Paul in Titus writes about when our salvation came. It is important to know and always remember our salvation didn’t come except when first the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared. It was then that He saved us. We weren’t saved by good works and we weren’t saved because we did good works first. We didn’t deserve or earn righteousness and we weren’t righteous. We were sinful, stained by unrighteousness, yet the goodness of God and His loving kindness appeared before us in Christ Jesus. Dying for our sins and giving us His own righteousness in place of ours. Paul then goes on to let us know that according to His own mercy He then washed us - removed our sun cleaned the stain of unrighteousness from us through the washing of regeneration and renewal. Literally remaking, and rebirthing us to be righteous and holy through His Holy Spirit. Why is it important to remember we didn’t deserve salvation or earn it? To be forever grateful to God’s grace and loving kindness and to never withhold sharing the same gospel from anybody we might deem unworthy - for we are all unworthy. Why is it important to know we are washed and renewed not by our own works but by the Holy Spirit? So we remember that we are not what we were but we are brand new - a new creation in Christ Jesus. Not by our works - so we must not depend on them but through the Holy Spirit so we must continue to go to Him and rely on Him to renew us and restore us in the lifetime process of sanctification. We are saved, and set apart as holy because of the Father Son and Holy Spirit and nothing else.