A Remnant According to Election of Grace

Romans 11:1-6

Chapter 39

After all that has preceded, you might wonder if God has totally rejected His people forever. This question gets the same clear answer from Paul, "Certainly not!" He can point to himself. He was an Israelite. He was of the seed of Abraham to whom God had given His promises. He was from the tribe of Benjamin, which had almost disappeared from among Israel because they refused to judge evil.(a) If God had rejected His people, there wouldn't have been a place left for Paul. But no, God hasn't rejected His people as a whole. God knew His people in advance; the infidelity of the people did not surprise God. It only gave Him an opportunity to show His grace in a very evident manner.

(a) Judges 19-21

To illustrate this, Paul refers to what the Scripture says in the story of Elijah.(b) Basically it came down to Elijah who was a hero on Mount Carmel where in the lord God's name he opposed the false prophets who claimed Baal was god. The people were watching. Elijah gained a great victory for the Lord that day, and the people were shouting, "The Lord, He is God."(c) But a little later when he was threatened with death by Jezebel, he fled to save his life. Having lost courage, he reached Horeb, the mount of God. There this man of God started accusing the people of Israel. He began to tell God all the things they had done wrong. He felt he was the only faithful one. And now they wanted to kill him too.

(b) 1 Kings 18-19

(c) 1 Kings 18:39

Is this a good reason to accuse the people before God? Do you recognize yourself in all this? I recognize myself. It is tremendous to live for the Lord and to be successful like Elijah at Mount Carmel. You hear the praise of the people. How wonderful! Then you're threatened, ridiculed, laughed at, and you're on the run. No one cares for you. How alone you feel when left on your own! "Well," you say to God, "this is a nice mess; if this is the way it works, I'm no longer interested. I'm the only one who serves You faithfully. The others take it easy. And now they're even trying to silence me." And you are sure God agrees wholeheartedly. After all, you're only telling the facts. But listen to the divine answer, "I have reserved 7000 in Israel."(d) Ouch! That hurts! God always has many more people who have remained faithful to Him than you and I think. In Elijah's case there were 7000. God said, "I have reserved for Myself." This means God has taken care of it.

(d) 1 Kings 19:18

I have applied Elijah's history to you and me personally. But the aim of this quotation in Romans 11 is to show there is always a remnant of the people of Israel, according to the election of grace, even if we don't see it. With this, God proves that even under judgment. He must rule over Israel; Israel’s rejection is not an overall one. To make it even clearer, if there's a remnant, then it is by grace and not by works, which infers n is not by any merit of that remnant.

Did you know this reference to Elijah's accusations is the only time an Old Testament believer's sin is referred to in the New Testament? However, this shouldn't cause us look down on Elijah. He remains a wonderful example of the courage of faith. After all, he stood firm against all those idolatrous priests while not one of the 7000 was anywhere to be found. But as soon as he began to exalt himself for his faithfulness and started accusing others before God, he was set right by God. Accusing is a sin we all easily commit, but it is Satan's work. In Revelation 12:10 Satan is called "the accuser of our brethren." If we see unfaithfulness with our brothers and sisters, let us rather do what the Lord Jesus did. He is the One who prays for us, going to God for those who are His to ask Him to help them to become faithful again.

Ger de Koning

Now read Romans 11:1-6 again.

Reflection: Consider your prayers. Do you accuse your brothers and sisters or do you pray for them? Also consider your conversations with others. Do you accuse your brothers and sisters before others?

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