Titus, Part OneSample

Grace and peace

“Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior” (Titus 1:4).

Paul greets Titus with familiar words. They recur in many other letters in the Bible. Why are these words repeated again and again? Because they are so important.

Grace is the undeserved goodness of the Lord God to a sinner. Every believer depends on this grace. Paul himself knows this very well. In 1 Corinthians 15, he tells us that he used to persecute Christians and therefore was not at all a logical candidate to become an apostle. “But,” he testifies, “by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:10). This grace has completely changed Paul's life, and now he gets to invite others to become followers of Jesus as well. He never gets tired of this privilege, and he wishes the same for other believers.

The peace Paul mentions is a direct result of God's grace. It is a state of rest and wholeness that is only possible when a person is reconciled to the Lord God. As Paul says in Romans 5:1, we have peace with God when we are justified by faith. But we need regular reminders of God’s grace; otherwise, all kinds of worries, pursuits, or sins can just cloud our peace.

Do you experience God's grace, mercy, and peace?