“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? ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.’ But what is God’s reply to him? ‘I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” Rom. 11:2-6
We remember the part about Elijah calling down fire from God to make the prophets of Baal look weak and useless. We remember the part where Elijah slew 900 plus or minus prophets of Baal in the Valley of the Kidron. His work was amazing! But do we remember God’s rebuke of his arrogance? We sometimes get so caught up in doing good things that we take God’s grace for granted thinking we are the only ones. God always sets us straight. And God through Paul saw this as such an important lesson that He brings it up again to make sure we see His point.
I don’t know about you but it seems that at least thirteen times a day I need to be reminded of how I got into God’s story of redemption and how I stay there. (13 is my favorite number, so obviously I need to be reminded a lot.) Occasionally I’m like Elijah, assuming I’m special to God because of something in me—as though my works, my zeal, my “righteousness”, my spiritual discipline, my suffering, my something… gives me credit and merit with God. What a foolish man I can be…just like Elijah when he questions God’s plans. ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.’
Interestingly enough, when I do this I am turning receiving God’s grace into a meritorious work by expecting it presumptuously because I am doing the “right” things and others are not. How arrogant I am when I, at any time, believe that receiving grace has anything to do with me.
And then there are times when I know myself to be an idolater—not worshiping Baal, but worshiping almost anything or everything else, wondering how I could possibly be His. I know I fall short of His glory—sinning against Him in word, thought and deed, every single day. Then, like a rebuke or a kiss from heaven (depending on if I’m walking in pride or wallowing in shame), I hear the Holy Spirit speak these words to my heart, once again: “I have kept for myself . . .” In eternity past, God chose by grace, and He is preserving by grace now a much-loved people for Himself. He is letting us know at least two things…He is God and we are not so we need Him every hour. And secondly, we are not alone in this journey; He has provided fellow Christians to carry the load so that none of us can take credit for His work.
In fact, less we forget like Elijah did, no nation or people group will be excluded from our family, this is how great His covenant love is towards His own. Not only now is this seen and experience but at the fuller level one Day, in the new heaven and new earth, His pan-national family will gather as one, and with one voice we will be singing and shouting words like these, “Salvation is of the Lord! Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise. We are here by grace alone!”
Paul reminds us of the point of the text here and the event in I Kings, “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace” (Rom. 11:6). O, how thankful I am (and hopefully y’all as well) that grace is still grace, and will never be anything less, anything else or anything other than grace!
God Bless.
In His Grip,
Pastor Mike
“Your faith will not fail you while God sustains you; you are not strong enough to fall away while God is resolved to hold you.” –J.I. Packer
