He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,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;not by works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
4 sermons cite this verse
… but also without the works of the moral precepts as stated in Titus, not because of deeds done by us in justice, Titus 3.5. This, of course, means without works prior to becoming just. Notice the temporal language. He's saying Paul is talking about no works contribute to justification prior. So, these apart from works are prior, but not without works following it because as is stated in James, and here he quotes James 2.26, faith without works is dead. And then he puts, in other words, subsequent works and therefore cannot justify. So this commentator is making the same point I was just trying to make, that Romans 3.28 is saying there are no works that contribute prior to this justification, and that James 2.26 is talking about the works that come subsequent to justification. Romans 3.28 means we are justified by faith without any works prior to justification, And that does not contradict James because James is talking about works subsequent to or after justification. Who is that commentator I was quoting? …
… Not by works of righteousness which we've done, but according to His mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. It is the Holy Spirit who renews us. We don't renew ourselves. That's His work. But you say, Well, what is my part? If He's doing the renewing, what's my part? Listen, my part is just one thing. I have one responsibility. Choose, choose, choose, choose. That's all I have to do. Choose to resist, choose to obey. Choose to resist, choose to obey. Choose to resist Satan, choose to believe God's thoughts. If you and I will assume the responsibility right here and now, Lord, I assume the responsibility for my thinking. I accept by faith the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit to be all the resistance I need to defeat Satan. By faith beginning today, I want you to give me wisdom to know the source of the thoughts that come my way. And by faith and dependence upon the Holy Spirit, I want to resist every evil thought that comes my way, knowing that every time I resist him and choose the right thought, the renewing process is going on. …
Inq. 2. Why is it needful that men should undertake to go through such a work in order to their salvation? Ans. 1. Not to merit salvation, or to recommend them to the saving mercy of God. Men are not saved on the account of any work of theirs, and yet they are not saved without works. If we merely consider what it is for which, or on the account of which, men are saved, no work at all in men is necessary to their salvation. In this respect they are saved wholly without any work of theirs, Tit. iii. 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.”—We must indeed be saved on the account of works; but not our own. It is on account of the works which Christ hath done for us. Works are the fixed price of eternal life; it is fixed by an eternal, unalterable rule of righteousness. But since the fall there is no hope of our doing these works, without salvation offered freely without money and without price.—But, 2. Though it be not needful that we do any thing to merit salvation, which Christ hath fully merited for all who believe in him; yet God, for wise and holy ends, hath appointed, that we should come to final salvation in no other way, but that of good works done by us. …
woods ring with the melody of "happy birds that hymn their rapture in the ear of God." The cattle on a thousand hills low out His praises and winged insects in countless numbers hum their joy! The world is His temple in which everything speaks of His Glory! Some glimpses of His goodness may be perceived in Providence, too. The history of man is the unrolling of the volume of Divine Benevolence to a great extent. That silver thread runs through all the web of human history. Yet, my Brothers and Sisters, these are but glimpses, for, alas, in Creation (and in Providence, too) much is to be seen of the terror and of the Justice of God as well as of His goodness. Earthquakes swallow cities. Storms sweep away not only the possessions men own, but the men, themselves, who own the possessions. Shipwrecks are constantly occurring and the sea is a vast cemetery. Dire famines are still abroad. Fell diseases stalk forth and mow down their helpless victims. The Lord Most High is terrible, yet surely He is good! His decrees are inscrutable. What then? We must be always ready to worship Him with resignation as well as with exultation, with bated breath as well as with grateful song. Tell me of the goodness of God to the whole animate Creation! Commend me to the tiny insects that dance in the sunbeams of His widespread benevolence and I tell you that He is great in power! His ways baffle our scrutiny. For by one chill wind, by one cold frost, in the course of a night millions of millions of those creatures perish at once! Behold, therefore, the goodness and severity of God! Whether in Creation or in Providence, between the tenderness that fosters life and the sternness that destroys life, the balance is held so steadily that we can but get glimpses of God's goodness by broadly surveying or minutely examining them. …