in the grammer that would rule it out either. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |