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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: In my opinion, the reason for the splintering of the Lord's church is much like that of "opening of Pandor's box." Once the apostacy happened, which was inevitable as predicted by the Apostles throughout the NT, it was virtually impossible to get the church back to Her Original and Perfect condition as installed by the Holy Spirit in Acts 1-2. This basic "method of operation" for mankind was started long ago starting in the Garden of Eden, after the flood, substituting kings instead of God installed judges on through to Jesus time. The Isrealites rejected the prophets throughout the OT...it's simply not within mankind on the whole to prefer God's guidance on this earth. We see this principle further endorsed by Jesus with words about Judgment in Matt 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. We humans are finite; we're physical whereas our God infinite and spiritual. His thoughts and ways are so far above our thoughts and ways, so in our present condition, there's no way the bulk of mankind would ever qualify to be in the presence of God. This alien relationship also applies to the church or anything else started by God. All Creations by God always start off perfectly...it's left up to mankind on earth to mess them up. If this begins to sound like I'm down or slamming human-kind too much, that's because we tend to think too much of ourselves; just look at this growing trend of humanism. But "with God, we can do all things." That's the most important conclusion to draw from all this. I hope this helps and God bless. Rowdy |