A remnant is defined as a small surviving group of people. It is sometimes defined as something left over. At other times it is defined as a leftover piece of fabric remaining after the rest has been used up or sold.

Throughout the course of the history of mankind, GOD HAS ALWAYS LEFT A REMNANT.

From the beginning, Israel has been God’s elect nation. A nation whom God foreknew and a nation that God selected to be His people and He selected to be their God. In the days of the Prophet Elijah, God let it be known that He had left a remnant. According to I Kings 19, Elijah thought the nation of Israel had totally departed from God. But God informed Elijah at I Kings 19:18, that He had left for Himself, 7,000 people who would serve and honor Him. Those 7,000 were God’s remnant.

During the days of the Prophet Isaiah, God gave Isaiah a vision of Israel. The vision was told by Isaiah in Isaiah 1:1-9. Isaiah said the nation had become “a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.’ Isaiah went onto say in verse 9, “Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a SMALL REMNANT, we should have been as Sodom and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.”

The New Testament tells us in Romans 11:5, “Even so then, at this present time, there is a remnant according to the election of grace.”

Today the church serves as God’s chosen people. And like the children of Israel, the church has become a sinful nation, comprised of believers laden with iniquity. They are a seed of evildoers, with children who are corrupter. They have forsaken the Lord and have provoked the Holy One unto anger. They have gone away backward. But despite the state of the church, God has once again left a small remnant. A remnant that is far from perfect, but a remnant that trust God.

God’s remnant are those who understand they are saved by grace and not by works. They do not abide by the false teaching that you have to be living something, (works) in order to go to heaven. They simply do their best to live for God because they already know they are going to heaven.

God’s remnant are those who serve the God of their church and not the church of their God.

God’s remnant are those who acknowledge God in all their ways, even when their ways sometimes do not please God. They are the ones who always confess their sins to God while believing He is always faithful and just to forgive them of their sins and to cleanse them from all unrighteousness.

God’s remnant are those who know they are righteous simply because at conversion the righteousness of Christ was put on them. They have learned to accept Christ’s righteousness instead of trying to establish their own religious self-righteousness through church rituals and programs. They have also learned to put their trust in Christ instead of putting their trust in their church practices and activities.

God’s remnant are those who are blessed beyond measure despite their failures and weaknesses. They are blessed because they are pleasing to God because of their faith. The bible says over and over, that without faith it is impossible to please God.

God’s remnant are those who stand on God’s word and not the word of man, politicians, the media and hirelings. They believe God’s Word is true today, yesterday and forever. Political correctness is not part of the character.

God still has a remnant today. Are you part of God’s Remnant?

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By Gilbert Owens

Contributing columnist

Gilbert Owens is a resident of Roseboro.