Year 2, Day 34: Romans 11

Remnant

Romans 11 is one of my favorite chapters in the book of Romans because there is such a common bond between Paul’s experience and my own.  For me, Romans 11 is one of those chapters that I read and sit back and say, “Solomon was right when he said that there is nothing new under the sun.”  Let’s face it, as Paul reminds us in this chapter, Elijah faced a lukewarm Hebrew nation and was reminded by God about the idea of a remnant.  Paul was faced by a lukewarm Hebrew people and was reminded about a remnant.  Much of American Christianity today is lukewarm, and I think it is time we talk about this concept of a remnant.

Here’s a Greek understanding of the word “remnant” used by Paul: a relatively small part which continues to exist.  By its very definition, a remnant is small.  It clearly isn’t the majority, and when we typically think of the word “small” we don’t think of something that is even remotely close to being called the majority.  God reminds Elijah to look for a remnant of faith – and by definition it will be a small group of people {Even 7,000 is small compared to the whole nation of Israel at the time of Elijah}.  Paul reminds us that in his time he is aware that the people of faith are a remnant – a small percentage of the total number of Hebrew and Gentile people.  So to I think we can say that today in the American Church we need to look for the remnant and realize that it will be a small portion of those who “claim Christianity.”  {Not that we are to judge one another’s salvation, of course.}

As I wrote this last paragraph, I was really reminded about another passage in the Bible.  It is a passage that I have started calling the “Block Party” passage.  I call it the Block Party passage because if you have a block party, everyone wants to be involved – whether the block party is really good for us or not.  In other words, crowds just suck people in without even thinking about it.  I’m talking about Matthew 7:13-14. 

There Jesus tells us to enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate that leads to destruction and many will find it.  But narrow is the gate that leads to life and few will find it.  Jesus Himself speaks about the faithful in terms of contrasting words: few versus many.  It seems pretty clear that this is just a paradigm that truly spiritual people should accept.  Few.  Remnant.  Small percentage.

Now, I certainly don’t mean to depress anyone here.  Even one person who finds a relationship with their God and Creator is worth the effort.  It isn’t about numbers at all!  In fact, when Jesus started to get a crowd of people listening to Him he started speaking in parables in order to make sure that the only people who would come back and search for the deeper meaning were the people who were there to genuinely find God and devote their life to Him.  So it isn’t at all about numbers; it is all about genuine faith.

It is about genuine expectations.  It is about a realistic analysis of the world around us.  Shoot, it’s even especially about a realistic analysis of ourselves first and foremost.  God knows that out of His chosen people only a remnant will follow Him.  Jesus knows that out of the masses only a remnant will follow Him.  Paul can see that the same is true.  So we should have the same realistic understanding.  We need to teach what it means to be a part of the remnant.  For that is where the core of faith exists.

Talking to The Gentiles Among Us

Paul then speaks to the Gentiles and makes a very assertive point that I need to hear, especially coming off of the last few paragraphs that I wrote.  We must be quick to not speak about “remnant theology” in an arrogant way.  We must not look down upon those going into the wide gate, on the wide path, or outside of the remnant.  We cannot look down upon them because it is only by the grace of God that we are where we are!  Had God not first loved us, all of us would be on the wide path and going through the wide gate – and quite deservedly so. 

When we look down upon the people who have rejected Christ and chosen the wide path/gate of the world, we begin to think that we are better.  That, my friends, is our old arch-nemesis “works-based theology” rearing its ugly head.  We are no better than the people who have rejected Christ.  The only difference is that we have received the grace of God through Jesus Christ and it is Christ that makes all the difference, not us.

Furthermore, what will be gained by looking down upon those who are not a part of the remnant?  Will they be likely to become a part of the remnant because we look down upon them?  No!  Rather, it is through love that people shall be won to Christ.  We are in Christ because of God’s love.  Only through God’s love will others be won to Christ.

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