righteousness. We are not like criminals who have been pardoned and turned loose; we have been given a standing before God, and that standing is in Christ—accepted in the beloved! Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord [2 Pet. 1:2]. “Grace and peace be multiplied.” Grace and peace are always in this order. We must first know the grace of God—that God has saved us, not through our merit, our character, or anything in us, but He has saved us because