The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Romans 11:5,
"So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace."
When God's Son came to earth, he took the good news of the kingdom of God to the nation of Israel. However, Israel, as a nation, never embraced Jesus Christ as her savior (not yet!) As Jesus observed when he approached Jerusalem just prior to his crucifixion, "... you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you." Luke 19:44. What must not be overlooked is that the early church was comprised of some Jews (the apostles and other disciples), and, later, Gentiles that began to respond to the Gospel message. These believing Jews comprise the remnant that Paul speaks of above. His point is that even though the nation of Israel had not responded to Jesus Christ's offer of the kingdom, there was nevertheless some who had, and comprised God's "remnant."
Paul tells us God's choice, God's election, was that all who would respond to the gospel message, those who would embrace Jesus Christ in faith, he would give the right to become his children, "to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God", John 1:12. The gospel message of faith given to the church, and that the church was to take to the world, was and is God's decision, his choice, his election to bring folks into his family. Jews who responded to the gospel message in faith joined the "remnant."
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
"So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace."
When God's Son came to earth, he took the good news of the kingdom of God to the nation of Israel. However, Israel, as a nation, never embraced Jesus Christ as her savior (not yet!) As Jesus observed when he approached Jerusalem just prior to his crucifixion, "... you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you." Luke 19:44. What must not be overlooked is that the early church was comprised of some Jews (the apostles and other disciples), and, later, Gentiles that began to respond to the Gospel message. These believing Jews comprise the remnant that Paul speaks of above. His point is that even though the nation of Israel had not responded to Jesus Christ's offer of the kingdom, there was nevertheless some who had, and comprised God's "remnant."
Paul tells us God's choice, God's election, was that all who would respond to the gospel message, those who would embrace Jesus Christ in faith, he would give the right to become his children, "to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God", John 1:12. The gospel message of faith given to the church, and that the church was to take to the world, was and is God's decision, his choice, his election to bring folks into his family. Jews who responded to the gospel message in faith joined the "remnant."
We see the Jews failing to make it into God's family by any other means, while Gentiles did make it by faith, "What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone." Romans 9:30-32. God's choice, his election, is that salvation is by faith. All who will embrace him in faith will be saved.
Of God's choice of faith, Paul says, "The righteousness that is by faith says... 'The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,' that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." Romans 10:6-10
It is the gospel message that provides the context for faith, "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ." Romans 10:17. So important is the gospel message that Paul says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'" Romans 1:16-17.
It is the gospel message that provides the context for faith, "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ." Romans 10:17. So important is the gospel message that Paul says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'" Romans 1:16-17.
In summarizing, we read, "This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:22-24. To insure there is no confusion, Paul simply says, "For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law." Romans 3:28. We can't get to heaven on our own by being good, we can only enter God's family through faith.
As in Paul's day, when he found himself defending the gospel of faith, we likewise encounter all kinds of "mysteries" and "deeper truths", other ideas that are advanced that oppose God's simple message of salvation by faith. Many claim today that only a select hand-picked few are manipulated by God into faith to force them into his family. Misunderstandings of the depravity of man, that somehow faith is a "work", that God forces us into his grace is a huge distortion of the simple gospel of faith we are presented with in the Scriptures.
Today I celebrate God's grace expressed in his invitation to join his family by embracing him in faith. I'll leave the theological "mysteries" - that only seem to be available to the theologians and their initiates - to them. I am excited and overjoyed by becoming a child of God by simple faith. How about you?
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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