Romans 11:1-6 (NIV)

Romans 11:1-6 (NIV)
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.
2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah--how he appealed to God against Israel:
3 "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me"?
4 And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal."
5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
6 And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

This is a huge concern for people who call themselves followers of Christ. Here is why it should concern you. Does God reject His people? Does He choose people to follow Him and then arbitrarily turn His back on them? Why follow a God that is going to dump you? The answer of course is no, God has not rejected His people. Paul being a Jew of the Jews could say this with a lot of authority. God always protects a group that truly believe in Him. In the Scripture the term "a remnant" is used to describe that group of people. The question that is going to arise is how did they get in on this and the answer is God. God chose these people to make sure there was always going to be a witness. If it was left up to us it would not happen. They were chosen by the grace of God. I do believe they responded to God's grace out of obedience. It was not something that those particular people had done in order to get in on God's grace. If it was, as Paul argues, it would be of works and not of grace. Have you ever pondered why you are His child? Have you thought back to all the events that led up to you saying yes to Christ Jesus? Have you thought through as to why you are still a follower of Christ? Are you just lucky? You and I are a grace child. We have been adopted by our heavenly Father. Grace, grace, grace how stupendous is His grace! It is truly amazing grace.

As the earth can produce nothing unless it is fertilized by the sun, so we can do nothing without the grace of God.

Saint Jean Baptiste Marie Vianney (1786–1859)