King James Version (KJV)
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;
Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior;
That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to
the hope of eternal life.
This is one of my favorite Scriptures. I remember teaching it to my son, when he was a little tyke. We had created a simple melody out of it to help him remember the words. Imagine how thrilled I was, when as a teen-ager he came home from an outing, and told me how he was able to witness to another teen using this verse.
The little tune we created still goes through my head, even today, when I read those words: “…. According to his mercy he saved us…” Pretty powerful stuff! But even more than that; it was shed on us abundantly through our Savior, Jesus Christ.
I also like these verses because we see the Trinity among them. We see the God of the Universe, Who created us and is our judge. We see the Holy Spirit who washes us and renews us – continually. And we see our Savior, Who bled and died that we might live.
Because of what Jesus did, the Father forgives us and sends the Holy Spirit to wash away our sin and renew us daily with a refreshing that will get us through this life and allows us eternal life.
It is by nothing that we have done; no works need apply. God needs nothing from us but our acceptance. He simply sheds his mercy and grace on us because he loves us. We are justified by His grace, when we decide to accept this wonderful gift of love. Our sins are washed away and we are taught how to live.
What is more? The rewards are pretty awesome. We are to be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. We will live forever with the God of all creation and with all heaven’s treasures. Now that is something worth looking forward.
John 3: 3-7
1 Peter 1:23-25