Titus 2:15–3:3 (NKJV)
15 Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you. 1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. 3 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.
Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” The grace of God has appeared in Christ Jesus our Lord. He has acquired atonement and perfect righteousness for all mankind. God the Father forgives all sins to those who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, flee to Christ in faith, and counts them righteous with Christ’s righteousness. This is the gift of God. Paul writes in Titus 3:5, “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” God saves us by giving us all the blessings of Christ, including faith, through Baptism.
When we consider that “we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another,” we confess the truth of Paul’s words. Our salvation is by God’s grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, without any work, merit, or worthiness in us. By God’s grace He has washed us and regenerated us in Holy Baptism. The humility that recognizes sin and believes the Gospel is what prepares us for every good work. The Holy Spirit makes us “humble, peaceable, and gentle toward others.” He teaches us self-control over our tongues, so that we speak evil of no one “but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29). We can only be ready for every good work by living in the Gospel of God’s grace. Since He has been—and continues to be—gracious and merciful to us, we strive to be “humble, peaceable, and gentle toward others.”
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for Your grace. Help us, by a true and lively faith, to be gracious to one another. Amen.
