The Morning Psalm
Verse meaning

Titus 3:5 Meaning

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;
Titus 3:5, KJV

What does Titus 3:5 mean?

Titus 3:5 says out loud what the anxious conscience most needs to hear: our rescue was not earned by our goodness. It rests entirely on God's mercy.

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done.” Paul rules out even our best efforts as the basis of salvation — not our worst failures only, but our finest deeds too. None of it is the ground we stand on.

“But according to his mercy he saved us.” Mercy is kindness shown to those who cannot repay it. The cause of salvation is relocated from us to God, from our record to his character.

The verse then speaks of “the washing of regeneration” — a cleansing and a new birth worked by the Holy Spirit. Salvation is not us climbing up to God; it is God washing and renewing us from the inside out.

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1 Corinthians 10:13 · 1 Corinthians 13:13 · 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 · 1 Corinthians 15:58 · 1 John 1:9 · 1 John 4:19 · 1 Peter 2:9 · 1 Peter 5:7 · 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 · 2 Corinthians 12:9 · 2 Corinthians 5:17 · 2 Corinthians 5:7 · 2 Timothy 1:7 · 2 Timothy 3:16 · Acts 1:8 · Acts 4:12 · Colossians 3:2 · Colossians 3:23 · Deuteronomy 31:6 · Ecclesiastes 12:13 · Ecclesiastes 3:1 · Ecclesiastes 3:11 · Ephesians 2:10 · Ephesians 2:8–9 · Ephesians 3:20 · Ephesians 4:32 · Ephesians 6:10–11 · Exodus 14:14 · Galatians 2:20 · Galatians 5:22–23 · Galatians 6:9 · Genesis 1:1 · Hebrews 11:1 · Hebrews 12:1–2 · Hebrews 13:8 · Isaiah 26:3 · Isaiah 40:29 · Isaiah 40:31 · Isaiah 40:8 · Isaiah 41:10 · Isaiah 43:19 · Isaiah 43:2 · Isaiah 53:5 · Isaiah 54:17 · Isaiah 55:8–9 · Isaiah 9:6 · James 1:5 · Jeremiah 1:5 · Jeremiah 29:11 · Jeremiah 33:3 · John 1:1 · John 1:12 · John 10:10 · John 11:25–26 · John 13:34–35 · John 14:1 · John 14:27 · John 14:6 · John 15:13 · John 15:5 · John 16:33 · John 3:16 · John 3:17 · John 8:12 · Joshua 1:9 · Joshua 24:15 · Lamentations 3:22–23 · Lamentations 3:25 · Luke 1:37 · Luke 6:38 · Mark 11:24 · Mark 12:30–31 · Matthew 11:28–30 · Matthew 16:26 · Matthew 18:20 · Matthew 19:26 · Matthew 28:19–20 · Matthew 5:16 · Matthew 5:6 · Matthew 6:21 · Matthew 6:33 · Matthew 6:34 · Matthew 7:7 · Micah 6:8 · Numbers 6:24–26 · Philippians 1:6 · Philippians 4:13 · Philippians 4:19 · Philippians 4:6–7 · Philippians 4:8 · Proverbs 11:25 · Proverbs 15:1 · Proverbs 16:3 · Proverbs 16:9 · Proverbs 17:17 · Proverbs 18:10 · Proverbs 19:21 · Proverbs 22:6 · Proverbs 27:17 · Proverbs 3:5–6 · Proverbs 31:25 · Proverbs 31:30 · Proverbs 4:23 · Psalm 1:1–3 · Psalm 100:4 · Psalm 103:1–2 · Psalm 118:24 · Psalm 119:105 · Psalm 121:1–2 · Psalm 133:1 · Psalm 136:1 · Psalm 139:14 · Psalm 145:18 · Psalm 147:3 · Psalm 16:11 · Psalm 19:1 · Psalm 23:1 · Psalm 23:1 · Psalm 27:1 · Psalm 30:5 · Psalm 32:8 · Psalm 34:18 · Psalm 37:4 · Psalm 37:5 · Psalm 40:1–2 · Psalm 46:1 · Psalm 46:10 · Psalm 51:10 · Psalm 55:22 · Psalm 56:3 · Psalm 73:26 · Psalm 90:12 · Psalm 91:1–2 · Revelation 21:4 · Revelation 3:20 · Romans 10:9 · Romans 12:12 · Romans 12:2 · Romans 15:13 · Romans 3:23 · Romans 5:1 · Romans 5:8 · Romans 6:23 · Romans 8:1 · Romans 8:28 · Romans 8:31 · Romans 8:37 · Romans 8:38–39 · Zephaniah 3:17