Romans 11:1-6

1: I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! 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, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

*** 

After showing that the Jews had no excuse for not believing in Jesus, Paul asked if God had rejected His people. The answer was "No!" God had not rejected the Jews. Paul himself was a Jew which proved that it was possible for a Jew to believe in Jesus and be saved. God’s salvation was extended to the Jews as well as the Gentiles. It hadn’t moved to the Gentiles in exclusion of the Jews but was always meant to include both Jew and Gentile. A Jewish person can believe in Jesus as the Messiah and receive the salvation He provided. This salvation is for all who believe.

Paul explained that just as God reserved a remnant in Elijah’s day, He had reserved a remnant for the present time. He quoted from 1 Kings 19:10-18 where Elijah, after slaying the prophets of Baal, being threatened by Jezebel, and running off to Mt. Horeb, was asked by the Lord what he was doing there. He answered that they’d killed all the prophets, torn down the altars, he was the only one left, and they were trying to kill him. The Lord told Elijah that He had a remnant—seven thousand men who had not bowed their knee to Baal.

Paul compared what happened in Elijah’s day, with their present time, explaining that God had reserved a remnant of Jewish believers in Christ. These are chosen by grace, not works. They were not trying to still keep the Law, seeking salvation by works. They are those who believe in Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah, following salvation by grace through faith.

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