305. Washing of regeneration
Titus 3:5b …by the washing of regeneration…
God saves us by the washing of regeneration, not by works of righteousness that we have done. The washing of regeneration is vitally important, for we need to have our sins washed away by the blood of Christ, and we need to be regenerated, or born again.
If we have been baptized the Spirit has washed with regeneration. Something amazing happened in our Baptism. God washed away all sins and caused us to have a new life. Jesus says you must be born again; a better translation is most likely “born from above.” Nicodemus took it to mean born a second time. Jesus explains the term “born again” as meaning “born of water and the Spirit.” Baptism is the second birth, or regeneration. Humans are made of body, soul, and spirit. The soul energizes the body, but the spirit, meant to energize the soul, is born dead. When Adam sinned, and when we were born, the spirit died. The spirit was created to be connected to, and energized by, God. When one is baptized, or born from above, the spirit of a person is made alive, and this new life is eternal as it is God’s life.
This new life, this second life, eternal life, the life of God in us, is renewed and revived every time we repent and believe the Gospel. In other words, to live, really live, we need to hear the Gospel with faith as often as possible, even if we have to speak it to ourselves. One way of doing this daily is given to us in Romans chapter 6: remember your Baptism. Contrition and repentance drowns the old man and the new man rises to newness of life. Then the just (those made righteous or made alive again) will live (truly and really) by faith. Faith alone is all that is needed for living a new life.
We have this wonderful promise: the washing of regeneration. We can’t be born again and again, and we can’t be re-baptized over and over, but we can “remember” our baptism and “walk in newness of life.” Thank God for the continuous washing by the Lord and the constant making alive again. Receive the promise with joy.