There is also a remnant at this time

Romans 10:14-11:12 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? ¹⁵ But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

¹⁶ However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” ¹⁷ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

¹⁸ But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? On the contrary:

“Their voice has gone out into all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world.”

¹⁹ But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says,

“I will make you jealous with those who are not a nation, With a foolish nation I will anger you.”

²⁰ And Isaiah is very bold and says,

“I was found by those who did not seek Me, I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me.”

²¹ But as for Israel, He says, “I have spread out My hands all day long to a disobedient and obstinate people.”

Israel Has Not Been Rejected

11 I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? Far from it! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. ² God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? ³ “Lord, they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” ⁴ But what is the divine response to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵ In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice. ⁶ But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, since otherwise grace is no longer grace.

⁷ What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; ⁸ just as it is written:

“God gave them a spirit of stupor, Eyes to see not and ears to hear not,
Down to this very day.”

⁹ And David says,

“May their table become a snare and a trap, And a stumbling block and a retribution to them. ¹⁰ May their eyes be darkened to see not, And bend their backs continually.”

¹¹ I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? Far from it! But by their wrongdoing salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. ¹² Now if their wrongdoing proves to be riches for the world, and their failure, riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!

Today’s text says: God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” But what is the divine response to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, since otherwise grace is no longer grace.  In the same way, there is also a remnant today. It may seem like the world and the culture of our society is becoming increasingly darkened. It has not taken God by surprise. In Matthew 24:4-14 Jesus says: “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many people. And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains. Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. And at that time many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people. And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold. But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Jesus says that many will be misled and fall away. He says that most people’s love will become cold.

In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus says: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” There is a misconception, that misleads many, that there are many ways to heaven. Again, Jesus choice of words, many and few, tell us that more will choose the wrong way or ways than the right way. In John 14:6 Jesus says it clearly: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”  It’s not that the way is difficult to find or to follow. It only becomes difficult when we strive to find other ways on our own.

Some will say that it is arrogant, non-inclusive and even hateful to say that Jesus is the only way to heaven. These same people will say that every person can have their own truth. Just as there is only one way, there is also only one truth. The problem is that truth sounds like hate to those who hate the truth. The truth is that faith in Christ is the most inclusive thing there is. It is not based on heritage, ethnicity, age, gender or social standing. John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.”  Romans 10:9-13 says: If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.” The same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  There is nothing more inclusive and loving than something that is open and available to everyone.

In John 17:17 Jesus prayed: “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” In Jeremiah 29:12-14 God says: Call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you.  Anyone and everyone who will truly seek the truth in God’s word, will find Jesus. He fulfilled over three hundred Messianic prophecies through His birth, His life, His death and resurrection. Consider this from spreadingthelight.com Someone much smarter than I has done the math on what the odds of Jesus “accidentally” fulfilling the prophecies about the Messiah.  In other words, if Jesus wasn’t really the Messiah, what are the odds that he just happened to fulfill the prophecies that were written about the Messiah hundreds and sometimes thousands of years before He was born. The odds of Jesus fulfilling just 8 prophecies, Born at Bethlehem, Preceded by a Messenger, Enter Jerusalem on a Donkey, Betrayed by a friend, sold for 30 pieces of silver, money thrown into God’s house and used to by the Potter’s field, Silent before His accusers, and crucified between two thieves are 1 in 10 to the 17^th power.  Or 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000.  That number is 100 quadrillion in case you want the name for it.  To picture the odds, cover the state of Texas with silver dollars two feet deep.  Mark one silver dollar.  Have someone blindfolded and have them choose the marked coin.  Those are the odds of Jesus fulfilling all 8 of these prophecies. Now, there are 48 major prophecies concerning the Messiah.  (You’re likely to read several different numbers depending on the interpreter.  Some of the prophecies overlap and one interpreter counts it all as one prophecy while another interpreter counts it as separate prophecies.) The odds of Jesus fulfilling 48 major prophecies are in 1 in 10 to the 157^th power.  That a 1 with 157 zeroes behind it.  The number has no name but looks like this: 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000  Give or take a couple of zeroes because I’m not recounting them, you get the picture…

As part of the remnant today, as those who have believed and follow the narrow way, in Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus says: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”   We are not to hide the truth, but rather to speak it boldly and shine it brightly so that others may see and glorify God in heaven.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit. Sanctify them in truth. Your word is truth. Amen.