Twin City church of Christ Blog
“Aug 27, 2024 - The Remnant”
Categories: 2024 Reading DevotionalsThe Remnant
Reading: Romans 11:1-6
So if God calls the Jewish people “disobedient and contrary”(Rom 10:21), is he done with them? “I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin”(Rom 11:1). God has not rejected his people in a permanent way. Paul argues that he himself is evidence of this, since he is both Jewish and a Christian. God is always willing to accept Jewish people who will submit to him by faith in Jesus, as Paul has. The situation is similar to Elijah’s time in which he despairs at Israel’s wickedness and idolatry. “I alone am left, and they seek my life”(Rom 11:3). God responds that “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal”(Rom 11:4). God always has his people.
This small group of faithful ones is the “remnant.” “So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace”(Rom 11:5). A remnant is a leftover part of the whole. God reserved 7000 people in Elijah’s time. In Paul’s time, there remain Jews who continue to serve God (including himself). Yet it is notable that this remnant is “chosen by grace”: “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace”(Rom 11:6). The remnant is not solely those who have most perfectly obeyed the Law of Moses, but those who receive grace despite their inadequacy. So Paul does not argue that he is better than other Jews, but that he has been accepted by grace.
Even in times of widespread disobedience, God continues to have people who are faithful to him. Like Elijah, we may bemoan the disobedience of those around us. Yet like Elijah, we must also take heart from the remnant of others who are still trying to do right. And undergirding all these thoughts is a sobering reality: if I am to be a part of the remnant today, it will only be because of my humble and obedient faith.
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One Thing to Think About: Am I a part of God’s people (the remnant) in my time?
One Thing to Pray For: Confidence in and camaraderie with my brothers and sisters in Christ
