A Remnant Chosen by Grace
Scripture Reading: Romans 11:1–10 (ESV)
1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel?
3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.”
4 But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.
6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened,
8 as it is written,
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”
9 And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”
Paul makes it clear that God has not rejected Israel. Paul himself is living proof, as an Israelite who has come to faith in Christ. Just as in Elijah’s time, when God preserved a faithful remnant, there remains a remnant in Paul’s day—chosen not by works, but by grace.
This truth reminds us that God’s plans never fail. Salvation is always a work of grace, never earned by human effort. Even when the majority turn away, God preserves those who are His, and His purposes remain unshaken.
As we pray today, we remember that grace is the foundation of our relationship with God, and we give thanks that He has called us to be part of His people.
Prayer Points:
Thank God that He saves by grace and not by works.
Pray for humility to remember that your salvation is His doing from start to finish.
Ask God to strengthen the faith of believers in hard and resistant places.