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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
Israelites who would survive the destruction
caused by Assyria (Isaiah 4; 12);
• The few
Jews who would rebuild the nation after
Israel suffered judgment (Amos 9);
•
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.
Seventh-day Adventists claim to
be God’s remnant church today based on
Revelation 12:17.
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
meant when he used the word, “commandments.”
John said many times in his writings
that we should keep the commandments (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
“commandments” does John want us to keep?
The word, “commandments” has different
meanings depending on the context, and the
author. John used 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).
John used the Greek word “entolē”
in Revelation 12:17 and Revelation 14:12 to
refer to the commandments of God that
Christ’s followers are expected to keep.
Some of the other New Testament authors do
occasionally use entolē to refer to
the Old Covenant Law but John never does!
John always used 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, not the old.
[1]
Seventh-day Adventists don’t
understand that the New Covenant law has
replaced the Old Covenant Law.
John 1:17 says, “For the law was given
through Moses; grace and truth came through
Jesus Christ.”
Hebrews 8:13 says, “In
speaking of a new covenant, he makes the
first one obsolete. And what is becoming
obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish
away.”
And Hebrews 9:15 says
“Therefore he is the mediator of a new
covenant, so that those who are called may
receive the promised eternal inheritance,
since a death has occurred that redeems them
from the transgressions committed under the
first covenant.” (cf. Heb. 12:24).
The Old and New Covenants are not
the same.
• The Ten
Commandments are the foundational laws for
the rest of the laws of the Old Covenant
(Exod. 34:27-28; Deut. 4:13; 5:2-3; 9:9).
• All of the 613 laws of the Old Covenant
were made obsolete by the New Covenant (Heb. 8:6-13; 9:1-4;
2 Cor. 3:3-11; Col. 2:16-17;
Eph. 2:11-18).
• The New Covenant has its
own legal code called the law of Christ
(Gal. 6:2; 1 Cor. 9:19-23; Mark 12:28-31;
1 Jn. 4:7-8; Rom. 8:1-4; 13:8-10).
• You
cannot live under two competing covenants at
the same time (Rom. 7:1-7 Gal. 4:21-31).
The only laws Christians are expected to
keep are the laws given in the New Covenant.
The New Covenant is the promise that God
will forgive all of our sins and give us
eternal life when we put our trust in Jesus
Christ alone for our salvation. The Old
Covenant has served its purpose, and it has
been replaced by “a better covenant” (Heb. 7:22; 8:6-13).
Christians need to
understand that they have been set free from
trying to keep the Old Covenant Law to live
God-honoring lives by walking in His Spirit.
When we do that—we are fulfilling the law of
Christ, which is the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ (Mark 12:28-31; Gal. 6:2;
1 Cor. 9:21; Rom. 8:1-11).
Seventh-day
Adventists only believe what their church
and prophet tell them to believe. They
really don’t understand what the Old
Covenant was, or what the New Covenant that
Jesus Christ gave us is. 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. 2-6; Eph. 1-2; Col. 2; Heb. 4-10;
James 2). They mix laws from the Bible
without any regard for their context, the
covenant they are in, or the actual meaning
of the words used in the original languages.
They don’t understand that the only law
Christians are expected to keep is the New
Covenant, law of Christ (Gal. 6:2; 1 Cor. 9:19-23).
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, or codes of
conduct to Adam and Eve (Gen. 1:26-30; 2:15-17; 3),
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 from 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 for us 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. They have been
replaced by the New Covenant, law of Christ
(Gal. 6:2; 1 Cor. 9:19-23; cf. Mark 12:28-31; 1 Jn. 4:7-8; 5:3).
[2]
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 he made on our behalf was perfect.
Jesus, as our new High Priest has
accomplished “eternal salvation for all who
obey him” (Heb. 5:9).
Hebrews 7:22
says, “This makes Jesus the guarantor of a
better covenant.”
The Law of Moses
was never meant for the Gentiles (Rom. 2:14-15; 9:3-5;
1 Cor. 9:20-21). The Old
Covenant Law was given to reveal man’s
sinful nature and lead us to Christ, not to
justify us before God (Gal. 3:19-22; Rom. 3:19-20; 5:20; 7:5-7; 8:7;
1 Tim. 1:8-11; Heb. 7:11-19). Trying to keep the Old
Covenant law can only produce death in those
who fail to keep it perfectly (Rom. 5:20-21; 7:5).
The Mosaic law was given to
watch over us until we could be made new in
Christ (Rom. 7:1-12; Gal. 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 Christ’s divine love in our
hearts as our greatest motivation (Gal. 5:1, 13, 14).
The people who make up the
“remnant” are those true Christians who are
faithful to Christ in every age. Seventh-day
Adventists believe Christians have to keep
the Sabbath in the last days to be saved,
but they are wrong about the Sabbath being
required for the New Covenant Church. The
Sabbath was for Israel alone because it
served as a ceremonial sign for the Mosaic
Covenant (Exod. 31:16-17; Ezek. 20:12, 20).
It was never made an obligation for the
Christian 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 wrong about who
the remnant is as well.
God’s
remnant people are those who rest in what
Christ has already accomplished for us
through the cross.
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.”
[3]
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.
“God wants us to enter his
rest. For the Israelites of Moses’ time,
this rest was the earthly rest to be found
in the Promised Land. For Christians, it is
peace with God now and eternal life on a new
earth later. We do not need to wait for the
next life to enjoy God’s rest and peace; we
may have it daily now! Our daily rest in the
Lord will not end with death but will become
an eternal rest in the place that Christ is
preparing for us (John 14:1-4).”
[4]
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, “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.
No single organization,
or church has the right to call themselves
the remnant church. 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 their 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 for sure that you are
part of God’s remnant church.
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 have been
born-again, you can know for certain that
Christ has redeemed you along with the rest
of the remnant throughout the ages. If you
have put your trust in Jesus Christ alone
for your salvation, you can know for certain
that the Holy Spirit has sealed you and
given you God’s guarantee of eternal life
(John 3:36; 5:24; Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30; 2 Cor. 1:22).
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:
see: “The End of the Law”.
3. The Complete
Word Study Dictionary: σαββατισμός /
sabbatismós.
4. The Life Application
Study Bible: Hebrews 4:9.
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