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"5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work." ~ Romans 11:5-6
Today, we return to our study of the chapter in Romans that reveals the future dealings of God with the little nation of Israel. From the very beginning, Israel was chosen of God to reach the whole world; God not only wanted to redeem Israel to Himself, He wanted to redeem the whole world to Himself. In this chapter the idea of the remnant is accentuated. The Apostle Paul quotes the Bible book that mentions this idea of God's remnant the most, the book of Isaiah.
The book of Isaiah has been called "the miniature Bible." There are 66 chapters in the book of Isaiah, just as there are 66 books in the Bible. The first 39 chapters of Isaiah are representative of the Old Testament which is largely chapters of woe and judgment. The last 27 chapters of Isaiah are much like the New Testament with its promise of salvation to all of those who are willing enough to believe in the God of the Bible. The prophet Isaiah had a son named “the remnant will return,” highlighting the fact that a remnant of Israel will in the last days return to the Lord God.
In v.5 of today's passage we read, "Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace."
Throughout the Bible there has always been a remnant who were positioned to see the goodness of the God of the Bible. In fact, the first century church in Jerusalem was primarily led by the formerly unbelieving half brother of the Lord Jesus. James, along with his siblings came to faith in their brother as the Messiah after the Lord Jesus overcame sin and death through His resurrection.
This merely underscores the main point of Romans 11, that there has always been a remnant of believers and in the future there will be a remnant of believing Jews. There will be those who reject the activity of the antichrist during the days of the Tribulation. According to the book of the Revelation, there will be the 144 thousand Jews who will be sent out as missionaries to reach the world with the gospel during the Tribulation. There will always be a remnant. And ultimately, "All Israel shall be saved."
The remnant underscores that the Apostle Paul is proof positive that God has not gone back on His promises to Israel. The God of the Bible continues to perpetuate through the remnant a godly seed so that ultimately He will redeem a remnant from the whole nation. God has set aside Israel, yes, but only for a short while. There has always been a remnant of those who trusted in the goodness of the God of the Bible.
In v.6 of today's passage we read, "And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work."
The biblical equation for our salvation is not grace plus something else equals forgiveness of our sin. This can not be because as soon as our salvation requires our good behavior, it is no longer by definition by grace. Grace alone means that God loves, forgives, and saves us not because of who we are or what we do, but because of the work that the Lord Jesus did on the cross on our behalf. Our best efforts will never be good enough to earn for us God's favor. But God declares us righteous once we activate our faith in Him and we choose to believe that Christ Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sin.
If we choose to approach God on the basis of our good behavior, we approach Him in self-righteousness. The essence of sin is the self whom we were conceived with on the throne of our lives. It was the disease of self that alienated us from God in the first place. The unsaved self has been and always will be opposed to the righteousness God, but our unsaved selves have been graciously overcome by the God who graciously gives redemption to the broken sinner. In Isaiah 64:6 we learn that our righteousness is like nasty female menstrual rags. Everything seemingly good and right that we could do all adds up to that kind of nastiness in the presence of the Lord. And, it is out of this doctrine of self that we will always be tripped up in the presence of God, even as believers in Christ.
It is true that biblical faith produces good works as James tells us in his epistle. But, if faith were a work, then the grace bestowed upon us would not have been grace. Instead it would be payment for the work. Our salvation would be of works and no longer grace; "otherwise grace is no longer grace." Our good works are the grateful response of a once hardened and cold heart that has been touched and broken enough to believe in the God of grace.
The entire Bible is the story of God meeting rebellious man with rescue, our sin with His salvation, our guilt with His grace. The overwhelming emphasis in the Bible is the work of the redeemer rather than the work of the redeemed. The Bible is not a set of guidelines that when followed earns us access to God. No, the Bible is the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the answer for our damned condition in sin. Once the crushing blows of God's perfection has done its work in us, we cry out to God for mercy and grace which unbinds us from the shackles of self. Once we are connected to God through His indwelling Spirit, we are enabled to be honest about who we really are: those who are weaker and more afraid than we could have ever imagined. This is why the biggest lie about grace is that it must be held in check. His kind of grace frees us to be the people He created us to be, people who are wildly learning to run into His scary, crazy yet rewarding will for our lives.
