Titus 3:5
Titus 3:55He 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.
The Watchtower rarely features this verse prominently because it explicitly denies that righteous works contribute to salvation. When referenced, "mercy" is reframed as Jehovah's initial provision of the ransom, while the believer's ongoing works are treated as a separate, necessary condition for final salvation.
Paul states it without ambiguity: "He saved us, not because of works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy." The aorist "saved" (esōsen) marks a completed act. The denial is categorical — "not because of works of righteousness." Combined with ("you have been saved… not owing to works") and (grace and works are mutually exclusive), the NT consistently attributes salvation to God's initiative received through faith. Verse 5 adds "through the washing of regeneration and renewal by holy spirit" — the Spirit actively transforms, which is unintelligible if the Spirit is merely an impersonal force. The parachute analogy clarifies: the parachute does the saving; the jumper only has to trust it. Arm-flapping is sincere effort and completely useless.