The Remnant of Israel (Romans 11: 1-10)

📖 Episode Summary

In this episode, we examine Paul’s response to one of the most pressing theological questions of his time—and ours: Has God rejected His people, Israel? Drawing on Romans 11:1–10, Paul answers with an emphatic “By no means!” and presents both himself and a preserved remnant as evidence of God's continued faithfulness.

We explore how the apparent shift in salvation history—from Israel to the Gentiles—does not represent a change in God's character or His covenant promises. Rather, Paul shows how even in Israel’s rejection, God is working out His sovereign purpose through grace and election.

🧭 Key Themes

• God’s Faithfulness to Israel: Paul declares that God has not rejected His people, citing his own Jewish identity and calling as proof.
• The Remnant: Just as in the days of Elijah, God has preserved a faithful remnant—chosen not by works but by grace.
• Grace vs. Works: Paul clarifies that salvation is entirely by grace. If it’s by grace, it can’t be by works—otherwise, grace ceases to be grace.
• Spiritual Hardening: Those who rejected Christ have been spiritually hardened. Paul quotes Isaiah and David to show that this outcome was foretold.
• The Tragedy of Missed Messiah: Despite possessing the Scriptures and promises, Israel as a whole missed their Messiah due to pride and mishandling of God’s Word.

🔍 Scripture Focus

• Romans 11:1–2a – “Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite…”
• Romans 11:4 – “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
• Romans 11:5–6 – A remnant chosen by grace, not works.
• Romans 11:7–10 – Israel’s hardening foretold through Isaiah and David.

🧠 Reflective Questions

1. What does Paul’s identity as a Jewish believer reveal about God's ongoing covenant faithfulness?
2. How do the stories of Elijah and the remnant challenge our assumptions about God's activity in times of spiritual decline?
3. In what ways can we be tempted to rely on works rather than grace in our own spiritual journey?
4. How might spiritual hardening occur in a life, a church, or a nation?
5. What warning—and what comfort—can we draw from God’s dealings with Israel?

🕊️ Closing Encouragement

God’s promises do not fail, even when people do. The remnant reminds us that God always preserves a faithful people, not because of merit but because of grace. And if He has not abandoned Israel, we can be confident He will not abandon those who are in Christ.

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• 16:17 [Ad] The Balance of Gray
• 17:05 (Cont.) The Remnant of Israel (Romans 11: 1-10)

Transcript

“The Remnant of Israel” (Romans 11:1–10)

Transcript:

In the Old Testament, the fact is unmistakable: God is dealing almost exclusively with the nation of Israel. From Moses to Malachi, the divine dialogue is directed toward the Jewish people, we can’t escape that reality. 

Through covenant, promise, history and prophecy, God reveals Himself to this chosen people, giving them the Law, the land, and the hope of redemption.

But as we turn the page into the New Testament, the narrative seems to shift. The nation of Israel, having awaited its Messiah, ultimately rejects Him. 

And now, astonishingly, in the New Testament we see the message of salvation being extended far and wide—to the Gentiles as it described, meaning to all nations.

This observation, though straightforward in form, raises an urgent spiritual question: Does this shift mean God is finished with Israel? 

If so, what does that say about the promises God made to Abraham, to Moses, and through the prophets? Were they conditional, revocable, or only ever symbolic? 

More than that—what would it mean for the very character of God? Can a God who promises with eternity in view suddenly change course? If He has set Israel aside permanently, could He not do the same with us?

The Apostle Paul anticipates this very line of questioning. In fact, he devotes three whole chapters of Romans—chapters 9, 10, and 11—to this precise issue. In these chapters, Paul wrestles again and again with all the nuances of the tension between Israel’s rejection of the gospel and God’s enduring faithfulness.

So, again he returns to our question: Is God finished with Israel?

To answer that question, and to offer a new insight we can turn to Romans 11 and begin at verse 1:

….

“I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew...” (Romans 11:1–2a)

Here, Paul confronts the question head-on. Has God cast away His people? His answer is emphatic—By no means! The Greek expression is mē genoito—“May it never be!” It’s the strongest possible way to say, “absolutely not.” For Paul, such a notion is unthinkable. And he even offers himself as ‘Exhibit A’. “I am an Israelite,” he says. “A living example that God has not rejected His people.”

Paul then reminds us of a scene from Israel’s past, when Elijah, in despair, cried out to God. Israel had torn down the altars and killed the prophets.

Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel:  “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me]?

But what was God’s answer? V 4.

“I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.

(Romans 11:4)

In other words, even in moments of apparent total abandonment, God had preserved a faithful remnant. Paul says the same is true in his day—and in ours, as it was in the days of Elijah.:

“So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace” 

(Rom 11: 5)

This remnant, Paul insists, is not chosen because of their works or their religious zeal. They are chosen by grace. And grace, by definition, excludes any notion of merit.

“And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace..”

(Rom 11:6)

So, what, then, has happened to Israel? Paul is painfully clear:

“What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, as it is written:

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

And David says:

“May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,

    and their backs be bent forever.”

 (Rom 6: 7-10)

He describes the judgment that has come upon those who refused to believe: The are under a spiritual stupor, their eyes cannot see, their ears will not hear. The warnings of Isaiah and the lament of David come into sharp focus. God has allowed their disobedience to become their own snare.

But all of this brings us back to Paul’s central concern. Yes, Israel as a nation has rejected Christ. But no, that does not mean God has rejected them. Just as in the time of Elijah, God is preserving a faithful remnant. His promises have not failed. His plan is not abandoned.

God faithful even when His people are not. God is not finished with Israel—nor is He ever finished with those He has called according to His purpose.

Paul now begins to explore the deeper implications of this truth—and how God uses Israel’s stumbling to bring salvation to the Gentiles.

The first proof Paul gives that God has not cast away His people comes right in verse 1—himself. Paul said, “I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” In other words, “Look at me! I’m living proof that God hasn’t abandoned Israel.” 

Paul isn’t speaking merely spiritually—he’s referring to his physical, ethnic identity as a Jew. He’s a descendant of Abraham, from the distinguished tribe of Benjamin. And remember when the kingdom split after Solomon’s reign, it was the tribe of Benjamin—along with Judah—that remained faithful to God, while the northern tribes fell into apostasy. 

Paul’s heritage, then, is no small footnote—it stands as a testimony to God’s continued covenant faithfulness.

Yet someone might say, “Sure, but you're just one man. One swallow doesn’t make a summer.” Fair enough. So, Paul offers a second proof: the remnant.

And then Paul brings in Elijah. You remember the story—1 Kings 19. Elijah, fresh off the showdown with the prophets of Baal, flees in fear from Queen Jezebel. He collapses under a tree and laments, “I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 

It’s the cry of a man in despair, convinced he’s the only faithful one left. But what does God say in reply? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” In other words, Elijah, you’re not alone. There is a faithful remnant.

Just as there was a remnant in Elijah’s day, there is one in his day too—and, we might add, in ours as well. “Even so then, at this present time,” he says, “there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” There are Jewish believers who have embraced their Messiah, not because of their own works, but because of God's grace. 

That’s the key phrase—“according to the election of grace.”

Grace is God's initiative. The remnant exists not because of human faithfulness, but because of divine election. And that, Paul says, is proof that God is not finished with Israel.

What Paul is saying is actually quite straightforward. There is a remnant—how do we know? Because God chose them. That’s it. 

If you try to mix the two, you lose both.. You either earned it, or you received it freely. 

He’s making it absolutely clear: God has not rejected His people because there is still a remnant—and that remnant exists purely because of God’s sovereign choice.

So, Paul has illustrated this through two examples: first, himself—Paul, a Jew, saved by grace—and second, the continued existence of a believing remnant within Israel, just like in Elijah’s time. 

Elijah thought Elijah thought he was the only one left, but God reminded him that He had preserved seven thousand. In the same way, Paul says, don’t presume to know what God is doing behind the scenes. If you think you’re the only one faithful, you’re underestimating God's hidden work.

Israel, as a whole, did not obtain what it was seeking. But the elect—those chosen by grace—did obtain it, and the rest were hardened. 

That’s a heavy truth. We’ve already walked through the theology of election in chapters 9 and 10, and here Paul applies it. 

Some were saved because God elected them; the rest were hardened—but not arbitrarily. Their hardening came after their rejection of the truth.

They first resisted God, and then their hearts were hardened—because of that resistance.

The word Paul uses for “hardened” in Greek refers to becoming callous or petrified—like a soft place turned to stone. Think of the bottom of your foot. At first, it’s soft and sensitive—ticklish, even. But walk barefoot over rocks long enough, and it hardens. You don’t feel anything anymore.

Spiritually, that’s what happened to Israel: they were once receptive to God’s truth. But as they rejected their Messiah, they became spiritually insensitive, petrified even.

Paul, as ever, backs up his conclusions with Scripture. First, he quotes Isaiah 29:9–10: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that wouldn’t see, ears that wouldn’t hear.” Isaiah was talking about a people who had already closed their hearts to God. As judgment, God confirmed their condition—He gave them over to it.

Then Paul quotes from Psalm 69:22–23, where David says their table—normally a place of blessing—became a trap and a stumbling block. The very things meant for their good turned into their downfall, because they rejected the One who set the table.

So, they stumbled. They were blinded. And their backs were bent beneath the weight of their spiritual fall. It’s a picture of judgment: they are no longer upright and walking freely, but crippled, hardened, unable to see, unable to stand. All because they rejected the Messiah.

He has illustrates this tragic truth by quoting Isaiah and David—two key witnesses from the Old Testament—to show that this spiritual hardening is not a new idea but a fulfilment of what God had already revealed.

The pattern of divine election and human rejection was long foretold. The elect among Israel—those chosen by God—have found what they were looking for, but the rest, in their unbelief, were hardened. And the testimonies of Scripture establish this—just as the Law says: “By the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.”

Now, here’s the astonishing part: Israel had the Scriptures. They also had the Law, the Prophets, the very Word of God pointing forward to the Messiah. And yet when He came, they missed Him.

They rejected the One to whom their entire faith pointed. Why?

Paul implies—and others have suggested—that their blindness, their spiritual hardening, was partly due to the very way they handled those Scriptures.

They didn’t approach the Word with a heart of humility and faith. Instead, they layered over God’s revelation with complex traditions and a sort of worldly philosophical rabbinic logic heavily influenced by Greek neo- platonic philosophy.

The Torah—the Pentateuch, the writings of Moses—was clear enough. But over time, it was supplemented and, overshadowed by what was called the Talmud, with its interpretations and endless debates. The result? They missed the plain truth. 

When Jesus stood before them, the living fulfilment of their own Scriptures, they did not recognize Him.

That kind of twisted logic can lead someone far from the truth, and they can end up focusing on the questions, rather than the answers. And that, Paul suggests, is precisely what happened to many of his fellow Jews.

The Scriptures were meant to reveal God. But mishandled, they instead became a fog which obscured God. What was meant to be a lamp to their feet, became a cloud of darkness.

So where does that leave us?

Paul’s point in the opening verses of Romans 11 is very clear: God has not cast off His people. There remains a faithful remnant. Paul himself is a part of it. Elijah saw it in his day. And still today, God saves by grace—through divine selection of faithful people.

And here's the broader picture, drawn from across all of chapters 9, 10, and 11.

As a whole: Israel’s rejection of the Messiah was never total, and it is not final. Numbers were never the point. God’s promises are not dependent on the numbers—but on His mercy. He can fulfil His purposes through a faithful remnant. 

So, the real question behind all this is: Is God faithful?

If He made promises to Israel, will He keep them—even when Israel is unfaithful? Paul’s answer is a resounding yes. God has not abandoned His people. God is not fickle. God is faithful.

And this has huge implications for us today. Because if God can be trusted to keep His covenant with Israel—despite centuries of rebellion—then we can trust Him to keep His promises to us.

Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.” (John 10:28)

John 3:36 declares, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.” 

Has eternal life. Present tense. That’s a promise.

So, someone may ask: Do you believe in eternal security? 

I say, of course. Why? Because it is built on the integrity of God Himself. He made the promise. If He ever broke one of His promises—to anyone—then we’d all have reason to worry. But if He’s faithful to Israel—despite everything—then He will be faithful to me.

That’s the whole point of this section. God will not cast off His people. He’s still working with them. And that means He will not cast us off either. Nothing can separate us from His love.

Nothing can undo His grace. God is faithful.

And that means, my friend, you can be confident. You can be secure. You can trust every word He has spoken—because He always keeps His promises. 

The story is told that back many  years ago, the 18th century in fact. 

Frederick the Great, King and Prussian, said to his chaplain, “I have begun to doubt the validity and veracity of  the Scripture. I want you to give me a proof  that the Bible is the Word of God in one word.”

The chaplain said, I can do that. Israel." The fact that Isreal existed then and still exists today is a fact. In spite of all they have suffered, and all that has been brought against them. We know that even more so from where we are today looking back at the 20th century. 

In the Old Testament, God made a whole lot of promises. And a  lot of what this book of Romans is about God's faithfulness in keeping those promises. 

He promised that if they would  follow him, he'd bless them. 

He also promised  that if they disobeyed him, he would scatter them to the ends  of the earth. 

Did he do that? You bet.

You can rest assured; God does  not cast away his people. And what that means to us is  that God is faithful to his promise. And that is something you can really count on,