Opposites and Equivalents – Part 6
He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit [Titus 3:5].
Jesus both removes our sins (“washing of regeneration”) and imparts a new life to us (“renewing by the Holy Spirit”). Those two aspects entail His perfect salvation for sinners. Now let’s make this practical.
Until man passes into eternity, he has the sin nature inside, tempting him to sin as always. For the person who is truly born again, however, the Holy Spirit is also inside, empowering him to resist sin and live righteously. When he listens to the sin nature and sins, the Holy Spirit convicts the born again person and brings him to confession and repentance. Then he is clean once again and can live righteously.
This is the second aspect of our numbered list, viz., the “renewing by the Holy Spirit”. The Lord doesn’t remove our sins and then leave us to our own devices, powerless to live righteously because we haven’t a righteous life. The Lord freely removes our sins from us, based on His having paid the penalty for them on the cross. Then He goes the extra mile and freely gives us a righteous life, the Holy Spirit, to live inside us.
When it came to the Law, the Israelites temporarily had their sins covered by the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean. But remember, the Lord wasn’t pleased with such things. They were merely temporary expedients, shadows of the reality, types only. They temporarily covered over the sins so that the Lord could abide in Israel’s presence.
The antitype is Jesus, the true Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus doesn’t temporarily cover over sins. He permanently and with full efficacy removes all sins eternally. His death on the cross perfectly paid the penalty, so sinners don’t have to pay the penalty.
We can have fellowship with the Lord now, not because our sins have been temporarily covered over as per the Law, but because they are permanently removed by the death of Jesus Christ once-for-all. Hence Jesus saves to the uttermst and for all eternity. This is stupendous! This is awesome!
Before closing let me remind you that we began our study of Titus 3:5 by noting how Law and grace are opposites. Now let me conclude by noting that the “washing of regeneration” and “renewing by the Holy Spirit” are equivalents. God has one salvation, not two. The two aspects are not identical, but they are inseparable and make up the whole of God’s one salvation.
Hallelujah! What a Savior! God is so good. Do you know that? Go to Him now. He calls you to come apart with Him. Allow Him to feed you eternal truths which will tantalize your taste buds.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Jesus both removes our sins (“washing of regeneration”) and imparts a new life to us (“renewing by the Holy Spirit”). Those two aspects entail His perfect salvation for sinners. Now let’s make this practical.
Until man passes into eternity, he has the sin nature inside, tempting him to sin as always. For the person who is truly born again, however, the Holy Spirit is also inside, empowering him to resist sin and live righteously. When he listens to the sin nature and sins, the Holy Spirit convicts the born again person and brings him to confession and repentance. Then he is clean once again and can live righteously.
This is the second aspect of our numbered list, viz., the “renewing by the Holy Spirit”. The Lord doesn’t remove our sins and then leave us to our own devices, powerless to live righteously because we haven’t a righteous life. The Lord freely removes our sins from us, based on His having paid the penalty for them on the cross. Then He goes the extra mile and freely gives us a righteous life, the Holy Spirit, to live inside us.
When it came to the Law, the Israelites temporarily had their sins covered by the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean. But remember, the Lord wasn’t pleased with such things. They were merely temporary expedients, shadows of the reality, types only. They temporarily covered over the sins so that the Lord could abide in Israel’s presence.
The antitype is Jesus, the true Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus doesn’t temporarily cover over sins. He permanently and with full efficacy removes all sins eternally. His death on the cross perfectly paid the penalty, so sinners don’t have to pay the penalty.
We can have fellowship with the Lord now, not because our sins have been temporarily covered over as per the Law, but because they are permanently removed by the death of Jesus Christ once-for-all. Hence Jesus saves to the uttermst and for all eternity. This is stupendous! This is awesome!
Before closing let me remind you that we began our study of Titus 3:5 by noting how Law and grace are opposites. Now let me conclude by noting that the “washing of regeneration” and “renewing by the Holy Spirit” are equivalents. God has one salvation, not two. The two aspects are not identical, but they are inseparable and make up the whole of God’s one salvation.
Hallelujah! What a Savior! God is so good. Do you know that? Go to Him now. He calls you to come apart with Him. Allow Him to feed you eternal truths which will tantalize your taste buds.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
No comments have been added yet.
