|
The Holman Bible
Dictionary defines the word “remnant” as,
“Something left over, especially the
righteous people of God after divine
judgment.”
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).
Israel and
the remnant:
God wants every
person to know Him personally as their
loving, Heavenly Father. God's purpose has
always been to establish a people for
Himself who know Him as the one true God,
and follow Him with all their hearts and
minds. The Old Covenant promise to make
Israel the people of God was conditional on
their obedience to the covenant.
Exodus 19:5-6 says, “Now therefore, if you
will indeed obey my voice and keep my
covenant, you shall be my treasured
possession among all peoples, for all the
earth is mine; and you shall be to me a
kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These
are the words that you shall speak to the
people of Israel.” (see: 1 Peter 2:9-10).
Israel promised to be obedient
to God and keep His covenant.
Exodus 19:7-8 says, ”So Moses came and
called the elders of the people and set
before them all these words that the LORD
had commanded him. All the people answered
together and said, “All that the LORD has
spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the
words of the people to the LORD.”
The Old Testament prophets often talked
about a remnant of faithful believers. The
prophets were called by God to announce His
judgment upon Israel when they rebelled
against Him and His covenant. Even though
most of Israel was unfaithful, God promised
to preserve a remnant from among His people.
Another one of the main functions of
a prophet was to build up and encourage
God’s remnant (1 Kings 19:18; Isaiah 1:9; 8:16-19; 10:20-23; 28:5; Jeremiah 15:19-21),
and prepare them for the coming of the
promised Messiah (Micah 5:2-3; 5:7-8;
Zechariah 8:11-12; Malachi 3:16-18; Matthew 1:18-21; Luke 1:5-7; 2:25-38).
Israel
was supposed to be a living example and
witness to the whole world. One by one, the
nations of the world would see the infinite
superiority of worship and service to
Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God of Israel
and unite with them in their service to God
(Deuteronomy 4:6-9; 7:12-15; 28:1-13; Isaiah 49:3-7; 61:9; 62:1-2; 2:2-3; 11:10; 14:1; 19:18-22; 45:14; 55:5; 56:3-8; 60:1-12;
Jeremiah 3:17; 16:19; 33:9; Zechariah 2:11; 8:20-23).
Israel forfeited
possession of the land of Canaan due to
apostasy.
God repeatedly
extended his grace to Israel through His
prophets, but they continually resisted and
rejected him (2 Kings 17:7-23; Jeremiah 25:3-11; 26:1-9). The nation spent 70 years
of captivity in Babylon because they
continually violated the covenant and
received the covenant curses promised for
disobeying God's Law (Deuteronomy 28:63-65;
Joshua 24; Judges 2:1-3; Jeremiah 32:21-23).
God's desire was for them to learn from
adversity what they could have learned
through times of blessings and prosperity
(Jeremiah 25:5-7; Jeremiah 46:28; Ezekiel 20:35-38). After their captivity, Israel
returned to their home land and God warned
them about future judgments to come if they
continued in their unfaithfulness.
God’s faithful remnant who lived under the
Old Covenant understood that the covenant
God made with Israel was conditional (Exodus 19:5-6; Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28:1-6; 28:15-19; 28-30; Jeremiah 12:14-17; 18:7-11; 26:1-6; Daniel 9:24-27). If Israel, as a
nation rejected God and He brought judgment
upon them, they knew they would still be
safe. Even if Israel persisted in their
rejection of God and He brought the Old
Covenant to an end, they knew they would be
secure. They could know they were safe and
secure because they were obedient and lived
by faith in the promises of God, not by
trusting in their works.
God brought
the Old Covenant to an end when Israel
rejected their Messiah. Just before his
death, Jesus declared the coming destruction
of the nation with all of its temple
services (Jeremiah 12:14-17; 18; 26:1-6;
Daniel 9:26-27; Matthew 23:37-39; 21:42-44;
Luke 13:34-35; 1 Kings 9:7; Jeremiah 22:5; 1 Peter 2:9).
Sadly, most of Israel
had rebelled against God and rejected their
Messiah. But there was a small number, a
remnant of believing Jews, who accepted
Jesus as their Messiah and went on to form
the Christian Church, the New Covenant
people of God (Luke 24:44-49; John 20:20-22;
Acts 1:13-15; 2:1-4).
The Church was
predominantly Jewish when it began; they
were God’s faithful remnant of believing
Jews. The Gentiles who believed in Jesus
were grafted into the true olive tree of
believing Israel (the inheritors of the
promises of the Abrahamic covenant), and
became part of the church of Christ (Genesis 12:1, 2; 17:7, 8; Hosea 14:6; Acts 13:43; 15:15-21; 17:2-4; 18:8;
Romans 2:28-29; 9:6-8; 11:11-31).
Jesus’
mission on earth was to share the good news
of salvation with Israel.
Galatians 4:4-5 says, “But when the time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a
woman, born under law, to redeem those under
law, that we might receive the full rights
of sons.”
Matthew 15:24 says, “He
answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel.”
Romans 15:8
says, “For I tell you that Christ became a
servant to the circumcised to show God’s
truthfulness, in order to confirm the
promises given to the patriarchs,”
Jesus made it clear that He was the
fulfillment of all of Israel’s hopes and
desires. Everything Israel had longed to see
was coming true in the life of Jesus of
Nazareth. Their redemption was close at
hand. How they responded to Jesus’ message
of salvation would determine their eternal
destiny.
Jesus is the only
way.
John 15:1-6 says, "I am
the true vine, and my Father is the
gardener. He cuts off every branch in me
that bears no fruit, while every branch that
does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be
even more fruitful. You are already clean
because of the word I have spoken to you.
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No
branch can bear fruit by itself; it must
remain in the vine. Neither can you bear
fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the
vine; you are the branches. If a man remains
in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit;
apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone
does not remain in me, he is like a branch
that is thrown away and withers; such
branches are picked up, thrown into the fire
and burned." (NIV)
Acts 4:12 says,
“And there is salvation in no one else, for
there is no other name under heaven given
among men by which we must be saved.”
The New Covenant includes Jews
and Gentiles who have accepted Jesus Christ
as their Lord and Savior.
Romans 2:28-29 says, “For no one is a Jew
who is merely one outwardly, nor is
circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew
is one inwardly, and circumcision is a
matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by
the letter. His praise is not from man but
from God.”
Galatians 3:28-29 says,
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither slave nor free, there is no male and
female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if you are Christ’s, then you are
Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to
promise.”
And Galatians 6:15 says,
“For neither circumcision counts for
anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new
creation.”
Our ethnicity doesn’t
matter! Our gender and skin color doesn’t
matter either. The only thing that matters
is how we respond to the gospel. We can only
be justified and redeemed when we make Jesus
Christ the Lord and Savior of our lives.
A remnant from the Gentiles comes to
faith.
Acts 15:17 says,
“That the remnant of mankind may seek the
Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by
my name, says the Lord, who makes these
things.”
James quoted from Amos 9:11-12 and Isaiah 45:21 at the Jerusalem
Council to point out that the Gentiles who
were coming to faith in their time was
prophesied by the Old Testament prophets.
Through them, God had promised that a
remnant from both Israel and the Gentiles
would be saved (see: Acts 10:47; 16:14-15; 17:1-4; 18:7-8).
The Apostle
Paul tells us why Israel failed as a nation
to keep God’s covenant.
Romans 9:30-33 says, "What shall we say,
then? That Gentiles who did not pursue
righteousness have attained it, that is, a
righteousness that is by faith; but that
Israel who pursued a law that would lead to
righteousness did not succeed in reaching
that law. Why? Because they did not pursue
it by faith, but as if it were based on
works. They have stumbled over the stumbling
stone, as it is written, “Behold, I am
laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a
rock of offense; and whoever believes in him
will not be put to shame.”
Jesus was
the stone that Israel stumbled over (1 Peter 2:6-8). We can only be saved by putting our
faith in what Jesus Christ has done for us,
not by keeping the Law, or doing good things
to earn our salvation. Doing good things is
not bad. Living a moral life should be the
goal for God’s people in every age. The
problem Israel had was they believed that
the Law was a means to an end. They believed
they had to keep the law to be saved. They
were trying to do something that no one
could do, keep the law well enough to earn
the right to go to heaven.
Jesus is
the only person who has ever kept the law
perfectly! He did everything the law
required, never once breaking any of its
commands. Because He was without sin, Jesus
was able to meet all of the requirements of
the Law to be the perfect sacrifice for our
sins. His death redeemed humanity from the
curse of the law and made it possible for
humanity to be with God again.
Romans 5:19 says, “For as by the one man’s
disobedience the many were made sinners, so
by the one man’s obedience the many will be
made righteous.
Galatians 3:13 says,
“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of
the law, having become a curse for us (for
it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs
on a tree').”
The Curse of
the Law was removed by Jesus' death.
The curse that the law had over humanity
was removed. The death of Christ meant that
those who were slaves under the law could
become the children of God and heirs to His
promise of eternal life (Galatians 4:4-7;
cf. John 1:17; Romans 3:21-26; 6:14; 7:4; 10:4; Philippians 3:9; Galatians 3:13, 21, 22; 5:1; Ephesians 2:14-15; Colossians 2:13-17; 2 Corinthians 3:3-11; Hebrews 7:19; 10:1).
God promised that a
remnant of believing Jews would still come
from the people of Israel.
Romans 9:6-8 says, “But it is not as though
the word of God has failed. For not all who
are descended from Israel belong to Israel,
and not all are children of Abraham because
they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac
shall your offspring be named.” This means
that it is not the children of the flesh who
are the children of God, but the children of
the promise are counted as offspring.”
In Romans 9; 11, Paul was talking
about God’s promise to make Abraham’s
descendants as numerous as the stars in the
sky (Genesis 22:17). Yet, from this huge
number of people, only a small group would
ultimately be saved.
Paul
knew that he was part of God’s remnant.
Romans 11:1-5 says, “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. 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.”
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 (Matthew 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.
Jesus is the only way!
Matthew 7:13-14 says, "Enter by the
narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the
way is easy that leads to destruction, and
those who enter by it are many. For the gate
is narrow and the way is hard that leads to
life, and those who find it are few."
The remnant is chosen out of all those
people who have ever lived. Jesus said the
number of true believers would be small in
comparison to the rest of the people who
ever lived. Those of us who believe in Jesus
Christ as our Lord and Savior can trust in
the fact that we belong to the remnant
people of God.
God’s people
are called to be ambassadors for Christ to a
fallen world.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation. The old has
passed away; behold, the new has come. All
this is from God, who through Christ
reconciled us to himself and gave us the
ministry of reconciliation; that is, in
Christ God was reconciling the world to
himself, not counting their trespasses
against them, and entrusting to us the
message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are
ambassadors for Christ, God making his
appeal through us. We implore you on behalf
of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our
sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin,
so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God."
Those who
follow Jesus Christ need to see themselves
as God’s missionaries to a fallen world. We
need to see ourselves as light-bearers to a
world in darkness and despair. No matter
what gifts you have, we all have to testify
for Christ and let those around us know that
it is His light that shines in our lives.
God’s remnant people need to
learn to rest in what Jesus Christ has
already accomplished for them.
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].
Some Sabbatarians use Hebrews 4
as a proof text for weekly Sabbath-keeping.
Hebrews 4 compares 3 different types of
rest spoken of in the Old Testament to the
rest God wants us to enter into in the New
Covenant. The rest God alone entered into
after He created the universe (Hebrews 4:4),
the future rest spoken of by David in the
psalms (Hebrews 4:6-7), and the rest Joshua
wanted Israel to enter into when they took
possession of the promised land (Hebrews 4:8-10). The passage doesn’t say anywhere
that God wants us to keep the weekly,
seventh-day Sabbath from the Old Covenant in
the New Covenant.
The rest
God wants us to enter is the rest of faith
in the Son of God.
God’s
rest is not about keeping a day of the week
holy. The book of Hebrews is talking about
trusting in Christ alone for our salvation.
The Jewish Christians were being warned not
to leave Christ behind by apostatizing and
going back into Judaism. The book of Hebrews
says that trying to keep the Sabbath day as
a moral obligation was lapsing back into
Judaism and putting yourself back under the
law. Returning to Judaism is described in
the book of Hebrews as going back to
destruction, or perdition, in Hebrews 10:39.
The Old Covenant system of laws and
ceremonies were never given to save anyone,
they only pointed forward to what Christ
would do for us. The people to whom the book
was written to needed to be reminded that
salvation is by grace, through faith in
Jesus Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-10; cf.
Luke 7:50; John 3:14-18; 3:36; 5:24; 6:35;
Acts 13:39; 16:31; Romans 3:22-26; 4:5-16; 10:10; Galatians 3:14, 22; Ephesians 2:5; 1 John 5:10-12).
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.
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 John 2:3, 4; 1 John 3:22, 23, 24;
1 John 4:21; 5:2, 3; 2 John 1:4, 5; 2 John 1:6; Revelation 12:17; 14:12;
cf.
Revelation 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 instituted the New Covenant with
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.”
Most covenants in ancient times were
sealed with blood, and the sacrificial blood
that sealed the New Covenant was the blood
that Jesus shed for us on Calvary's cross
(Exodus 24:8; Leviticus 17:11-14; Isaiah 53:12; Matthew 26:38). Unlike the Old
Covenant sacrifices, Jesus' blood covers
everyone who accepts Him as their Lord and
Savior (Luke 22:19; Mark 14:24; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Hebrews 9:28).
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 (Genesis 1:26-30; 2:15-17),
to Noah (Genesis 6-9), and to Abraham
(Genesis 12:1; 17:10-14; 26:5). The Mosaic
code contained all 613 laws of the Old
Covenant (Exodus - Deuteronomy). Today we
live under the New Covenant, law of Christ
(Galatians 6:2; Romans 8:2). The New
Covenant contains hundreds of specific
commands recorded in the New Testament.
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. It has been
replaced by the law of Christ.
The
temporary nature of the Old Covenant brought
nothing to fulfillment (Galatians 3:23-24;
Matthew 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 (Hebrews 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" (Hebrews 7:18). Only Jesus’
work on the cross could bring God’s people
to perfection (Hebrews 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”
(Hebrews 5:9).
The Old Covenant was a
veiled picture what was to come, it was not
the substance, Christ is! The symbols and
types of the
Mosaic Covenant served as word-pictures of
what Christ would do for us in the future.
They were a pale reflection of what was to
come. They were called shadows. Hebrews 10:1
says, “For since the law has but a shadow of
the good things to come instead of the true
form of these realities, it can never, by
the same sacrifices that are continually
offered every year, make perfect those who
draw near.” Shadows are not solid or
permanent, they only exist because a
physical object has cast the shadow. The Old
Covenant ceremonies were merely shadows
pointing forward to the work that Jesus
Christ would accomplish on our behalf. Now
that He has come, the Old Covenant
ceremonies have served their purpose and
have come to an end (Colossians 2:14-17;
Ephesians 2:15; Galatians 3; Hebrews 8:5-13; 10:1; Romans 14:5; Galatians 4:9-11; Acts 15).
The Old Covenant’s sacrificial
system prefigured Christ's ultimate
sacrifice on our behalf. The animal
sacrifices were imperfect and could not
purify the person who offered them
completely. If they had been able to, they
would have ceased altogether. The annual
sacrifice on the Day of the Atonement was a
yearly reminder of the people's sins. In
Christ, we have complete forgiveness for our
sins. Hebrews 8:12 says, “For I will be
merciful toward their iniquities, and I will
remember their sins no more” (cf. Romans 11:27; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 10:17).
Christ’s followers have an assurance of
salvation that believing Israel never had.
There is nothing conditional about the New
Covenant’s promise of salvation by faith
alone for those
who are in Christ Jesus.
Hebrews 7:22
says, “This makes Jesus the guarantor of a
better covenant.”
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;
Galatians 5:3; Exodus 34:28; Exodus 19:5-6; 24:3). It was never meant for the Gentiles
(Romans 2:14-15, Romans 9:3-5; 1 Corinthians 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 (Galatians 3:19-22; Romans 3:19-20; Romans 5:20; Romans 7:5-7; Romans 8:7; 1 Timothy 1:8-11; Hebrews 7:11-19). The
law can only produce death (Romans 5:20-21;
Romans 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 (Romans 6:14; 8:1-11; Galatians 5:18;
Ephesians 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 (Galatians 5:1, 13, 14).
All these elements come together
to form what Paul calls, the “law of
Christ.”
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. It was never made an
obligation for the church to keep. 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
wrong about who the remnant are as well.
The Old Covenant Law was an unbearable
burden.
Matthew 11:28-30
says, “Come to me, all who labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I
am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will
find rest for your souls. For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light.”
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 is 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 church. There
will be a remnant saved from every age who
have truly believed (see: Matthew 16:15-19;
Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12-14;
Ephesians 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: Matthew 16:15-19; Romans 12:4-5;
1 Corinthians 12-14; Ephesians 1:22-23; 3:21; 4:4-13; Hebrews 12:2).
You can know that you are part of the
remnant who is redeemed.
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 been redeemed. If you have accepted
Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you can
know for certain that you have eternal life
(John 3:36; 5:24).
References:
1.
The Apostle John was not saying we need to
keep the Ten Commandments in any of His
writings.
See also:
What is the Gospel? |
What does it mean to be born again? |
The Process of Salvation |
How do we overcome our sinful nature? |
Do you have a saving faith? |
We serve in the new way of the Spirit |
Is it really
possible to keep the Ten Commandments? |
Can a Christian really become perfect? |
God promised to make a New Covenant for us
to live by!
|
