Bathing In God’s Word!

Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”

This passage of scripture has been debated for more years than we need to talk about. The key topic or debate of this verse is “by the washing of regeneration” The Church of Christ as well as a few others will debate this refers to baptismal regeneration however this definition or thought makes absolutely no sense because the scripture could not be more clear as to the facts of salvation which is by grace through faith. To say this passage of scripture is proof that the baptismal waters has saving power is to water down the blood of Jesus Christ and make it worthless i.e. that tap water has the same saving power as the blood of Jesus has which would be no less than blasphemy in the least. This subject has a history going back all the way to the year 100a.d. when the churches of error started teaching it after the apostle’s death even to the point they were baptizing their infants in order to save them, a teaching that Catholicism adopted and still practice today along with a few more outside of the Catholic church. Let it be noted that the fruits of the mother church of error still fall close to the tree of error, which is protestant churches still adhere to the old teachings of their mother.

Let us take a moment to look at their thinking and the contradiction their thinking brings to the scripture. First, if it did mean “by the washing of baptism” then it contradicts its context. The Lord had started verse 5 with “Not by works of righteousness which we have done…” which excludes any type of work on our part for salvation. How could salvation be by works of any type if works renders grace useless i.e. Romans 4:4 “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.” And how many times does the scripture conclude that salvation is by grace. Secondly, verse 5 also says “…but according to his mercy he saved us…” mercy means pity that is God had pity on us to save our unworthy souls. If this meant baptism then where does grace and pity fit into it? What is merciful about baptism or anything that is considered as works on our part? Thirdly, why is it that Paul spent the first four chapters of the book of Romans explaining in very detailed facts that works is not needed for salvation i.e. Romans 4:2, 3 “For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. (3.) For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” And Fourthly, the scriptures never conclude that if one is not baptized that they will be condemned. These believers of baptismal regeneration love to use the scripture in Mark 16:16 “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” But again where does it conclude that if one is not baptized then they are condemned, not one single time in the entire New Testament is it concluded. Salvation and baptism do go hand and hand because once one is saved then they should be baptized and a member of a local church.

In conclusion let it be known that the phrase “by the washing of regeneration” is a reference to the scriptures and not to baptism at all. Let us notice in Ephesians 5:26 “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,” The word of God is the saving message, while it is not salvation in itself it does bring salvation to us by the way of the gospel message. It is neither by our preaching nor by the craftiness of our preaching but rather the message which is the word of God. The word “washing” in verse 5 means - to take a bath – that is to come clean through the word of God, to clean your soul, but to take a bath in the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse your sins.