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The Holman Bible
Dictionary defines the word “remnant” as,
“Something left over, especially the
righteous people of God after divine
judgment.”
And the Baker Illustrated
Bible Dictionary says, “The concept of a
remnant or a “remnant theology” runs
throughout Scripture. Although appearing in
a wide variety of texts and contexts, the
central idea of the remnant concept or
remnant theology is that in the midst of
seemingly total apostasy and the
consequential terrible judgment and/or
destruction, God always has a small,
faithful group that he delivers and works
through to bring blessing.”
The remnant in the Old Testament were those
true believers who survived and remained
true to God at all times. God always
preserves a remnant.
The concept of a remnant is present
in:
• Noah and his family being
delivered through the flood (Genesis 6-9);
• Lot and his daughters being delivered out
of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18-19);
•
Joseph’s family being delivered out of
famine (Genesis 45);
• The faithful
Hebrews who did not bow their knee to Baal
(1 Kings 19);
• The Israelites who went
into captivity (Ezekiel 12);
• The few
Jews who would rebuild the nation after
Israel suffered judgment (Amos 9);
• The
Israelites who would survive the destruction
caused by the Assyrians (Isaiah 4; 12);
•
Christ’s other sheep, the believing Gentiles
(Acts 15:17; Amos 9:12; Romans 11:17;
Ephesians 3:6).
Not everyone who
thinks they will be saved are part of the
remnant people of God.
Jesus
said in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who
says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the
will of my Father who is in heaven. On that
day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we
not prophesy in your name, and cast out
demons in your name, and do many mighty
works in your name?’ And then will I declare
to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me,
you workers of lawlessness.’”
These
people who thought they deserved heaven
failed to enter into it because they didn’t
live by faith in the Son of God. Every
reason they gave for their right to be there
was based on their own good works. The fruit
they produced was bad so Christ had to cut
the tree down (Matt. 7:15-20). Just because
we think we are doing the right things
doesn’t mean we are truly saved. No one is
saved because they stopped eating flesh
meats or keep the seventh day Sabbath. We
are saved by grace through faith in the Son
of God alone. There is no other name under
heaven by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12).
God has always had a remnant of
true believers in every age.
Jesus said His true followers need to be
the salt of the earth, and a light to the
world. Matthew 5:13-16 says, “You are the
salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its
taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?
It is no longer good for anything except to
be thrown out and trampled under people’s
feet. “You are the light of the world. A
city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do
people light a lamp and put it under a
basket, but on a stand, and it gives light
to all in the house. In the same way, let
your light shine before others, so that they
may see your good works and give glory to
your Father who is in heaven.”
A remnant is a
fragment that’s left over, or a very small
part of the whole. The remnant that are
saved is that small group of people who
truly live their lives for Christ through
the power of the Holy Spirit. They are the
salt of the earth and a light in the
darkness.
The remnant in the
book of Revelation.
Revelation 12:17 says, “Then the dragon was
enraged at the woman and went off to make
war against the rest of her offspring—those
who obey God’s commandments and hold to the
testimony of Jesus.” (NIV)
Seventh-day Adventists
usually quote Revelation 12:17 from the King
James Version of the Bible to defend their
“Remnant Theology” which says, “And the
dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to
make war with the remnant of her seed, which
keep the commandments of God, and have the
testimony of Jesus Christ.”
To understand the meaning of this verse, we
have to understand what the Apostle John
means when he uses the word, “commandments.”
John said many times that we should keep
the commandments in his writings
(John 12; 14; 15; 1 Jn. 2:3, 4; 3:22, 23, 24;
1 Jn. 4:21; 5:2, 3; 2 Jn. 1:4-6; Rev. 12:17; 14:12;
cf. Rev. 22:14), but what exactly
does he mean by the word, “commandments”?
The word, “commandments” has different
meanings depending on the context, and the
author. John uses different Greek words for
“law” and “commandments” consistently in all
of his writings. When John is speaking about
the Old Covenant Law he uses the Greek word,
“nomos” exclusively (John 1:17, 45; 7:19).
Some of the other New Testament authors do
occasionally use entolē to refer to the law
but John never does! John used “entolē” in
Revelation 12:17 and Revelation 14:12 to
refer to the commandments of God that
Christ’s followers are expected to keep.
John always used the Greek word entolē to
mean a “moral and religious precept,
regulation or command.” John never said that
we have to keep the Ten Commandments from
the Old Covenant Law to be saved under the
New Covenant.
John was telling his
readers to be faithful to Christ and keep
the moral precepts, and commands of God
under the terms of the New Covenant.
[1]
The New Covenant has replaced
the Old Covenant Law.
John 1:17
says, “For the law was given through
Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ.”
Jesus introduced the
New Covenant to His disciples the night
before he died.
Luke 22:17-20
says, “And he took a cup, and when
he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and
divide it among yourselves. For I tell you
that from now on I will not drink of the
fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God
comes.” And he took bread, and when he had
given thanks, he broke it and gave it to
them, saying, “This is my body, which is
given for you. Do this in remembrance of
me.” And likewise the cup after they had
eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out
for you is the new covenant in my blood.”
To understand the Old and New Covenants,
we need to first understand what the word
“covenant” means. In basic terms, a covenant
is a formal legal agreement. It may be an
agreement between two people, a treaty
between nations, or between God and a human
individual or nation. A covenant is more
personal than a contract, it involves
loyalty and allegiance, not just a financial
exchange.
The Mosaic Covenant was one
of several ethical codes of conduct that God
has given to his people throughout human
history. God gave commands (codes of
conduct) to Adam and Eve living in the
Garden of Eden (Gen. 1:26-30; 2:15-17), to
Noah (Gen. 6-9), and to Abraham
(Gen. 12:1; 17:10-14; 26:5). The Mosaic code contained
all 613 laws of the Old Covenant found in Exodus
through
Deuteronomy. Today we live under the New
Covenant, law of Christ (Gal. 6:2; Rom. 8:2).
The New Covenant contains hundreds of
specific commands recorded in the New
Testament. [2]
Each covenant is like
a new legal contract. A contract must have
all of its requirements defined in the
contract. Each covenant can use elements
from previous covenants, reapply them, or
omit them completely and give new laws. The
laws from the Mosaic Covenant were done away
with entirely as a legal code. They have been
replaced by the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2;
1 Cor. 9:19-23; cf. Mark 12:28-31; 1 Jn. 4:7-8; 5:3).
The
temporary nature of the Old Covenant brought
nothing to fulfillment (Gal. 3:23-24;
Matt. 5:17). The New Covenant is better than the
Old Covenant because our redemption is
completely secure, and it makes having a
personal and intimate relationship with the
God who created us possible (Heb. 3:6).
Hebrews 7:12 says, “For when there is a
change in the priesthood, there is
necessarily a change in the law as well.”
The Levitical priesthood was set aside since
it was unable to accomplish God’s saving
purpose because of its “weakness and
uselessness” (Heb. 7:18). Only Jesus’ work
on the cross could bring God’s people to
perfection (Heb. 7:11; 9:9; 10:1). Unlike
the Levitical priesthood, Jesus’ priesthood
was final because the sacrifice that he made
on our behalf was perfect. Jesus, our new
high priest has accomplished “eternal
salvation for all who obey him” (Heb. 5:9).
“This makes Jesus the
guarantor of a better covenant” (Heb. 7:22).
The
Law of Moses was the legal agreement God
made with the nation of Israel at Mount
Sinai that the Ten Commandments summarized
(James 2:10; Gal. 5:3; Exod. 34:28;
Exod. 19:5-6; 24:3). It was never meant for the
Gentiles (Rom. 2:14-15; 9:3-5; 1 Cor. 9:20-21).
The Law was given to reveal man’s
sinful nature and to lead us to Christ, not
to justify us before God (Gal. 3:19-22; Rom. 3:19-20; 5:20;
Rom. 7:5-7; 8:7; 1 Tim. 1:8-11; Heb. 7:11-19).
Apart from Christ, the law can only
produce death (Rom. 5:20-21; 7:5).
The Mosaic law was given to watch
over us until we could be made new in Christ
(Romans 7:1-12; Galatians 3:23-25).
Christians have never been under the
authority or condemnation of the Old
Covenant Law, we are under God’s grace
(Rom. 6:14; 8:1-11; Gal. 5:18; Eph. 2:8-10). We
are called to live a new life of liberty,
and told to have the divine love of Christ
in our hearts as our only motivation
(Gal. 5:1, 13, 14).
Seventh-day Adventists and the true remnant:
Seventh-day Adventists don’t know what the
Old Covenant was, or understand the New
Covenant that Jesus Christ gave us. They
tell people to keep some of the laws from
the Old Covenant just like the Judaizers did
in Paul’s day (Rom. 2-8; Gal. 1-6; Eph. 1-2;
Col. 2; Heb. 4-10; James 2).
They
mix laws from the Bible without any regard
for context, the covenant they are in, or
the actual meaning of the words used in
their original language.
The people who make up
the “remnant” are those true Christians who
are faithful to Christ in every age.
Seventh-day Adventists are wrong about the
Sabbath being required for the Christian
church. The Sabbath was given to Israel alone
because it
served as a ceremonial sign of the Mosaic Covenant
(Exod. 31:16-17; Ezek. 20:12, 20). It was
never made an obligation for the church (Acts 15:1-20; Col. 2:14-17; Gal. 4:10-11;
Rom. 14:5-12; Eph. 2:11-18; 2 Cor. 3:3-11).
In fact, there is no command to
keep any day of the week holy in the New
Covenant. As Christians, we live by the
terms and obligations of the New Covenant,
not the Old Covenant Law. Seventh-day
Adventists are not the remnant church of
God.
God’s remnant
people need to learn to rest in what Jesus
Christ has already accomplished for us.
God wants us to trust Him, and rest in
Him, spiritually. The author of Hebrews
calls the rest Christ wants us to enter into
a “sabbatismós” Sabbath rest.
Hebrews 4:9-11
says, “So then, there remains a
Sabbath rest for the people of God, for
whoever has entered God’s rest has also
rested from his works as God did from his.
Let us therefore strive to enter that rest,
so that no one may fall by the same sort of
disobedience.”
The Complete Word
Study Dictionary says, “the noun
sabbatismós, a Sabbath keeping, is used in
Hebrews 4:9 to indicate the perpetual
Sabbath rest to be enjoyed uninterruptedly
by believers in their fellowship with the
Father and the Son in contrast to the weekly
Sabbath under the Law. It is a divine rest
into which the believers enter in their
relationship with God here on earth and in
eternity” [see: σαββατισμός / sabbatismós].
The rest God wants us to enter
is the rest of faith in the Son of God.
The rest in Hebrews 4 is not the weekly,
seventh day Sabbath from the Old Covenant.
God’s “sabbatismós” rest is a perpetual rest
believers enjoy without interruption in
their fellowship with the Father and the
Son, in contrast to the weekly Sabbath rest
given to Israel under the Law. It is a
divine rest that believers enter into with
God spiritually. We can begin to experience
it right now, in this life, and then on
through eternity.
Jesus wants
us to find our rest in Him and the salvation
He offers us.
Matthew 11:28-30
says, “Come to me, all you who are
weary and burdened, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from
me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls. For my
yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (NIV)
Jesus
invites everyone who is wearied and weighed
down by sin to experience true rest for
their souls by following Him. His yoke is
much easier to bare than the legalism, and
the self-righteous works that the scribes
and Pharisees preached (Mark 7:2-8; Acts 15:10).
If you put your trust in Jesus
Christ alone, and keep His commands, He will
give you rest from the heavy burden of sin,
and the impossible demands of trying to keep
the Old Covenant law.
The
remnant are the redeemed people of God.
The Old Testament talks a lot more about
a remnant than the New Testament does. In
its most basic sense, the remnant are true
believers who have been delivered from a
sinful world. Colossians 1:13 says, “He has
delivered us from the domain of darkness and
transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved
Son.”
The mission of the church is to share
Christ’s love with the lost world; proclaim
the good news of the gospel; nurture God’s
people; and exercise the gifts of the Spirit
to build up the body of Christ.
No
single organization, or church, has the right
to call themselves the remnant people of God. There
will be a remnant saved from every age who
have truly believed (see: Matt. 16:15-19;
Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12-14;
Eph. 1:22-23; 3:21; 4:4-13).
God’s remnant is the
true body of Christ. Christians should do
their best to live a good life for God
because they already know they are going to
be with Christ for eternity. God’s true
remnant understands that they are saved by
grace through faith in the Son of God, and
nothing more. They do their best to live for
God because they love Him. They are the ones
who serve God with all their hearts and
minds, and rest in Jesus Christ, the author
and perfecter of our faith (see: Matt. 16:15-19;
Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12-14; Eph. 1:22-23; 3:21; 4:4-13; Heb. 12:2).
You can know that you are part of
God’s remnant.
1 John 5:11-13
says, “And this is the
testimony, that God gave us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the
Son has life; whoever does not have the Son
of God does not have life. I write these
things to you who believe in the name of the
Son of God, that you may know that you have
eternal life.”
If you are a
Christian, you can know for certain that you
have eternal life. If you have accepted
Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you
can know that you have been redeemed and are
part of the true remnant people of God (John 3:36; 5:24).
References:
1. see:
The Apostle
John was not saying we need to keep the Ten
Commandments in any of His writings.
2.
see:
Basic Theology by Charles Caldwell
Ryrie: The End of the Law.
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