“4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”
Devotional - John Norris
These verses are like the bullseye of the New Testament’s message.
The Bible is primarily about the goodness and lovingkindness of God. He saves. And His salvation is not because we work hard enough or do enough good to deserve it. We don’t deserve salvation. It is mercy: undeserved, freely-given kindness. In this story, He is the good one (not us); He’s the kind one (not us).
These verses are clear: all of this mercy is poured out on us richly through Jesus. He did the work of salvation for us when died on the cross to take what our sins deserve; He rose from the dead so that His new life could be given to us. He did it. That’s why our salvation is mercy—a gift—and not by our works.
Now, this salvation is made ours when the Holy Spirit gives us new spiritual life. That’s what the “washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” is. It’s the Holy Spirit giving our sinful, dead hearts life, so that we can see what God has done for us in Jesus, and love it. Our hearts are “born again.” We can love the things that God loves; We can hate the things that He hates. This is a gift of the Spirit.
All of it is given to us, not because of our works, but because God is good, and God is kind.
“What else did God create?
God created all things by his powerful Word, and all his creation was very good; everything flourished under his loving rule.”
Fighter Verses
© Truth78, fighterverses.com
New City Catechism
© Crossway, newcitycatechism.com